Page 17

At the same time that Tamlyn was being dropped off at Strategic Services, Rosa Gennaro buzzed open the gate for two men who’d come to meet with her brother.

“Rosa, you look as beautiful as the last time I saw you,” Manny Kroger said as she let them inside.

He opened his arms to give her a hug, but she shoved him in the chest instead.

“That trick didn’t work in the past, and it doesn’t now,” she said.

Dominic Estrada snorted.

“Careful, Manny. She can still read you like a book.” He nodded his head to Rosa.

“Nice to see you again, ma’am.”

Looking like she would rather be doing anything else, she waved for them to follow her and led them into the dining room.

Ricky Gennaro stood as the trio entered, smiling.

“Dominic, Manny, it’s been too long.” He gave each of them a quick hug, then dropped back into his chair and motioned to the empty seats on either side of him.

“Sit, sit. If you’re hungry, Rosa can whip something up for you.”

“I’m good,” Dominic said, taking a seat next to Gennaro.

Manny dropped into the seat on Gennaro’s other side.

“If you have any of your famous chicken parm, I wouldn’t say no to it.”

“I don’t,” Rosa said.

“Then, um…”

She stared at him.

“I guess I don’t need anything, either.”

She flashed him a humorless smile and started to leave.

“Grab us some beers before you disappear,” Gennaro said.

She took an exasperated breath, then went into the kitchen.

Manny watched after her.

“She, uh, she ever get married?”

“Rosa?” Gennaro said.

“Came close once with a guy who worked for me.”

“What happened?”

“I caught him skimming.”

“Let me guess,” Manny said, chuckling.

“Instead of a wedding, you had a funeral?”

Gennaro didn’t laugh.

“Something like that.”

Rosa returned with several bottles and set them on the table in a clump, then left without a word.

“So, what’s with her?” Manny asked.

“She still hasn’t forgiven you?”

“Forgiven me for what?”

“Calling off her wedding. She seems mad.”

“That’s just Rosa being Rosa,” Gennaro said.

“She wasn’t like that back in the day.”

Gennaro narrowed his eyes.

“What’s it to you?”

Dominic jumped in.

“He was just curious. He didn’t mean nothing.”

Though Gennaro might not have known, Dominic was well aware of Manny’s decades-long obsession with Rosa.

He caught Manny’s eyes and made it clear he should drop it.

“Sorry, Ricky,” Manny said.

“I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just making conversation.”

“Next time you want to make conversation, find a better topic,” Gennaro told him.

“I will. For sure, for sure.”

The three of them had all started at Pinkie’s syndicate around the same time.

They’d also been three of the six people Pinkie had loaned out to Buono for the JFK heist.

Unlike Gennaro, though, neither Dominic nor Manny had familial ties to Pinkie, so they had not been let back in after they’d served their time.

The two men had survived by taking whatever freelance work they could get, including the occasional intimidation gig for Gennaro.

But even that had tapered off.

It had been nearly two years since Gennaro’s last call.

Gennaro popped open three bottles and handed them out.

“So, what’s this all about?” Dominic asked.

“You got a job for us?”

“Hell, yes, I do,” Gennaro said, grinning.

“The last job you’ll ever need.”

“That doesn’t sound ominous at all,” Dominic said.

Gennaro snorted.

“Still the cautious one, I see.”

“It’s kept me alive this long.”

“Whatever you’re planning, I’m in,” Manny said.

“I’ll do whatever you need.”

“Thanks, Manny. I knew I could count on you.”

“What kind of job are we talking about?” Dominic asked.

“Taking money from someone it doesn’t belong to.”

“How much money?” Manny asked.

“At least seven and a half.”

Dominic grimaced.

“Seven hundred and fifty thousand does not sound like retirement money to me. Especially if we have to split it three ways.”

“Speak for yourself,” Manny said.

“I’d be happy with two hundred and fifty grand.”

Gennaro smiled.

“Not seven hundred fifty thousand. Seven point five million .”

Both men stared at him, their mouths agape.

“You said ‘at least,’?” Dominic said.

“I’m thinking we can get double that, maybe even more.”

“Fourteen mil?” Manny said.

“Fifteen mil,” Dominic corrected him.

“Really?” Manny did some quick mental math and smiled.

“Oh, right. Fifteen.”

“We’re owed that much at least, but like I said, I think we can get more.”

“What do you mean ‘we’re owed’?” Dominic asked.

Gennaro leaned back.

“Gentlemen, I have found Johnny Fratelli.”

“Are you serious?” Dominic asked.

Gennaro nodded.

“One hundred percent.”

“Holy shit,” Manny said.

“And he still has all of Buono’s money?” Dominic asked.

“All of our money,” Gennaro correct him.

“And, yes. That and more.”

“So, where is he?” Manny asked.

“Right here in the city.”

“No way,” Dominic said.

“We looked everywhere.”

“That’s because we were looking for the wrong person,” Gennaro said, then told them about Fratelli changing identities, and how he had married an heiress worth close to half a billion.

“Buono’s money should have come to us after he died. That’s years of interest we’re due on top of the original seven and a half mil. Plus, I figure at least that much again as a screw-him tax for screwing us.”

Manny chuckled.

“I like that. Screw-him tax. Heh.”

“Who is he now?” Dominic asked.

Gennaro crossed his arms and sneered.

“Nice try, but that information stays with me until I know if you’re in or not.”

“I already told you I’m in,” Manny said.

“Do you have a plan?” Dominic asked.

“Of course I have a plan,” Gennaro said.

“Let me guess. That’s something else you’re not sharing until you know if I’m in.”

“Smart man. So? Are you?”

Dominic stared at him for a second, then nodded.

“I’m in.”

After Dominic and Manny left, Gennaro grabbed another beer and settled into his recliner.

He hadn’t been this optimistic about the future in years.

Soon, he would be able to shed his old life and spend the rest of his days in a tropical paradise, sipping umbrella drinks and watching the waves.

Before his meeting with Dominic and Manny, he’d been thinking he’d demand twenty-five million from Jack Coulter and settle for twenty.

Now, he was beginning to think he should start higher.

Forty million, maybe, or even fifty, and settle for nothing less than thirty.

Not that he’d let Dominic and Manny know that.

He’d make them think they were going to split twenty mil.

The rest would go straight into his pocket.

He was in the middle of daydreaming about his new life when the gate bell rang.

He checked the time.

It was eleven-fifteen.

Rosa never lifted a finger for him after ten.

The bell rang again.

Annoyed, he climbed out of his chair and went to the intercom.

He was thinking it was probably Dominic and Manny coming back to ask a stupid question, but when he checked the security camera feed, the face staring back at him was that of the guy who’d hired Gennaro to rough someone up the previous week.

What was his name?

Steve?

No, Stefan something or other.

He pressed the intercom button.

“What?”

“Mr. Gennaro?”

Gennaro saw no reason to respond.

After a couple seconds, the guy said, “It’s Stefan Howard. You did a job for me last—”

“I know who you are. What do you want?”

“I want to hire you again.”

“Do you realize what time it is?”

“Oh, um, yeah. Sorry about the late hour. I just need a few minutes of your time.”

Gennaro considered telling him to go away, but Stefan seemed like the kind of guy who would keep coming back until he’d been heard out.

“You’ve got three minutes,” Gennaro said, then unlocked the gate and headed to the front door.

His plan was to let Stefan talk, tell him no, and send him on his way.

He let Stefan in and shut the door behind him.

“Well?”

“Can we go somewhere we can sit?” Stefan asked.

“Right here is fine.” Gennaro looked at his watch.

“You’re down to two minutes.”

“Wait. You said I had three.”

“You keep arguing with me, you’ll see how fast those last two minutes can disappear.”

Stefan raised his hand.

“Not trying to argue.”

“Then what do you want?”

“There’s someone else I need roughed up.”

“You seem to have a lot of people you don’t like.”

“It’s not like that. This guy’s a real piece of work and needs to be taken down a few pegs.”

“Wish I could help you, but my services are all booked up right now.”

“I’ll pay you double what I did last time,” Stefan pleaded.

“It’s not a money thing. It’s a manpower issue. And I ain’t got it right now.”

“How long until you do?”

Gennaro put an arm around his shoulders.

“Look, Stephen—”

“It’s Stefan.”

“Right, sorry. Stefan, you seem like a decent enough guy. So, I’m going to give you a piece of advice. If you come to someone like me, and that someone says no, you say thank you and leave. You don’t want to annoy us. That would only turn out bad for you. Understand?”

“I understand. I really do. But Barrington is a—”

Gennaro stiffened.

“Who?”

“Stone Barrington. He’s the guy I want you to deal with.”

Stone Barrington was also the guy who’d had lunch with Jack Coulter, and whose phone had helped Gennaro connect Coulter to Johnny Fratelli.

Gennaro did not want to cross paths with him again, let alone rough him up one more time.

It was too risky.

The problem was, he couldn’t let Stefan find someone else to do the job, either.

Whoever he hired might screw up, prompting the police to arrest Stefan.

He seemed like the kind of guy who wouldn’t hold up well under questioning.

He would give Gennaro’s name in no time.

Gennaro had too much going on right now to take that chance.

He patted Stefan’s shoulder.

“I apologize for snapping at you. You caught me at the wrong moment. I hope you can forgive me.”

“Of course.”

Gennaro steered him toward the living room.

“Let’s have a beer, and you can tell me about your problem. If I can work you into my schedule, I will.”

“You will?”

“Absolutely. And if I can’t make that happen, then I’ll pass you on to someone I trust. How does that sound?”

“That would be great.”

They entered the living room and Gennaro gestured to the couch.

“Have a seat and I’ll grab us some beers. You do like beer, right?”

“Sure.”

“I’ll be right back.”

As soon as Gennaro was out of sight, his smile disappeared, and he let out a breath.

Disaster averted, for the moment anyway.

He took two bottles of beer from the fridge, put his smile back on, and returned to the living room.

“One thing,” Stefan said after Gennaro handed him a bottle.

“I’ll be out of town from Thursday night until Tuesday morning. It would be great if it could happen while I’m away.”

“I can’t guarantee anything, but I’ll do my best.”

“That’s all I can ask.”

Gennaro held his bottle out, and Stefan clinked his against it.