Endings & Beginnings (New Mafia Trilogy #3) (28 page)

Natalie

LOS
ANGELES

   “I got another job!” I shouted when Chelsea
answered her phone.

   “Nice! Where?” she asked.

   “It’s a server gig at the House of Blues. Not
ideal, but I need the money, so...”

   “Well that’s good. When are you going to settle
down and get a real job?”

   “Just because you have a real job and you’re
getting married, doesn’t mean everyone needs to settle down.”

She chuckled and I heard a muffled voice in the
background. “Oh, Derek just reminded me. We’re having a barbecue in two weeks.
It’s on a Sunday so hopefully you can make it with your new job and all?”

   “Sundays are good, that’s my one day off. Is
Jason going to be there?”

Chelsea paused and let out a deep sigh. “Yes, but please
still come. Ignore him and I’ll help run interference. I don’t want him to come
between us,” she pleaded. “You’re my best friend.”

   “Fine, I’ll be there,” I promised. I could be an
adult and ignore Jason.

We hung up and I sat down on the futon to go through
the stack of mail that had been accumulating on the coffee table, the growing
pile I’d been ignoring because it consisted of bills. My electricity bill was
double what it had been the month I was gone. I groaned at the triple digit
amount owed. Next up was for my cell phone and the envelope behind it gave me
pause. The deferment period on my student loans had expired and my first loan
payment was due. That was another $300 a month I didn’t have.  Hanging my head
and closing my eyes, I focused on breathing. It was hard because I felt so
buried and trapped, but this was life, right? This was all about putting on my
big girl panties and living on my own without asking for help.  After a few
deep breaths, I felt better and set about organizing my bills by priority.

I was staring at a seemingly insurmountable pile of
debt when my phone rang. Instead of hitting ignore when I saw the phone number that
appeared on the display like I normally would, I answered.

   “Hi Mom.”

   “Natalie, are you getting settled back in?”

   “Yeah, I’m trying,” I said with a sigh.

Being her new perceptive self, she asked me what was
wrong. “I don’t want to burden you with my problems, mom.”

   “Try me.”

I tensed up, a reflex action because in the past she
liked to pick at my flaws and weaknesses. Also, I knew she lived paycheck to
paycheck and wouldn’t be able to help me, not that I’d ask her for help.

   “Natalie, talk to me. We were doing really well
rebuilding our relationship, but I feel you pulling away now that you’re in
California and it’s not just the physical distance. What’s going on?”

There was a long pause as I debated whether to take
the chance and tell her. Finally, I decided to give it a shot so I told her
about my financial problems and how overwhelming it was trying to stay on top
of everything.

   “I know what that’s like. After your father left
and took all of our money, I didn’t know what to do and didn’t have anyone to
help me. Trying to keep a roof over your heads became my number one focus. I
refused to let him win by losing anything else. That stress contributed to my
depression and my behavior.”

   “How did you get through it?” I asked. I was
still getting used to her being calm talking about the past and my father.
Usually her tone was laced with bitterness, but she was more candid this time.
I leaned back on the futon, crossing my legs Indian style, settling in for the
conversation instead of trying to be in a hurry to end the call.

   “I worked as much as possible and even had to
file bankruptcy. That hurt my pride, let me tell you, but it meant we kept the
house. Work was also an escape for me. The house even you and Grant were
reminders of what I once had. I know I was partly to blame for your father
leaving, but to have him just walk away without looking back really hurt. I was
envious of him too. Many times I wished it was me who had the chance to leave
all the responsibility behind.”

   “What made you stay?”

   “You and Grant, of course. It might not have
seemed like it, but beneath the depression and my horrible behavior, I never
stopped loving you guys. You’re my babies, my blood and that kind of love is
unconditional. I’m sorry I withheld it during your formative years – I know I’ll
never get that time back.”

   “I’m sorry too,” I said and wiped away a stray
tear that had streaked down my cheek.

   “Let me help you now, Natalie. I don’t have much,
but I can loan you $500.”

   “Mom, I can’t accept money from you.”

   “Yes you can and you will. What’s your address?
I’ll mail a check tonight.”

I started to refuse and she cut me off. I eventually
accepted her offer and gave her my address. “Thanks for letting me do this,
Natalie. You’ve had to fend for yourself for so long.”

   “Well, Grant helped me out a lot.”

   “I know he did. I’m glad you had each other.
Okay, so I’ll send the check out tonight. Please don’t hesitate to call me if
you need to talk. Do you feel better now?”

   “I do. Thanks, Mom.”

   “It’s the least I can do, sweetie. I’m glad we
talked. Miss and love you.”

   “I love you too.”

We hung up and I set my phone down on the coffee
table, staring at it like it was a foreign object. I’d just had a normal
conversation with my mom where she didn’t judge me and I didn’t snap at her.
She wanted to help and I’d accepted. Maybe she really had changed? It made me
long to be closer so we could continue to forge this actual mother/daughter
relationship. I never thought I’d be homesick for York.

The next morning my phone chiming, alerting me that
I had a new text message, woke me up. I flopped over on the bed, reaching for
the phone without opening my eyes. I’d only fallen into a fitful sleep a few
hours before. I struggled to make out the image in the message Grant had sent
and it took a few minutes to register what I was looking at since I was still
half asleep.  “Oh my God!” I shrieked out loud and then another text from Grant
came in.

           
Ur looking at ur nephew!

Any aggravation at being woken up at six in the
morning was forgiven. Instead of texting, I called him and he answered on the
first ring.

   “Oh my God, you’re having a boy!” I squealed and
Grant laughed.

   “Yes, we just left the doc and the baby’s
developed enough for us to find out the sex.”

    “Holy shit, this is so exciting! How’s Amanda?
Have you picked out a name yet?”

    “Miranda’s great and the baby is healthy. We did
pick out a name. Want to know it?”

   “Well, duh,” I said, rolling my eyes even though
he couldn’t see.

   “Roman James.”

   “Roman James Ross. I like it.”

   “Glad you approve,” he said with a chuckle that
was interrupted when his phone skipped out. “Oh hey, that’s Mom calling, I’ll
call you back.”

We hung up and I couldn’t stop looking at the
ultrasound image of my nephew. Roman James was a strong name and if he was
anything like his parents, he’d be incredibly strong too. The homesickness I
experienced the night before increased, but there was nothing I could do about
that. Even if I wanted to move back, I couldn’t afford it.

DOMINIC

PHILADELPHIA

The next day after meeting with our business
associates started out really great. Grant and Miranda were exploding with
happiness at the news they were having a boy. I couldn’t help but feel a twinge
of envy though. I wanted what they had, but only with Natalie and I knew that
was impossible. Still, none of the women who made themselves available to me,
held any appeal. Maybe I’d be a bachelor like Al. After his wife, my Aunt
Evelyn, passed away he never remarried. He seemed happy enough, I guess, but he
didn’t have a choice. His love had died while Natalie was very much alive. It
was in the afternoon when the day took a strange turn. I was in the elevator on
my way up to my condo from the gym when Gio called.

   “Hey Gio, what’s up?”

   “My distributor wants to meet you before sending
anymore product your way. You need to get here asap.”

   “What’s the problem?”

   “He needs assurances since you’re new leadership.
 How soon can you get here?”

Fuck. It had to be serious if Gio wanted me to drop
everything and fly out to California. “Shit, alright let me check. I’ll get
back to you within the hour.”

   “Let me know and I’ll get a suite lined up for
you.”

   “That won’t be necessary. I have someone to stay
with.” I licked my lips at the thought of seeing Natalie again even it meant
sleeping on her couch. Jesus, the woman made me pathetic, but the idea of
spending one more moment with her was too good to pass up.

   “Right. I’ll wait for your call,” he said and hung
up.

I unlocked the door to my condo and stepped inside,
squinting at the sun streaming in through the open blinds. Even though I was
dripping sweat and wanted to do nothing but take a shower this new business
took priority. Grabbing a bottle of Gatorade from the fridge, I sat down on a
bar stool. The granite countertop was cool and felt good against my heated
skin. First I had to call Dante. Since he was my underboss he was going to have
to take over operations in my absence and I had no idea how long I was going to
be gone.

   “Do you need to take someone with you…for
protection?” Dante asked as we were wrapping up the call.

   “No, I’ll be fine. I don’t need to be showing up
with an entourage. It might make this guy nervous.”

   “If you think that’s best. I’ll handle things
here.”

   “Good and let me know when Johnny gets info on
the forensic reports.”

   “Got it, let me know when you’re heading out.”

After I hung up with Dante, I called Estelle at the
downtown office and told her I needed the first flight out to Los Angeles and a
rental car. She was advised to use the Grabano Enterprises credit card. This
trip needed to be legitimate since the Feds were up my ass. Hopefully I’d be
able to catch a red eye flight out in a few hours.

Next I called Grant to let him know what was going
on. “Don’t tell Natalie I’m coming out. I want to surprise her.”

   “Like last time and she had a freakin’ panic
attack?”

   “I think it will be different this time.” I got
up from the stool and started pacing the living room, getting agitated at
Grant’s tone.

   “I thought you sent her away? Why do you have to
see her at all? I don’t want you fucking with my sister’s head, she’s been
through enough.”

   “I fucked up and I miss her. Shit, I love her and
just want to see her again.”

   “No, you’re going to mess with her head because I
think she was close to staying in Philly until you pushed her away. Now you
want to see her. You either want her in your life or leave her alone so she can
start over. You can’t have both.” Grant was close to yelling at this point and
I heard Miranda say something in the background, but I wasn’t focusing on her
words, I was still processing Grant’s.

I stopped pacing and stood in front of the balcony
doors, looking down at the river below. “You think Natalie was going to move
back to Philly?”

Grant sighed. “Yeah, I do.” His voice was calmer
now. “You’re not the only one who misses her, Dom. I don’t like her being so
far away. I’m so used to looking out for her and now she’s out of my reach
again.”

   “I admit it, I fucked up, but I didn’t expect her
to take off.”

   “That’s Natalie, though. She wants to bolt when
things get difficult or scary or too real. My mom always accused her of being
like our dad and that pissed Nat off enough to physically stay, but not
emotionally.”

   “Yeah, I see that now. I want her back, Grant,
but I won’t force her or give her an ultimatum. Let me talk to her. If she wants
to move back, it will be her decision.”

   “If shit goes down with Gio, please keep Natalie
out of it.”

   “I’m not an asshole or an idiot, Grant. Now I
gotta go pack. I’ll check in later.”

I went into my bedroom and pulled a suitcase out of
the closet then set it on the bed. I packed jeans, shorts and a pair of black
pants along with some shirts that ranged from casual to dress. My running
sneakers were tucked into the side pocket along with my new Ferragamos. I threw
in some underwear and socks before walking into the bathroom to shower. By the
time I had cleaned up and finished packing I had an email from Estelle with my
itinerary and boarding pass. I was flying first class on a non-stop red eye
flight that night. An executive car would pick me up at 9:30, two hours before
my departure time. I called Gio to let him know I’d be landing and he told me
to head right over to his estate.

Knowing I’d be hitting the ground running once the
plane touched down in L.A., I ate a late dinner and finished packing, grabbing
a suit that was hanging in protective case. Going back into my walk-in closet,
I pulled the organizing rack full of shoes to reveal a safe mounted into the
wall. After entering the code, there was a faint click when the lock released
and the door popped open slightly. I opened it to reveal a few handguns and
several stacks of cash. Reaching in, I grabbed one of the stacks and peeled off
eight – one thousand dollar bills and twenty – one hundred dollar bills. Using
a platinum money clip my dad had gotten me for Christmas for the first time. I
thought the thing pretentious, but the cash wasn’t going to fit in my wallet. I
had no idea how long this business with Gio was going to take and wanted to
make sure I had enough green on me to cover.

First class was half empty and I had the row to
myself. Taking the window seat I stared out watching the ground crew ready the
plane for take-off. Movement to my right alerted me to a late arrival. I turned
and blinked in surprise to see my dad taking the seat next to me. He tucked his
MacBook into the seatback storage before smiling at me.

   “Dad, what are you doing here?”

   “I ran into Dante at Butter tonight and he filled
me in.”

   “I don’t need your help.”

   “It’s your show, son, and I won’t be in the way.
I’ll be there for support. Plus I know Gio and the distributor so my presence
might actually do some good. It’s best if you don’t show up at these things
alone.”

I wanted to kill Dante, but it wasn’t right for me
to keep the information away from my dad since he was my consigliore. All my
plans to meet with Natalie just went out the fucking window though.

   “What’s that look for?” he asked.

   “Nothing,” I answered sullenly and resumed
looking out the window. Fortunately he left me alone, unlike my mom who
would’ve kept pestering me to tell her what was wrong.

Soon we over the middle of the country and I half
dozed, but my mind refused to shut down. Flagging down the flight attendant, I
ordered a double single malt scotch and my dad did too. He had his table tray
extended and his MacBook open. With his reading glasses perched on his nose and
dress shirt unbuttoned at the neck, he looked like any other business man.

   “What are you working on?” I asked.

   “A bid for new dorms at Temple University; turns
out they’re not just a commuter school anymore and can’t keep up with housing
demands.”

He turned his computer so I could see the screen. It
was a lengthy and impressive document. “$30 million so far. Nice.”

   “Yeah, I’m meeting with an architect while in
L.A. His firm specializes in eco-designs.”

   “Like solar and shit?” I asked.

   “Exactly. Grabano and Sons needs to stay current.
I’m going to propose hydro and solar power alternatives in this bid.”

   “Impressive. Do you need me at this meeting?”

   “No; I figured you have other plans involving a
certain female?” He raised an eyebrow and peered at me over the top of his
glasses.

   “You know me too well,” I said with a laugh and
finished the rest of my scotch. “I was afraid I’d have to blow you off or
something.”

   “I don’t need a babysitter. Go get your woman
back.”

I shook my head and ordered another round, ignoring
the over-attentive flight attendant with her all too white teeth. We were still
nursing our second drinks when the plane began its decent to LAX just as the
beginning of sunrise was stretching across the land, its golden tendrils reaching
for the coast.

We walked to baggage claim together and then went to
pick up our rental cars. He was going to follow me to Gio’s house. Traffic was
slow and steady on I-405 North and as I drove past the exit closest to
Natalie’s apartment complex, I resisted the urge to pull off. Tightening my
hands on the steering wheel of the rental, a 2015 Mustang, I continued on
glancing occasionally in the rearview mirror to make sure my dad still followed
behind.

I pressed the button for the convertible top once we
were on the Pacific Coast Highway. The salt air; different than the East Coast
as it wasn’t as heavy, blew through my hair and kept me awake. I was beginning
to feel the effects of not sleeping. Before turning onto the Palisades Parkway
to make our way up to Gio’s estate, I pulled over to get a coffee at a local cafe.
My dad grabbed one too and then we were back on the road. The Mustang hugged
the curves as it climbed into the foothills. Soon I was high above the Pacific
and I remembered the neighborhood from my last visit. Nothing had changed. The
manicured lawns were just as pristine and the homes didn’t look lived in. I
might as well have been driving through a model community. I’d occasionally
encounter a landscape truck and crew or a jogger, but for the most part it was
a sterile environment.

Unlike last time we didn’t have to wait over ten
minutes for the gates to open. We were expected and promptly given entry. My
dad parked his Lincoln Town Car next to me and we walked up the front steps
together. Victor greeted us with a nod and held open the wrought iron gate that
led to the courtyard.

   “How ya been, Victor?” I asked as we crossed the
courtyard to reach the main house.

   “Not bad. Better than you. I heard you guys had
some trouble with the last drop.”

   “Yeah, you could say that,” I said as we stepped
inside the house. Victor led us down the long hallway towards Gio’s office.

   “Are you visiting Natalie while you’re out here?”
he asked, stopping right outside the door.

   “That’s the plan,” I said, squaring my shoulders
and glaring at Victor. He was slightly taller than me and I hated having to
look up at him. “What of it?”

   “Chill man, didn’t mean anything by it. She’s
cancelled on me the last two times we were supposed to go to the range for some
target practice and she sounded stressed the last time we talked.” I hated that
Victor had more communication with Natalie but I had no right to be jealous
because I was the one who pushed her away. “When you see her, let her know I’m
worried about her.”

   “I will. Thanks for looking out for her,” I said,
clapping Victor on the back as I entered Gio’s office. Jimmy was at his post
next to the desk.

   “Rico, what a surprise!” Gio called out when he
saw my dad. He got up from his chair and crossed the room to shake hands. “Dom
didn’t mention he was bringing anyone.” Gio glanced at me sideways and I got
the message: he didn’t like surprises.

   “It was a last minute decision,” I said and left
it at that.

Gio regarded me briefly, but didn’t comment further.
He walked back around his desk and took a seat, gesturing for us to sit in the
two chairs in front of the desk. Just as we were getting situated there was a
knock on the door and Victor opened it to let a waif-like blonde in. She was
carrying a tray that contained a coffee carafe, a stack of Styrofoam cups as
well as cream and sugar.

   “Thank you, Samantha,” Gio said as the woman
placed the tray on the corner of Gio’s desk.

She flipped her long hair over and shoulder and
shrugged. “You need anything else? I’m going to be late for my massage.”

   “No go,” Gio dismissed her. “My wife,” he
explained as she hastily retreated, leaving the room. “I swear she has a
massage every fucking day. The woman doesn’t have to work, what could she
possibly get stressed out about where she needs a Goddamn massage?” He turned
and looked at my dad. “What about your wife - does she spend your money like
it’s her job?”