The Family : The Spitfire Book 4 Page 7

  “Who?”

  “Triad.” I hung up the phone with ice in my veins.

  I didn’t say shit and the atmosphere in the car was volatile. Both Tony and Mikey’s phones were ringing off the hook as we raced through the streets.

  We got there in five minutes by breaking the speed barrier and every law in the city ordinance. I give a fuck.

  The scene I walked up on was not one that I was accustomed to. Ma looked like she’d been in a scuffle of some sort and my sisters looked scared and pissed.

  It was the protective way ma was hovering over my woman though, that drew my attention. “Mouth what the fuck?” I knelt down on the sidewalk beside her, looking her over for any sign of trauma.

  “What the fuck happened?”

  “I didn’t catch him the little bastard.”

  “Didn’t catch who?” Her security team who she had bitched about to the point that I had given in and let her go shopping in a separate car with the girls were in formation behind her, while the boys saw to their women.

  “Start at the top.” They all started talking at once and I was barely able to keep up with the ringing in my ears.

  “She might need the doctor Shane, she shouldn’t have ran like that. Are you bleeding Arianna?” Ma patted her down.

  “I don’t think so, the baby’s okay Shane I promise.”

  Ma’s words left me cold and the look of fear in Arianna’s eyes almost ended me. “You hurt baby? Tell me you’re not hurt.” That’s it; she’s never leaving the house again without a fucking regiment.

  “I don’t think I’m bleeding or anything but, maybe for the baby...” My kid? I snatched her up and headed for the car. “Get everyone moving now. Take us to Memorial General.” The twins were already in motion.

  I held her on my lap and forced her head down on my shoulder. “Shane I don’t think...”

  “Shut up Ari, you can talk later after we know that everything is okay.” I couldn’t think about shit else but the baby and what might be wrong. From what little I’d gathered, someone had snatched ma’s purse and knocked her down, and Mouth had gone after him.

  I don’t know much about pregnancy, but I’m pretty sure running full out on a busy city street was a no-no.

  “I’m sorry Shane, I wasn’t thinking.” I looked at her to let her know I wasn’t mad at her, but I was scared as fuck out of my mind.

  As soon as we pulled up to the hospital I was out the car with her held tightly in my arms. I rushed by the asshole nurse that looked like she was about to ask me stupid shit and went in search of the nearest empty room.

  “Mob boy, you’ve got to calm down, they have to check me in.”

  “Fuck that. Find my dad.” I sent one of the twins on the hunt while a nurse an orderly and security came into the room.

  “Sir, you can’t...”

  “Shane Flanagan, my father runs this shit, my woman is pregnant and was running, fix it.” I know that shit came out disjointed, but they got it well enough, if the way they sprang into action was any indication.

  They wanted me out of the way; I pulled my piece. I was not in the mood for niceties and bullshit. Dad came on the double and took over shit, which is what I’d wanted in the first place. “Put that thing away son and tell me what’s going on.” I didn’t even realize I was still holding my piece. I put it away now and told him what happened. After he was reassured that ma and his daughters were okay he looked at Mouth who’d remained quiet throughout the whole ordeal.

  Since he didn’t know fuck all about pregnant women either, he had them page someone who did stat. Mouth was being way too quiet and I was barely hanging on by a thread.

  I could hear the others arriving outside the door, but didn’t want to leave her side, so I stayed with a million and one questions running through my head.

  Why the fuck, are these fucks messing with my shit now? And why had they gone after ma? This was the first time anything like this had ever happened. Not many people knew my family. Like the Rossis, we tend to shield the women of the family to avoid shit like this.

  The OBGY what the fuck marched into the room giving out orders. She wanted me to leave, I told her to get fucked. “Michelle, this is my son and his fiancée, it’s best if you just proceed.” She looked like she wanted to argue, but my ‘don’t fuck with me look soon had her backing down.

  She muttered some shit about not being able to do her job properly yadda-yadda-yadda, but that shit fell on deaf ears. She did her thing and looked like she knew what she was talking about. “Who is she?” I whispered the question to dad as we watched her handle Mouth and her shit.

  If I was bad, Mouth was worst, she gave that poor woman so much lip that I was beginning to feel guilty for giving her shit when she first came in. Mouth isn’t exactly the most genteel patient if you know what I mean.

  “Arianna quit acting like a brat and let the woman do her job.”

  “She’s poking me, that shit hurts.” Mouth looked like she was out for blood. I better warn her off before we find the good doctor in an alley somewhere pinned to the damn wall.

  “So far she seems fine, but I’ll need to do a full examination to be sure.” She looked over her glasses at me but I ignored her ass. “Dad, ghost.” He grinned and left the room shaking his head.

  “Michelle I’m leaving my grandson in your care, make sure he’s okay.”

  “Grandson, how does he know what it is? You can’t tell right?” I rolled my eyes when she all but grabbed the poor woman by the lapels of her smock.

  “No dear, it’s just a figure of speech I imagine.” She had to get undressed and shit so the doc could do her thing, and I held her hand more to protect the unsuspecting female in the room than anything else.

  Mouth’s dander was up and since she hadn’t been able to catch whoever had done the snatch and run, she was looking for an outlet. “You’re a feisty one aren’t you?” I raised my brows when the doc grinned at Mouth after asking her question.

  “I can feel you’re strung tight as a bow.” Oh shit. Mouth didn’t even blink and I was trying to figure out how the fuck we were gonna get out of that room if she broke this woman’s neck.

  “Figure of speech babe, hey eyes on me.” She was actually looking at this woman like she was trying to figure the best way to do her. There had to be some drug or some shit they could give her that would mellow her ass out until the baby came.

  She seemed worse now that the kid was in her, and I couldn’t help but wonder if her hormones were out of whack. That’s all I need, for her murdering ass to become even more of a pain in the ass because her body was going nuts.

  “Where’s my kid?”

  “Fuck!” her pain in the ass old man was here, which meant so was the uncle and poppy. The three fucks have been incognito for the last day or so thank fuck. Then again I had no idea what fuckery they were up to that I was gonna have to clean up later.

  “You better get out there Shane before they disrupt the whole place.”

  “I’m not leaving you with a complete fucking stranger, are you bent?”

  “Don Carlucci, just stick your head out the door and tell them I’m okay.” She rolled her damn eyes at me, but I didn’t budge.

  In the end the doc stepped away from the table and did the honors when the noise was getting to be too much.

  “This is a hospital gentlemen, you’re gonna have to tone it down or I’m gonna have to ask you to leave. My patient needs peace and quiet right now thank you.”

  She walked back into the room like she hadn’t just scolded three of the biggest murdering fucks this side of the Mississippi.

  “What the fuck?” That sounded like the uncle.

  “I like it, spicy.” Poppy was on the prowl.

  “Dad, I forbid you to go anywhere near any member of my staff.” Wrong move dad, that’s like waving a red flag in front of a bull.

  10

  Prince of The City

  In the end it turned out she was okay and so was my kid
. Now all I had to do was find the hump that’d done this and end his ass. I took her home and put her to bed, which she bitched about no end, but I insisted. “Stay your ass in here and I hope you know this is the last time you’re going off anywhere by yourself.” I ignored her miserable ass and left to go see about getting her something to eat, and almost tripped after her damn family coming into my house.

  “How is she?” Her old man asked as soon as he saw me. Shit, now I gotta talk to this fuck.

  “She’s fine and hungry.” I whipped around at the sound of her voice. “Didn’t I put you to bed?” She rolled her eyes and headed for the fridge. Her dad and uncle hugged her and fretted over her like two old women and I had to grudgingly admit that though I may not agree with the way they’d raised her, they did love her. It was plain to see.

  She started pulling out bowls of leftover food like this was a party or some fuck. The others showed up not long after and I felt like a bastard because I hadn’t even given ma a second thought once I’d assured myself that she was okay at the scene.

  Damn! This one’s got my head turned all the way around. Nothing was said while ma and my sisters were here. The focus was on Arianna and the baby and as much as I appreciated it, I knew if I didn’t get them out of here soon my little fruitcake was going to flip her shit.

  The doc was right. My woman was strung so tight it was a wonder her feet still touched the ground. She put up with all the fuss they made over her but I could tell she was growing uncomfortable. The Rossis were pissed as they should be, but I could tell that they too were chomping at the bit.

  Ma didn’t hang around for too long, just long enough to reassure herself that Mouth and the baby were okay. She left thinking that it was just a random incident, her only interest in cancelling her cards and shit and getting new ID. I let Tony and Mikey take their wives home and had a word with the twins who were kicking themselves in the ass for what happened, but we all knew whose fault this was; mine. I should never have let her out of my sight. Not with shit being this hot.

  Once the coast was clear poppy and his two sidekicks got down to business. “We’ve got a bit of a problem Shane. It seems everyone wasn’t too happy with the ways things ended after the last meet. We’ve been keeping track of things the last few days.” He pointed at Alphonso and Rossi who nodded in agreement.

  “Poppy I thought I told you to stay out of it.” The old man had been well on his way out of the city once he’d handed over the reins to me. But now with his old pals in the picture he didn’t seem too interested in leaving.

  “Never mind that now son. It’s a good thing I didn’t leave. We’re here to help. We know these men better than you do; we’ve known them for years. Don’t think that because some of the old dons are gone that they’re not still in this thing. They’re still instructing the young and they have their own way of dealing with something like this. We three can beat them at their own game.”

  “I don’t know poppy…”

  “Look, you’re legit now. We did a good job of getting rid of anything that could come back to trip us up and my friend here did the same. We made a promise to each other years ago as young men. Things didn’t quite work out like we’d planned, but providence brought our families together nonetheless and at a time when we could even contemplate a move like this. Time was you even thought of pulling out you’d be dead before the thought had a chance to form.”

  The other two nodded their heads in unison. “Together you two wield a lot of power, that power might have come from unclean hands but you have the opportunity to take it to the next stage for your kids and your grandkids. We’re already fucked so it’s only right that we be the ones to end this. You just concentrate on what you’re doing and let us handle the rest.”

  “What did you find out?”

  “It was that Fed that went over to Scarletti. We knew he was trouble. He and the congressman were cut from the same cloth so there’s really no surprise that he’s involved. The congressman’s taken care of.” He stopped and smiled at the mouthy one who was being quiet for once. Of course she’s all-ears when it comes to offing our enemies, but everything else she’s half asleep.

  I listened to all he had to say and knew he was right to a point, but I still didn’t like it. “I figured as much, but why go after ma?”

  “My guess is they found out who she is. They followed you from the club last night; they saw the women there.”

  “If that’s the case why not go after Mouth? They had to have seen us together and I’m sure it was obvious she’s mine.” Unless the fucks are blind as well as stupid!

  “That I cannot tell you. You were there Arianna, how did it go down?”

  “I saw him trailing us and moved next to Pia. Before I could alert the others he struck. Just grabbed her bag and…” She stopped talking and looked at me.

  “What?”

  “He could’ve been coming at me, I don’t know. My only thought was protecting your mother, but it all happened so fast. Zane yelled out and I was trying to move Pia out of the way and everything got chaotic.”

  “So you’re saying he could’ve been after you.” Well, that changes shit.

  Her dad and uncle seemed to have the same idea because they shifted in their seats and looked at each other. I need this shit.

  “So we’re agreed, the three of us will take care of this…”

  “I will not give you permission poppy, and you two know better than to start shit in my backyard. You disrespect me, family or not, I will deal with you.” The words were harsh but they needed to be said. I didn’t want my grandfather involved in this shit any more than I wanted her.

  “I don’t want to start another war, poppy. You three go out there guns blazing this shit will never end.” Why is everyone trying to fuck with my life? I’m trying to clean shit up and all everyone else seems to want is for things to stay the same.

  Poppy seems to want to relive his glory days. Mouth’s bloodthirsty ass is on board with anything that involves ending a motherfucker, and the two banes of my existence are down with whatever she wants. There was no doubting what side Mouth was on when she opened her mouth and gave her two cents.

  “I don’t see how you expected to just retire Nicky Scarfo. You think they’re just gonna let you walk? If we don’t get rid of them they’ll always be in your ass.” She said that shit like she was discussing the weather. I took offense at her latest insult too.

  “Why do you keep comparing me to that psychotic fuck?”

  “Er, if the gun rack fits…whatever, I say we finish it. I refuse to live the rest of my life looking over my shoulder.” She folded her arms and sat back in her chair.

  “Listen you murderous little … we’re going legit. From now on we’re gonna use our brains and not our guns or whatever the fuck else you can get your hands on to end some fuck. We have politicians, businessmen and anyone else that matters in our pockets to help make the way for that to become a reality. We start a war in the streets we’ll lose all that and all the progress I’ve made.”

  “Listen Don Costello, I never agreed to any of this happy shit.” I leaned over into her face until our noses touched. “You’ll do as I say Arianna or else.” Her brow went up and that mouth of hers popped open. “Shut it, not another word outta you.” She popped something in her mouth and chewed while looking me in the eye. Fucking nut!

  Her asshole father and uncle were snickering in the corner where they were filching my booze, while poppy was watching the two of us like he was at a tennis match. I’ma end these three fucks since they don’t serve any damn purpose other than to encourage her in her shit.

  “Poppy help me out here.” Fucker shrugged his shoulder at me. “Okay, the way I see it there’s a code here that’s being broken. Her old man sent her here for you to look after, is this how you repay an old friend?” I was reaching but my grandfather for all that he’s a fucking criminal has a moral code a mile wide. I knew hitting him there would get his ass.

 
“Boy’s got a point.” I had to keep him in my corner before he swayed, since hooking up with his old cutthroat buddies he’s kinda shifty. “I’m your grandson she’s carrying your great grandson, you have a responsibility here.” I pounded the last nail in that coffin.

  “Shut it mob boy…” I pointed my finger in her face and she tried to bite it off. “And for the record I’m no Costello, the fucks will never get me in front of a camera.” Uh-huh, that stumped her ass. I’ve been researching those names she keeps throwing at my head and now know they’re all the names of dead mob bosses; she’s a fucking hoot. If I call her ass Elizabeth Bathory she’d try to brain me though. That’s fair.

  “All the more reason to let us take care of it.” Uncle Al piped in. “I’m with the kid. We can’t leave any loose ends. Near as I can tell, you did everything you were supposed to. You paid who you owed, bought out who wanted to sell and treated everyone fairly. I think the deal here is that you didn’t leave anything for the others to pick over. The things you couldn’t turn you burnt. Some of those ventures were lucrative and could’ve made these men a lot of money.”

  “Al’s right. Their greed is behind this. It’s not so much that you want out, it’s that you’re taking everything with you, which of course you have every right to. It’s no secret that your family kept the others going for a long time. Without your clout and connections, they stand to lose a lot. Even with you out of the game, you still have a lot of influence and as a legitimate businessman even more. You have to understand how their minds work.”

  “I don’t have to understand fuck. We took what was ours. I gave them more than enough warning and even offered to help, which I was in no way obligated to do. They didn’t want any part of going legit, that was their call. Now that I’ve got my shit together they want in, fuck that.”