Endings & Beginnings (New Mafia Trilogy #3) (20 page)

   “Your girl’s right, Dom,” Chan said, regarding me
with his dark eyes. “I don’t trust anyone I don’t know.”

   “I’m not going to say anything to anyone,” I
said, immediately coming to my own defense.

   “No offense, sweetheart, but I’ve heard that
before.”

He glared at me and I broke eye contact, turning to
Dom. “I’ll go sit at the bar if you need to discuss business. Maybe it’s best I
don’t hear anymore.”

Dom’s lips were pursed into a narrow line as we
regarded each other. There was an expression on his face, one I hadn’t seen
before, as if Chan’s words planted a seed of doubt about me, but before I could
examine it further his smile chased the expression away and he stood up to let
me out of the booth.

   “I won’t be long and then I’ll take you home.” He
bent down and lightly kissed my cheek before I walked across the crowded room
to sit at the bar, ordering another brandy as my nerves were unsettled all over
again. Not from the conversation I just left, but from Dominic’s expression.
Did he know about the deal Jason’s father tried to broker with Special Agent
Phillips for me to enter WITSEC; the deal I shut down?

DOMINIC

Natalie was quiet on the drive back to the city. A
crease between her eyebrows had taken up residence the longer the silence went
on.

   “Did I do something wrong?” I asked.

   “No,” she said with a sigh and turned back to
look out the window. She was gnawing on her bottom lip like she had something
more to say.

   “So why the silent treatment?”

She shrugged and continued to face away from me.
“I’m just tired.”

   “Uh huh.”

We had just passed Temple University’s main campus
when I heard her take a deep breath before speaking again. “Do you trust me,
Dom?”

I didn’t answer right away. I did trust her, wanted
to trust her completely, but also knew she was holding something back;
something that happened in L.A. and I didn’t want to be an asshole by forcing
her to tell me. I wasn’t going to interrogate her, but didn’t like that she was
keeping secrets so I decided to just be straight up.

   “Did anything happen in L.A. that you want to
talk about? I feel like there is.”

Natalie licked her lips and swallowed. “No,” she
answered and even though she maintained eye contact, I noticed a flutter,
almost like a tic in the corner of her right eye. I knew how to read people,
call it an occupational necessity and that tell told me everything. Natalie was
lying.

   “Are you sure? You know you can talk to me.” I
was giving her another chance, more than I gave anyone.

   “Yes, I’m sure.” She looked away this time as we
turned up the parkway and approached her hotel. I squeezed the steering wheel
tight, resisting the urge to keep her in the car until she talked to me. The
doorman opened her door and Natalie started to get out, but she twisted around
in the seat to look at me.

   “You never answered my question,” she said.

   “What was that?”

   “Do you trust me?”

Would she hurt me again? Yes. She was the only one
capable of hurting me. Would she turn on me and Grant? No. I didn’t think so.
“Yes, Natalie. I trust you.”

   “Okay,” she whispered and got out. I was left
with the soft floral scent of her perfume and wondering what exactly it was she
refused to tell me.

Trust was a rare commodity in my world and there
were a handful of people I could talk to objectively about this. Grant was in
the hospital and it was too late to bother Miranda. Dante was probably getting
his dick wet somewhere and Uncle Al was managing operations at Butter so that
left one person: my dad. It was late, but I knew he’d be up.

I sent off a quick text message to let him know I
was coming over and to not blow my head off when I let myself in the house.

As soon as I stepped inside, the familiar smells
surrounded me; garlicky remnants from dinner mixed with citrus scented candles
my mom loved. A lamp in the living room provided enough light to spill into the
hallway, but I knew the layout of this house and could walk through in the
pitch black. I’d done that before whenever I snuck in after curfew. I walked
toward the kitchen at the back of the house and saw a thin line of light
underneath my dad’s closed office door. I rapped on it once and he told me to
enter.

My dad was hunched over his desk that was covered in
blueprints and contracts. He had one hand buried in his salt and pepper hair
and the other circled around a glass of scotch. This was a familiar sight and
one burned in my memory from childhood.

   “Hey Dad, where is everyone?”

   “Hi son,” he said, leaning back and stretching.
“Your mom went to bed and your sister is at a sleepover. Apparently your
brother is hanging with Johnny and who knows where they are. Those two remind
me of you and Dante – more brothers than cousins.”

I laughed and sat down on the brown leather loveseat
that was against the wall opposite the gas fireplace. In the winter this room
was the warmest place in the house. I spent a lot of time locked away in here
discussing business or enduring lectures about my choices.

   “So what brings you here this late? Everything
okay?”

   “Yeah…no…I don’t know.” With a sigh, I sunk back
in the sofa and stretched my legs out, but couldn’t get comfortable so I stood
up and crossed the room to the small bar in the corner. I poured myself a
scotch and tried settling back into the loveseat.

   “Is this about business or Grant…” my dad trailed
off and chuckled.

   “What?”

   “This is about Natalie, isn’t it?” he asked and
shook his head. “Only a girl can get you tied up in knots like this.”

   “I’m not,” I started to protest.

   “Dominic, I’m your father and can tell these
things. I remember when you liked Julia Samaratino your freshman year. She
turned you down when you asked her out and it was such a blow to your ego. You
acted all fidgety and restless then, just like you are now.”

I glared at him, annoyed yet relieved he could read
me so well. “Fine, you’re right, it’s about Nat.” Just as I started to tell
him, there was a light knock on the door right before it opened. My mom peeked
her head in and smiled when she saw me.

   “I thought I heard someone come in,” she said.

   “Sorry to wake you, Ma.”

   “Don’t be. What’s going on?” She looked back and
forth between me and my dad, noticing the glasses of scotch and our rumpled
hair.

   “Dom’s having issues with Natalie,” my dad said
and I glared at him again. Ever since I found out that my mom helped fund
Natalie’s escape to L.A. and didn’t say a damn thing about it, I’d been a
little pissed off.

   “Of course he is,” she said and flashed a slight
smile before tightening her silk robe and tentatively taking a seat next to me
as if she was waiting for me to kick her out. I hated that she was scared of me
and she had every right to be. I held a gun to my dad’s head in front of her
and freaked out when she told me about her involvement with Natalie. I wasn’t
proud of those moments.  While dad had understood and already moved past that
night, mom and I still had some shit to work out between us. “Maybe I can help
by adding a woman’s perspective?”

She had a point and I had to admit it was nice
having my parents there. For the first time in a long time I wasn’t Dominic the
mob boss, but just Dominic, the oldest son of Rico and Angela Grabano, seeking
relationship advice about a girl I loved.

So I proceeded to tell them about Natalie and how I
thought she was keeping something from me. Immediately my dad became concerned
about everything Natalie knew, information that could make us all see a lot of
prison time.

   “Dad, Nat’s not a rat. Do you think she’ll do
that to Grant? You know how close they are.”

   “Family has turned against family before,” he
said pointedly. He didn’t to say it; I knew he was referring to Uncle Marco.
“What if Grant’s life is threatened, do you think she’d turn witness to save
him?”

I had to refill my glass after that suggestion
because it was a possibility. Natalie would do anything to keep Grant safe.

   “She won’t say anything,” my mom spoke up. For
the most part she had been sitting quietly, listening to us talk.

   “You don’t know that, Angela,” my dad snapped.

    “Yes, I do because she would have turned already
and made a deal for both her and her brother. She’s been victimized horribly
with the assault and the shooting. If that didn’t force her to seek federal
protection, nothing will.”

   “Ma, you’ve never been involved in this side of
the family business before. How do you know?”

She laughed and shook her head. “Because I’ve been
married to your father for 25-years and I’ve learned a few things. Plus, for as
much as that girl has been through, she loves her brother fiercely…and she
loves you. A woman in love will endure just about anything.” She glanced over
at my dad and smiled. His face softened from that one look and he winked at
her.

   “How do you know she still loves me?”

   “Because she told me and I can tell by the way
she looks at you.”

Tension pressed down on my shoulders at the thought
of my mom and Natalie talking about me and our relationship. The last time that
happened, Natalie disappeared and moved to L.A.

   “Stop it, Dominic. I can tell by the way you’re
pursing your lips that you’re upset. It was an innocent conversation in the
ladies room and nothing more. Now, let me ask you this, and listen to your gut
on this, do you think Natalie is playing you and talking to the FBI?”

I exhaled sharply and ran a hand through my hair,
but didn’t have to think about it very long. “No.”

   “There’s your answer. If you feel Natalie is
keeping something from you, it’s probably for your benefit. A girl’s allowed to
have her secrets, you know?”

   “Are you keeping secrets from me?” my dad asked.

   “Maybe,” she teased and started to leave the
room. “Dominic, give Natalie some space and let her focus on her brother.”

I left a few minutes later feeling better after
talking things out with my parents. I’d give Natalie some space and be
supportive from a distance. It was going to be hard, but I needed to focus on
the business too. I wasn’t surprised to see Leo sitting on the front stoop
waiting for me.

   “How did you know I was here?” I asked.

   “Your dad texted me.” Leo stood up and dusted off
the back of his jeans.

   “Any issue with the Feds?”

   “Nah, I went for a drive and lost my tail out by
the King of Prussia mall.”

I laughed and shook my head at the lengths Leo went
through. He probably enjoyed fucking with the Feds. That was just the
beginning. Special Agent Phillips had no idea what was coming.

It took about a week of surveillance in order for me
to make my move. I had all of our crew in action scouting out the area
surrounding the concrete and glass building on Arch Street. Leo took his
girlfriend on a romantic carriage ride that went right past the building. He
took pictures of all the street lights and visible cameras. Johnny, Anthony and
Paulie hung out at Independence Mall one afternoon and after grabbing hot dogs
from a cart, sat on the wall directly outside the building. They made sure to keep
their heads down and baseball caps lowered so the bills concealed their faces
in shadow. 

Not being caught on camera was impossible, but I
determined I could avoid all except the one positioned at the top of the
entrance to the coffee shop. Fortunately it had a separate entrance from the
outside and I didn’t have to walk through the crowded lobby. According to
Phillips’ bank records, he purchased a coffee every weekday morning between
7:30 and 8:00. Dressed in a dark gray business suit with a metallic gray tie to
blend in with the other suits, I got there early. I kept my sunglasses on as I
ordered a coffee then found an unoccupied table near the register to sit and
wait.

Special Agent Phillips didn’t disappoint and entered
the coffee shop at 7:40 a.m. He was talking on his phone and completely
oblivious to me sitting less than five feet away. It gave me the perfect
opportunity to observe. Phillips continued his call while giving his order to
the barista. He was one those annoying fucks who couldn’t bother hanging up his
phone or stepping out of line until he was done talking. He set his laptop bag
down between his polished loafers in order to pull his wallet out of his suit
jacket pocket.

As soon as Phillips had his soy latte in hand, his
conversation ended and he slipped his phone into a pocket. When he turned
around to leave, I cleared my throat. Phillips paused mid-sip and his eyebrows
rose when he saw me. Lowering his cup, he quickly looked around to see if I had
come alone.

   “Grabano, what are you doing here?”

   “Just enjoying some coffee and taking in the
sights.”

He didn’t say anything, but adjusted to a more
defensive stance and just stared at me as if waiting for me to attack him.
“Right, what are you really doing here?”

I smiled and kicked back in my chair, playing with
the cardboard sleeve on my cup. “I wanted to wish Jacob good luck on his
baseball game this afternoon. His team advances to the Little League playoffs
if they win, right?”

   “You son of a bitch!” he barked, his face turning
bright red. A vein stuck out on the side of his temple and he squeezed his cup
so card, the lid popped off.

   “Have a good day, Doug.” I stood and collected my
coffee, leaving a very rattled Special Agent behind. Based on his reaction, he
liked having his family’s movements tracked just as much as I did. I crossed
the street, nodding at Leo as I passed where he was waiting at a bus stop. He
fell into step a few feet behind me and we both faded into the tourist traffic
around Independence Hall.