Page 15

I wasn’t sure why I’d decided to make dinner for Quincy. Coming back to the empty apartment and him being gone had felt… odd. Especially because I had really wanted to talk to him. The meeting I had with my brothers was different than anything I could have expected. Better. They all seemed to be proud of me for breaking in and stealing, two things my mother would have whacked me over the head for. Not that she was wrong, I knew I was a criminal, but still. They accepted me.

At least as far as I could tell.

Nervousness still wrapped around my spine and shot up and down it. Did they accept me? Before, I wouldn't have given a shit. Or maybe I had just been telling myself that from the start. The truth? I was always looking for some place to belong. My greatest wish had been to find friends that would want to be around me or a family that was normal and happy.

I hadn't gotten either of those things. But this? It seemed like a way I might be able to move forward. I'd tried to put them behind a wall, to keep myself safe from them, but today it felt like something had changed.

I smiled thinking about Quincy’s words. If he was anyone else, I wouldn’t have shared how I felt about the meeting or how much I wanted to belong somewhere. Anywhere. But he’d encouraged me. Supported me.

Maybe he wasn’t such an asshole after all.

"I'm home!"

My head shot up, pulling me out of my thoughts as Quincy walked into the apartment. He stopped in the doorway and inhaled deeply, his eyes going wide before they fell on me. He tilted his head.

"Wow, it actually smells good in here."

I blinked at him. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Quincy grinned as he shrugged off his coat, revealing a bright green button up that was open. Underneath was a soft blue shirt paired with a darker blue set of slacks. His shoes incorporated every single color he had on, even the pink from his hair. Call me crazy, but Quincy’s colorful wardrobe was actually starting to look good. Only on him. No way was I trading in my all-black aesthetic.

"I'm just surprised the place isn't nearly burned to the ground, that's all."

I huffed. "That's all, huh?"

He moved to me quickly, closing the space between us as his hand caressed my cheek. "Don't be upset, baby girl. I'm just fucking with you."

The warmth of his hand was almost comforting. After the day I'd had, I was way more in my feelings than I had ever been before. I was softer. The rational part of me knew that I should walk away and compose myself, but I missed my mother comforting me. I craved a gentle touch that would soothe all the turmoil inside. As I leaned into him, I remembered who the fuck I was cuddling up to and yanked myself back.

"Go fuck yourself," I snapped. "Now you can starve."

I turned on my heels and walked back over to my cooking. On the stove were the steaks that were just about done. I'd also made a salad and some homemade mashed potatoes. I wasn't sure if those things went together, but my mother and I never had any rules. Whatever was in front of us, went together. It was better than starving, that was for sure.

"Ah, come on," Quincy protested as I took up my spot in front of the stove and flipped the steaks over again. I added some butter and thyme to the pan before arms wrapped around my waist. "It does smell fucking amazing. God, I could use a good meal after today."

My back stiffened. The swirl of emotions in the pit of my stomach wouldn't stop moving. I sucked in a shuddering breath before I focused on the food in front of me.

"What happened? Are you okay?"

Quincy was quiet for a minute, the sound of his breath rushing against my ear the only thing that filled the silence. Sparks danced over my skin as his hand shifted inside my shirt and up my abdomen. He laid his palm against my stomach and sighed softly. I could hear the exhaustion in his voice.

"Quincy? What’s wrong?" I asked, knowing that for once, I actually gave a bit of a shit about how someone felt.

"Nothing," he answered before he slowly peeled away from me. "When is dinner done?"

I hesitated before I glanced over my shoulder. Quincy had an odd expression on his face as he stepped back and stared at the ground. I was used to the confident, crazy, asshole that I had met. However, this guy looked different.

"Quincy?"

He glanced up and the worries melted from his face before his lips cocked into a smile. "Yeah, doll?"

I stared at him, unsure of how to go forward. My day had been relatively good, but for some reason, I couldn't shake the feeling that his had been hell. I could also see he wasn't willing to talk about it.

"I just have to put the steaks on the cutting board to rest and then I can make our plates. Find us a movie to watch. I don't want to have to scroll forever while we argue about it."

He grinned. "It's not my fault you have shit taste in movies."

I rolled my eyes. 'Yeah, sure. I'm the one with shit taste."

Quincy's lighthearted chuckle filled the air as he disappeared into the living room. There was definitely more about him than what met the eye, but I just couldn't put my finger on it.

As I put cups on the counter and filled them with ice, I froze. There was a letter on the floor. I picked up the paper, and stared at the red box on top. A shut off notice. But not for our place. The amount was staggering. Etta Adachi. Quincy’s last name.

Is this someone who’s related to him?

I trailed my fingers over the name and frowned. Whatever had happened there, it put Quincy on edge. Maybe he would want to talk about it later.

Once the steaks had rested, I sliced them and piled them alongside mashed potatoes and the salad that I'd made. Quincy pulled the plate to him as soon as it was handed over and slapped the couch cushion beside him. I had no idea how he'd gotten a new one so quickly, but I was grateful for it. At least we could eat in the living room and watch a movie together.

"Holy fuck!"

I jumped before I turned to stare at Quincy. He shoveled more potatoes into his mouth along with several pieces of steak. The groan that left his lips stoked a fire in me.

He likes my food.

The pride that filled my belly was a rare feeling. My mother was the only one that had ever given me that before. Okay, well once upon a time Cesare too, but it had been ages. I smiled as I stabbed a piece of steak.

"Glad you like it."

"I love it, Blake."

My heart squeezed as I turned to stare at him while he muttered a string of Japanese I couldn't even begin to understand. I was used to the nicknames; baby girl, doll, whatever new one he came up with for the day. But Blake? Just him saying my real name made fireworks light up inside of me.

What the hell is my problem?

The clicking of the tumblers was music to my ears. As each cylinder slid into place, I felt myself becoming more giddy.

"You sure you know what you're doing?" Giancarlo whispered entirely too loudly.

"Yes," I hissed back. "Now be quiet."

Paolo chuckled. "He's so bossy with you."

Gin grinned. "I'll kill ya both."

No, I was going to kill both of them if they didn't shut their damn mouths. While I loved their bullshit, when I was trying to break into stuff, I was completely focused. I'd never excelled in school. Had never actually excelled in anything. But stealing? I could do that.

"There it is," I whispered as it clicked into place. I stood and stared at the twins. "You two stay here."

"You sure?" Paolo asked.

I nodded. "Benito told me to get the information on these guys. I should do it."

Gin whistled. "Look at you. The newest member of the Vitales, all grown up." He glanced at Paolo. "He is a Vitale, right?"

Paolo shrugged. "Not yet, but Benito's working on it."

I frowned. "What the hell does that mean?"

"It means you're gonna get a new last name," Paolo said. "One with all the perks of being one of us."

One of us. That sentence shouldn't sound so good, but it did. The smile that tugged at my lips was quickly wiped away.

What are these assholes doing to me? I'm not supposed to get this close.

I'd tried to maintain my cool, calmness, but it was slowly slipping away. The more I was in New York, the less I recognized myself. Who was I becoming?

"Look at him," Gin teased. "He's about to pee his pants from happiness. I'll remind Benito to finish filing the paperwork."

"For my name change?" I asked.

"Yep." He slapped me on the back. "Now, go rob these sons of bitches. We'll keep lookout."

As I was turned around and shoved into the house that I had just broken into, my chest tightened and squeezed. This was the real deal. Benito had made it clear that this house belonged to one of the men our father had brought over with him. We didn't know what they wanted or what they were up to, but it was my job to find out.

I moved through the house silently, my mind still on the fact that they wanted me to change my last name. My mother had always been the most important person in my life, but her last name meant nothing. Vitale? It meant everything. I could rescue her from the life we'd lived all these years. There was a chance for us to have something better than we ever had before. The only problem was that I kept imagining she would be disappointed if I took the name Vitale.

God, I really wish I could call her.

I wasn't sure how much longer I could do the whole not talking to my mother thing. There were burners, other points of contact, hell, smoke signals. I couldn't live without her kind words or warm touch much longer or I would lose my mind.

Focus! We have important shit to do!

I made my way to what appeared to be an office. Inside, there were stacks of documents. One look told me all I needed to know; this guy, Lucenzo, was clean on the outside. But how pristine would he be inside?

My hands trailed over the desk, the bookcase, and finally the floor. I stopped when my nails caught on a slot. It was just thin enough to shove something long and skinny inside. When I searched the desk, I found a paperclip and opened it until I had the perfect tool. I jammed the silver into the hole and the door sprang open, revealing a safe with a digital keypad on it.

"Good shit."

I examined the lock itself. The thing wasn't fancy, in fact, it was cheap. That was good for me. I didn't bother working on the keypad. Instead, I took out a pocket knife and cut around it until the thing popped out. As soon as I severed the wires, the screen blinked out, and I grinned.

"Piece of cake."

I popped open the safe and yanked out the papers that were buried inside. Thank God it was nowhere near as sturdy as the one in Benito's office. After glancing over everything for a few minutes, I knew they were the right ones. The documents were all about the Vitales. Newspaper articles, finance reports, police statements.

Someone was watching them very closely.

I slipped everything into my bag before I decided to take a look around. These people didn't look rich; their house was nothing if not an ordinary suburban one, but tucked in the back of drawers and closets were some pretty nice pieces of jewelry. Apparently, they couldn't resist the good life. We had that in common.

"Hey!"

I jumped and dropped the watch I had been examining. Just like that, I was staring at a man that was twice my size, both in height and weight. He looked as if he could fold me in half and crush me. As he reached inside of his jacket, however, I got the feeling I was going to get a bullet between the eyes first.

"Who the fuck are you?" he asked, his Italian accent thick.

"Nobody!"

I turned on my heels and ran back the way I came. As soon as I did, there was another man standing there, staring at me as if I had two heads. Shit, shit, shit! Yeah, this was not going to plan. I swallowed thickly before I reminded myself to stay calm, to think about the rooms I had just seen. An idea formed in my head, and I ran for the stairs.

"Stop him!"

"I'm going!"

The sound of heavy footsteps pursuing me made my heart squeeze in my chest. I dove into the bathroom and slammed the door before I threw the lock. The sound of a meaty fist jiggling and tugging at the doorknob almost made me shit my pants. Instead, I dropped down and started looking for what I needed. They weren't going to be so nice after a while. And if they got ahold of me, I doubted things would end as simply as a bullet wound. They would want to know who I was, what I was doing there. I'd watched way too many movies to know that I wouldn't survive a single moment of torture. I would roll over so fast, it would be impressive. And then what? Benito and the rest of my brother's really would kill me.

"The little shit locked the door!"

I grabbed a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a bath towel. Dropping it in front of the door, I doused the cheap looking black fabric until it was soaking wet. I took out my lighter, but I wasn't stupid enough to get anywhere near that and light it. Instead, I found a little bowl of cotton balls and a container of vaseline.

Perfect!

"Shoot the fucking lock!"

Yep, I was all out of time. I sat a handful of vaseline covered cotton balls on the floor, lit them, and stared for a second mesmerized by the flame that roared to life. For a moment, I was transfixed. There was always something so soothing about fire.

A gunshot and the smell of gunpowder snapped me back to reality. I kicked the wad of vaseline soaked cotton balls and watched as the towel went up in flames quickly.

"You smell that? Is something on fire?"

"Shit, that's smoke. What the hell is he doing in there?"

I grinned as I opened the window. The wind that rushed in only fueled the flames, but that wasn't my problem. I climbed out and carefully made my way around until I could drop down to the roof over the garage. It was low enough, I could jump down, right?

Staring at it, I contemplated my next move when someone hissed at me from the darkness. "The fuck are you doing up there?"

Giancarlo looked truly confused. A grin tugged at my lips. Being able to confuse a guy like him felt like some kind of accomplishment. Paolo appeared beside him.

"Get the hell down from there," Paolo added.

"I'm trying to," I groaned. "It's really high up."

The sound of sirens pierced the air. They were still a ways away, but pretty soon they would be right on top of us.

"Someone called the damn fire department," Gin groaned. "Look what you did!"

"I didn't have a choice! They were going to kill me."

He waved a hand. "Yeah, yeah, crybaby. Jump!"

I swallowed hard. "That's really easy for you to say when you're standing on the ground!"

"Do it, pussy!"

"Yeah, do it." Paolo laughed. "You gonna stay up there and get arrested?"

"You bastards better help me," I snapped.

"Hurry up!" Gin growled.

I noticed he didn't confirm or deny the helping me out part. Swallowing hard, I turned around and took a deep breath. Can't believe I'm doing this shit. This is so damn stupid! No matter how much I told myself that, I knew there was no way out of this. I laid down and shimmied over the side. As my feet dangled, I started to lower myself bit by bit until I was holding on to dear life and stuck.

"Help!" I yelped.

Hands wrapped around my ankles and yanked. I let out a very high pitched shriek as I fell on top of the twins. Both of them groaned as I stared up at the sky wondering how the hell this had become my life.

"You trying to kill me?" Gin grunted. "Get off!"

"Seriously, you're a lot heavier than you look," Paolo added.

I shot up. "You assholes pulled me down!"

"What were we supposed to do? Push?" Gin stood up and yanked me to my feet as the sirens grew closer.

Soon, there would be people standing outside of their houses, wondering what was going on. That came with nosy neighbors. Nosy neighbors who would be witnesses to three men, dressed in all black, hanging outside of a burning building. Great.

"Go, go, go!" Paolo said, shoving me forward.

We took off in a dead sprint. As soon as we were around the corner, I dove into the backseat of the waiting car while Paolo and Gin took the front. We stayed still until the firetruck flew past. As we pulled out of the alley and headed back toward the city, I glanced behind us. The house fire I'd started, so simple and small, was now raging.

I sighed wistfully. I love it when things burn.

"You start that fire?" Paolo asked.

I turned to him and shrugged. "Maybe. I had to give them a distraction."

Gin grinned at me in the rearview mirror. "It's a very nice distraction."

I puffed out my chest, falling into the praise that was given to me. Honestly, it felt good to be told I wasn't a waste of space or that I would never go anywhere in life. Ex's had said it, my teacher's had said it, hell even what bits of my mother’s family she still talked to. The only person that always said I would do amazing things was my mother. Maybe this wasn't what she had in mind, but it felt like I had found where I was supposed to be.

"You get any info?" Paolo asked, his eyes examining me closely.

I reached into the crossbody bag that I'd brought with me and pulled out the documents. There were a few pieces of jewelry and things as well. Even a brick of cocaine that had been inside of the safe.

"Can I keep the jewelry?" I asked.

Paolo raised a brow. "Tell you what, I'll sell that brick and I'll fence that jewelry so you don't have to worry about it. Whatever profit you make, you get to keep. Except the coke. That's our fee for not letting you get pinched tonight."

I frowned. "Hey, that's not fair!"

"Life ain't fair." Gin laughed. "But that's the deal. Take it or leave it."

I huffed, but I didn't really feel the displeasure that I was showing. "Fine, fuck it. Better than nothing."

"Smart man," Paolo said.

I leaned back against the seat and tried to hide the grin on my face. Was this what it was like to have a big family? I loved it. My thoughts drifted to Quincy and I felt even more confident. I knew he was struggling right now, at least this job would help. I could pay him back for letting me stay there and slip a little extra to him.

Just because.

I didn't want to look too closely at why I wanted to give anyone my money when I was a cash hoarder. I reasoned with myself that he was nice to me, mostly, so why not help out?

My stomach twisted as reality tried to slap me in the face. Instead, I pushed those wandering thoughts away and focused on the streetlights as they zoomed by.

I wonder what Quincy's doing.