But he’s not going anywhere.
“When that article gets published, we’ll find somewhere else to live,” he said. “A place of our own. I was just waiting for you to be done before we talked about it.”
“Really?” I asked. “I thought you liked it here.”
He rolled his eyes and I laughed.
“Come on,” he said and slapped my ass. “Go email Dante. When you’re done, we’ll spend the day together.”
“Yeah, okay,” I said, kissed him again, then walked off. I looked back at him for a second and he was smiling, a content smile, like he’d found a piece of himself and put it back into his chest.
I climbed the steps and felt the exact same way.26MonaTwo Years LaterI stood in the street, fifty feet from a burning building, and could feel the glare of its heat on my skin. A crowd stood around as firefighters worked to put the abandoned warehouse out, making sure the fire didn’t spread to the buildings around it. I made a few notes on my phone and looked around for someone to interview.
It was a Tuesday, right in the middle of the afternoon, and I was on my beat.
Standing near the light pole, I spotted a young man with shaggy brown hair, an oversized white t-shirt, a cheap fake gold chain around his neck, and skinny jeans. He looked back at me and I saw his eyes go wide. I walked over to him, holding his gaze, and I saw him look around like he wanted to run.
“Hi, Eric,” I said.
“Uh, hey, Mona,” he said.
“What are you doing here?”
“Nothing,” he said too fast, his eyes darting to the side. “Just, uh, saw the fire.”
“Huh,” I said. “Interesting. So one of Steven’s soldiers is just hanging around outside a fire where I’m pretty sure the Jalisco were hiding some of their drugs. That’s an interesting story.”
“Jalisco are dead,” Eric said.
“Come on,” I said, grinning at him. “We both know that’s not true.”
He glared at me and shoved his hands into his pockets. “What do you want me to say, Mona?” he asked. “Steven told us not to talk to you when you’re working.”
“Steven’s a dick,” I said. “Just give me something.”
Eric shifted from foot to foot and looked away again, scanning the crowd for someone. He seemed to spot him and perked up, his eyes going wide. He got up on his toes, brought his hands out, cupped them around his mouth.
“Yo, Steven!” he yelled over the crowd. A few heads turned and I cursed to myself.
I could push around a new solider like Eric. With a little more cajoling, a little more pressure, he’d crack eventually. All the guys knew I was Vince’s wife, which meant they couldn’t just ignore me and treat me like shit. Otherwise, Vince would hear about it, and he’d make their life a living hell.
It was a rough line to walk. I had to make sure I didn’t reveal any sources, didn’t let anyone know that I had a direct connection to the Leone family. I didn’t use their names and didn’t report on things that would give them away.
And on the big stories, I let Don Leone himself read through my copy before submitting it, just to make sure it passed muster.
He was always on my case, always complaining, but I think he liked the attention, at least to some degree. I passed him along information I heard on the newsroom floor, rumors about politicians, police chiefs, that sort of thing. A few of those rumors worked out in the family’s favor and earned me a lot of good will.
But still, the soldiers hate it when I push them for information.
It’s kind of fun though.
Steven came pushing his way through the crowd and gave me a sharp glare as he stopped next to Eric. The skinny kid drifted back away from us, like he was trying to disappear.
I crossed my arms and glared up Steven.
“He was just about to talk, you know,” I said.
“I know,” he said. “But you also know it’s my job to step in and make sure he’s not giving shit to journalists, right?”
“Yeah, yeah,” I said. “Look, what can you tell me about this?”
“I know nothing, I saw nothing,” he said.
“Sure,” I said. “You just happen to be here, hanging around in the crowd.”
“Yep,” he said. “Roasting marshmallows. We’re making s’mores soon if you’re interested.”
I rolled my eyes. “Give me something, Steven, come on. You know how this works.”
“You’ve got a deal with the Don and I respect that,” he said. “And Vince likes to play enforcer for you, push around all the soldiers. But I’m a Capo, and I didn’t make any deals with you. So I’m going to go ahead and give you nothing at all.”
I stared hard at him. “I’m going to tell Colleen,” I said.