Plain Jane and the Mafia Beast

Rubbing at his eyes, Vincenzo felt so fucking tired.

Not only did they have Rafe’s betrayal, there was also the alliance he’d started with the Vitales. His meeting with Gabe had been eye-opening.

The Vitale family was divided. Those that followed the father didn’t follow the son. According to Gabe, the son, Benjamin Vitale, wanted peace. He wanted an alliance with Galiza, to bring their families together and to make them great once again. The father, however, Benjamin Vitale, senior—they liked to keep all the names within the family, which was why Vincenzo struggled to fucking remember them all—wanted war. He wanted to tear down the Galiza family, to become a leader all on his own. To have the streets run red with blood and for the power to be back in his shitty hands.

Vincenzo now had to create a meeting between Galiza and Benjamin Vitale to come to an understanding with regards to Rafe and the senior Benjamin.

To add all of that pressure, he was also worried about his woman. She had lost her friend tonight, and there was no way in hell that wasn’t going to bite him in the ass. He didn’t want this for her. Far from it.

Getting to his feet, he brushed a curl behind her ear.

“You will never know how sorry I am that I failed you tonight.”

He left the room, needing a stiff drink.

Grabbing his whiskey, he poured himself a glass just as there was a knock on his door. Instantly, he had his gun by his side, ready.

No one came to his suburban house.

No one fucking knew him.

He moved slowly toward the door, being careful not to make a sound. Checking through the peephole, he saw it was Antonio Galiza, the oldest son.

He opened the door and glared at the man. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“I came to see you, obviously.”

“How did you know where I lived?”

“It’s not that hard to know what you do and who you do, Barbato. We may not be close, but I think it’s important to know where all my father’s minions live and breathe. May I come in, or would you like to do this on your doorstep when anyone could be watching?”

Seeing no other choice, Vincenzo pulled back the door to let him in. The moment he closed the door, he pressed the barrel of the gun against the man’s temple. “If you try anything, I will fucking end you.”“You kill me and my dad will hunt you down like a dirty fucking dog. I’m not here to hurt you, Vincenzo. Not even close. You can put the gun away.”

“Then why are you here? This is my home.”

“I know. It’s rather … homey.”

“Why don’t you tell me what you want?”

“My father told me what happened with Rafe. The accusations and also the evidence you have on him. He’s the one that made us aware of the reporter.”

“Your father doesn’t like the truth.”

“My father doesn’t like to know that he raised a weak son, and in Rafe that is what has happened. He was a premature baby, so my mother babied him for a long time. He would scream the fucking house down even as a child. A pain in the ass. I wanted to smother him when he was sleeping. A couple of times I even held the pillow in my hand, prepared to deal with him. I should have done it.”

“You didn’t.”

“I believe you, and I know that Rafe is not going to let this go. Even if Father punishes him.”

“What do you want me to do?” Vincenzo asked.

“When the time comes, I’m going to need you to pull the trigger.”

“This is not going to be handled the Galiza way?”

“He’s Mom’s favorite, and Dad made a promise that he would do everything to keep her sons safe. Not that she has much of a choice in these matters.”

“I don’t work for you, Antonio. I may have stopped the attempts to kill you, but that doesn’t make us friends.”

“I never expected us to be friends. Far from it. I wanted you to know I’m on your side.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes.” Antonio held his hand out. “Thank you. I happen to like living and breathing.”

Vincenzo wanted to ignore that hand. He and Antonio had never seen eye to eye on a lot of things. When he’d been taken in by Galiza, Antonio had hated him.

Still, the past was in the past.

Shaking Antonio’s hand, he nodded at him. He would protect Galiza no matter what, even if he didn’t like the ugly old bastard.

****

Arika woke to the scent of bacon frying and the memory of Rachel dead.

Staring down at her body, in one of Vincenzo’s shirts, she knew he’d taken care of her uniform. He’d probably even burned it.

Pushing her hand through her hair, she climbed out of bed and went to his bathroom. He’d brought her to his suburban home, the place he came when he was taking care of her last time.