I wondered what she looked like now. So much time had passed. Was she still so thin? So fragile? Or had she filled out?
I imagined she had. Beautiful curves that I could touch. Taste. Breasts that would fill my hand when I grabbed them. But fantasies didn’t satisfy me like the real thing.
Another clang of the metal told me I had to move on. I had to leave her in my dreams. The only place she lived anymore with me. A fantasy.
I opened my eyes slowly, trying not to appear disturbed by the noise outside, but I knew that the guards were just trying to get my attention. It was always one of the guards trying to assert his power. Dumbass. I could own them in a second if I wanted to.
I was part of the Gioti family. No matter what the guards liked to believe, they didn't have full control over me, even if I was in jail. My father did. If he ordered a hit on somebody inside this prison, it would be my job to get it carried out, no matter the cost. If some stupid asshat guard tried to stop me, I’d have to take care of it, and quietly.
Luckily, my father hadn’t asked me to do any jobs lately. He just wanted me out of this hellhole. I didn’t think it was out of love or because he missed me—that wasn’t my old man’s style. I suspected it was mostly my mother putting pressure on him. She had convinced him that I deserved to be out, after all that I did for the family. The only reason I was in here was because of them, anyway.
But that was how it was in the Gioti family. You did as you were told.
I waited for the noise again, but instead, I just heard the sound of someone clearing his throat.
“Gioti, your lawyer’s here. Get your ass up.”
My lawyer? I wasn't supposed to have a meeting with him for another week. My parole hearing was next month, so there was no need for him to be here now. I wondered if this was some sort of message from my father. Shit, I hoped it wasn’t an ordered hit. While I was good at what I did, I didn’t want to risk fucking up my parole meeting.
“What the hell are you talking about, guard? My lawyer’s not coming today.”
I heard the keys jangling against the bars as he started to open up my cell. “Well, he's here now, so unless you want me to turn him away, I suggest you get your ass up and out here.”
I nodded as I wrapped my hand around the metal bedframe of the bunk above me and pulled myself up. I smiled at the empty bunk. I hadn't had to share a cell with anyone in a few weeks; I think they were scared to put anyone new with me. It wasn't my fault that the last guy had gotten a broken nose. If he hadn't been such a dick about taking up the mirror all the time, we wouldn’t have had a problem. I just let them know that taking up the mirror wasn’t going to help him with his looks.
The guard cleared his throat in annoyance.
“I'm coming, I'm coming.”
I turned around and stuck my hands behind me through the bars, which was the protocol. I knew he would have to cuff me, not that it mattered. If I really wanted to overpower this twerp, it wouldn't be that hard. All it would take was a swift knock to his head with my own, and he would be out like a light. It had been about a month since I'd last gotten tased, but I wasn't really in the mood to relive that experience right now. It wasn’t worth it to start anything with him. After he cuffed me, he attempted to assert his dominance over the situation and held me tightly by the uniform. You do that, bro, act like you’re the man. I didn’t really give a shit about this guard and his power pissing contest. All that I wanted to know was what my lawyer wanted.
I let my thoughts wander as we walked through the sterile halls. I hated the way this place smelled, like sweat and old piss. So instead, I thought about how she used to bake, how she and her mother would make pies and bring them in once a week. My favorite was the apple pie. I missed the warm, sweet aroma filling the office.
The office was where we held all the business. It was located under a strip club that the family owned. Growing up, I’d always gone with my father to the office; he wanted me to learn the family business when I wasn’t in school, so seeing naked women was never a new thing for me. The strippers didn’t take too much interest in me until I was in high school. That was when I finally filled out into my large frame. Several of the girls offered to teach me how to please a woman, and being a stupid high school kid, I took them up on their offers. Sure, those women were hot and always ready to go for a ride, but as I grew older, I realized that they were just assets of our family business. They weren't real people.
They certainly weren't Vienna.
As we walked the rest of the way to the conference rooms, I wondered what she was doing. Who she was with. Was she safe? I had spent hundreds of nights dreaming about her. Dreaming about what I would do when I saw her again. How I would take her and make her mine. It was one of the only things that kept me sane in this place. I would give anything to have those hazel eyes on me again.
2
Vienna
“Welcome to the Starlight, what can I get for ya?”
I said that same phrase at least fifty times a day. I hated working at a restaurant, but at least for the most part, people were nice. The smell of fryer grease on my clothes, however, I would still be able to smell once I was dead.
The elderly gentleman smiled up at me. “The regular, darlin’. You on your own today? It's busy in here.”
I scribbled down two eggs, white toast, and three slices of bacon on my waitress pad before I smiled back at him. “Yep it's just me. Leah will be in later though, so when you come back for dinner tonight, you'll see her.”
“Nope. It's Wednesday, I’ll eat at the senior center. Then we get to play bingo.”
Mr. Herman, I loved that old geezer. He always tipped the waitresses well, and he was sweet to us. Sweetness to a waitress could go a long way, especially in our diner. We treated him like family.
“That's right, I didn't even realize it was Wednesday. I'll get your breakfast for you.”
I brushed my hands on my apron as I walked into the back. “New order!” I yelled as I slapped my order paper down on the counter. “It's Mr. Herman's, so make it quick.”