The Killer's New Wife

Ralph came back a few minutes later with a duffel filled with cash. He dropped it on the table in front of me. “You got any extra for an old working man?” he asked.

I laughed and that helped break some of the tension I felt. Ralph was a clever bastard and had some serious balls. I reached into the bag, took out a stack, and handed it to him.

He winked at me and tucked it into his waistband.

“What the fuck, Ralph,” Larry said. “That’s my money, you fucking bastard.”

“And you don’t pay me enough,” Ralph said, shaking his head as he returned to his stool. “Messing with the goddamn Valentino family. They sent fucking Ewan and there you are, bitching about your money. You’re lucky you’re alive, you moron.”

Larry’s face turned crimson as Ralph settled himself and went back to looking at his phone.

I stood up and slung the bag over my shoulder. I nodded at Tara, and she followed me.

I lingered in the space between the table and the door and looked back at Larry.

“I’m going to say this once.” I watched him carefully, and he didn’t move, like he was afraid I’d change my mind and end his life at any moment. Which was probably smart of him, since I was considering it. “Pay the Don what you owe, or I’ll come back, and we won’t have a conversation next time. I will take great pleasure in ending your life.”

He nodded like a chicken eating worms. “I will. I’ll pay. As soon as I can.”

I turned and left. I felt like I had a rotten stink stuck up my nostrils as I got back into my car and threw the bag into the back. Tara got in the passenger side, and I peeled out, ripping into traffic.

Tara didn’t speak and I wasn’t ready to break the silence. I drove aggressively, but aimlessly, circling around the block with nowhere to go.

That was a punishment, all right. The Don knew how I felt about guys like Larry—and he knew it would piss me off to deal with that scumbag and not end his worthless life with prejudice.

“You want to talk about what happened back there?” Tara asked, and it surprised me. She didn’t sound so much afraid as curious.

I glanced at her and tilted my head. “What the fuck do you think happened?”

“You look upset, is all,” she said, biting her lip. She looked away, out the window to the brick houses that flashed past. “I don’t really understand who that man was in there or why you seem so upset about it.”

“That man was a lowlife piece of shit,” I said. “And I’m upset because I didn’t get to kill him.”

She shivered slightly as she shook her head. “That’s not it,” she said. “You could’ve killed him, if you really wanted.”

“You make murdering sound so easy,” I said. “What do you know about it?”

“I know you killed my dad and burned down my house,” she said, eyes turning hard. “So I don’t really think taking a life is all that much of a problem for you.”

I let out a wild, angry laugh. I was on edge and I knew it, but I couldn’t seem to calm myself down. The car screamed around a curve and I parked behind a truck with its four-ways on. I turned to face her, and put my arm around the back of her seat as I leaned closer. She shrank away slightly, and I showed her my teeth.

“You’re right, killing is easy for me. Killing your dad was particularly sweet, because your father is the same breed of fucked up as Larry. Did you even know that, or have you been living in your own little fairy-tale world?”

I heard the loathing on my tongue and wished I could stop. I knew I got like this sometimes when I was around guys like Larry. The world was unfair, and there was a twisted part of me that wanted to enact a form of revenge for all the women that couldn’t do it on their own—but the Don gave me orders not to make a mess with Larry, and instead I was frustrated, and I was taking it out on Tara.

“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” she said, eyes narrowed in anger. “But I want you to get the hell out of my face.”

I leaned closer. “Your dad sold girls, just like Larry.” I barked a single laugh when her mouth came open in defiance. “My god, you really didn’t know. Jermaine Donnelly was one of the most notorious girl smugglers in the city, and his own daughter didn’t even realize it. I knew the guy was good, but that’s something special.”

“You’re lying,” she said with venom. “He was an accountant. I saw him work on taxes.”