Page 124 of Forgotten Comeback

“Jesus Christ, Papà’s not going to give a shit about that,” Dante says, panic in his voice.

“He won’t,” Luciano agrees.

“He’s out with Mama at the club. Let’s go see him there and come clean,” Dante begs.

Luciano shakes his head. “He doesn’t publicly acknowledge us. That’d be the worst thing we could do.” He’s silent for a beat. “Here’s the story we’re going with if Papà finds out: tell him that Gus was making moves on you, Rocco.”

“What kind of moves?” I ask.

“Like moves moves. Tried to kiss you, and you protected yourself. And then, Dante and I stepped up and protected our little brother.”

“That’s a worse fucking plan than going to the club.” Dante snorts. “Gus landed more pussy than a fighter jet pilot. Papà isn’t going to buy that one.”

The two of them bicker back and forth as we pull up to a red light. A flashy car with blacked-out windows pulls up beside us, the window rolling down.

“Go!” I shout when I see the barrel of a gun.

Luciano peels out as shots are fired, and I hit the deck. Glass rains down on my head as I’m tossed around the floorboard like a fumbled football.

“I know that car! That was Gus’ partner from the boxing club,” I tell them, climbing back into the seat, shaking off the glass shards.

“Fuck,” Luciano barks as we barrel down the street, making a series of turns to lose them. “That forces our hand. We’ve gotta come clean. Rocco, you’re gonna tell Papà that you sparred with Gus and accidentally killed him, and then everyone turned on you, so you protected yourself.”

“Yeah, alright.”

We arrive at the club and hustle to the back door where a soldier stands guard. “Run along, boys.”

“We need to speak to the boss.”

He chuckles. “Sure you do, kid.” Moving his jacket, he flashes a gun by his side. “Run along.”

We return to the vehicle, huddling together. “We could call Mama, and see if she’ll let us in,” Dante says.

“You know she’s not going to answer.” But Luciano grabs his phone and calls her anyway, hanging up when his prediction proves true. “Let’s go home and wait.”

We get into the vehicle, a heavy silence hanging around our necks like a noose.

“I’m gonna get us killed.” Tears stream down my cheeks, and I angrily swipe them with the back of my hand.

“Nah. We’ll figure this out,” Luciano says with authority, and I nod, desperate to believe him.

We drive out of the city for a bit to lose any tails before returning home.

Pulling into the garage, Mama’s there to greet us, and she’s pissed. “What the hell is this?” she screeches as we step out of her vehicle.

“We ran into a little trouble,” Luciano starts.

“A little trouble? Is this what got your papà so upset he canceled our date?” She fumes.

Luciano and Dante exchange a silent glance.

“Where did he go?” Luciano asks her. “We need to talk to him.”

Mama slaps him upside the head. “Do not ever touch my car again. You boys will pay to have this window fixed.”

“Yes, Mama,” we say in unison.

She storms inside, and we all sigh a breath of relief.