Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 77205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
“It was just supposed to—“ Nero started.
“Shut your mouth,” Miko instantly demanded, tone cutting.
“Don’t give a fuck what it was supposed to be,” I said, shrugging. “That’s for Cosimo and Lorenzo to suss out. What I need is for you to stop fucking moving around,” I snapped when I noticed Nero stepping further into the room.
“Alright, easy,” another voice said, making us all turn to find Cosimo standing there, his gaze sliding from the bodies, to Nero, then finally to rest on Miko.
I wouldn’t pretend to understand what passed between them. Up until recently, my relationship with my step-brother had been strained to say the least. So I wasn’t good at reading his silent communication. Miko, though, was hearing him loud and clear, shaking his head, looking contrite.
Nero?
That fucker was inspecting his shoes.
“Okay. What do you need, Sil?” Cosimo asked, looking at me.
“I need junior over there to scrape under his fingernails into… this,” I said, grabbing a plastic bucket off the counter.“Then he needs to scrub the shit out of them in the bathroom sink, touching nothing but the door handle, the soap dispenser, and the faucet handle.”
“Okay,” Nero said, nodding.
“Then you will change into a suit I got in the car,” I told him. “And then wash the shit out of your hands again. Then, touching nothing, make your way outside and leave. Same for you, minus the hand washing,” I said to Miko. “Suit and everything.”
I could tell that part hurt.
It was no secret these mafia guys, they loved their suits. Miko, especially, with his old-school mobster air about him. Most of the Family could walk down the street and most people would think of them as lawyers, bankers, businessmen, that kinda shit.
Miko? If you saw him on the street? You’d immediately think mafioso. It was in the way he dressed, sure, but also the air about him.
“He will give you back your watch and cross,” Cosimo said. “He just takes that and cleans it. But the suit gets destroyed.”
To that, Miko nodded, knowing what had to be done.
“I’ll grab the other tubs for you,” Cosimo said, before turning to do just that.
It was so fucking quiet in the room, I swear I could feel the kid’s heartbeat kicking up, the way his stomach was sloshing around.
This was a big fuck-up for an associate.
And I imagined this loss of income was gonna be really substantial.
Though I imagined the neighborhood would breathe a sigh of relief, knowing their loans would be forgotten about this time.
Cosimo came back, setting my tubs on the floor, making the space even more cramped than usual.
“Did either of you go into the front of the shop?” I asked, glancing back at them.
“No,” Miko said.
“He asked you a question too,” Cosimo said, voice firm, almost fatherly, as he spoke to Nero.
“No. I was just back here. They let me in the back. There was a disagreement, then a struggle…”
“When did you come in?” I asked Miko.
“When it seemed to take too long,” Miko said.
“Tell me you didn’t have your phones on you,” I demanded, knowing how many times phones pinging cell towers brought people in on charges.
“No,” they both said in unison.
“Did you go into the office?” I asked Nero.
“No. Just Miko.”
“Touch anything outside?”
“Just the door,” Nero said. I didn’t bother to ask Miko, who I knew would have known better than to expand the crime scene.
“Alright then,” I said, going to a tote, pulling it open, and handing Miko a plastic bag with his wrinkled-ass suit in it. “You change. You, get to work on your nails. I demanded of Nero. “And you, step outside. I don’t need more evidence to worry about,” I told Cosimo.
If he took offense, he said nothing as he stepped outside, trusting Miko to keep control over things in his absence.
I watched Nero as he scraped under his nails, making sure he was doing a good enough job.
By the time he was done, Miko was changed, his suit in the bag that his spare one had been stored in.
“Where do you want the jewelry?” he asked, holding his cross and the watch.
“In the bag. I’ll get that back to you tomorrow or the next day, depending on how long this job takes,” I said. “Now go outside,” I demanded.
He wanted to argue, casting glances at his brother. But he did what he was told.
Technically, I had no power over any of these guys. I wasn’t in the Family the same way they were. Not really. But because of the speciality of my job, people listened. Because no one wanted to get locked up.
“I really fucked up, didn’t I?” Nero asked when he came back to start stripping out of his suit.
“Yeah,” I said, nodding. I wasn’t one to sugarcoat shit.
He made a big fucking mess.
I was losing sleep to cover it up for him.