have to go, I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize,” I assure him. “Do what you’ve got to do. Go see your friend. I can take a cab home.”
“It’s okay, just come with me.”
I immediately start to think about what kind of characters might be at the hospital, and instantly know I don’t want to be there. I’m definitely not ready to meet anymore gangsters.
“No, it’s okay,” I say. “This is your thing, and I’d just rather go home.”
“Well, at least let me take you,” he pleads, but I want to be supportive. I want him to know I understand he has friends that I don’t know. Friends he’s known a long time, and I can tell from the tears in his eyes that this is serious.
“I’m fine, Dominic,” I insist. “Go check on your friend, I’m gonna take a cab home. Just let me know what’s going on as soon as you can, okay?”
He’s reluctant, but he nods his head. He pulls a wad of cash out of his pocket and places some on the table to pay for dinner, and then hands some to me.
“This is for the cab,” he says as he stands up. “I’m so sorry about this. I’m gonna call you as soon as I know he’s okay, then I’m gonna meet you at your house when I’m free. Is that okay?”
I force a smile.
“That’s perfect. Okay, now go.”
He leans over and kisses me softly on the lips, then he hurries out of the restaurant.
I wait for the waiter to acknowledge the money for the check and the tip, then I get up and make my way outside. I flag down a cab within a minute, and as I ride home, I feel frustratingly anxious. I hate this part of it—the wondering if he’s going to be okay or not. I hate trying to figure out if this is something mafia related, or if there are going to be more consequences for it. That’s two shootings in two days, yet Dominic insists this isn’t how his life usually is. Is it usually rainbows and butterflies? I highly doubt it.
So, when the cab pulls up to my apartment, I’m filled with anxiety and confusion. All I can do is go inside and wait to hear from him. With my nerves being on high alert like this, and my brain drawing its own scary conclusions, I hope I don’t have to wait long. I don’t think I can take much else.
Dominic
“Where is he? I wanna see him.”
I run over to a group of people sitting in the waiting area of Mercy Hospital. My crew is there, as well as all the other capos in The Family, plus Tommy’s fiancé, who’s being consoled by Skinny Joe. Charlie sees me coming and cuts me off before I can force my way through doors I’m not supposed to go through.
“Hold on, Dominic,” Charlie pleads. His eyes are red like he’s been crying all night long, and he has blood on his shirt from when he sat with Tommy waiting for the ambulance. “He’s in surgery right now. The doc is trying to get the bullets out.”
I feel tears rushing to the surface, so I cover my face so no one can see me. Charlie knows it’s coming though, so he grabs me and forces me to hug him.
“He’s gonna be okay,” he tries to reassure me, but he doesn’t sound so confident himself.
“Fuck! How the fuck did this happen, Charlie?” I cry into his shoulder. Charlie pulls away and looks me in the eye.
“It all happened so fast, Dominic, I can barely believe it all,” he begins, wiping away his tears. “Me, Joe, and Tommy were walking to that little bar across the street from River City. We’d just crossed the road, and this black truck pulls out of the staff parking lot. We don’t think nothing of it, of course, until we reach the sidewalk and the truck slows down behind us. It’s back there creeping, so I turn around to see what the hell this guy’s doing, but the windows are tinted so I can’t see him. So, I grab Tommy’s attention and tell him to check it out, and as soon as Tommy starts to turn around, the window lowers and a hand comes out blasting away. There’s nothing we can do except run for cover, but Tommy gets hit and drops. As soon as Tommy hits the ground, the truck fucking speeds away.”
“Goddammit!”
“I don’t know, Dominic, the