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Epilogue
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A Price to Pay Ricardo
I was at home, winding down in the library when my cell rang; I didn’t need to look at the name to know who was calling me this time of night. “Hijo,” Dad slurred as I picked up the phone.“Pa. You should be sleeping.”He chuckled, the same way he did whenever I told him to rest. “So should you. It’s past one. Anyway, I am in bed. I just wanted to remind you about tomorrow. The meeting.”I dipped my head. “Sure, no worries. Hasta mañana."“Buenas Noches.” Those were his last words before hanging up the phone. I looked at my Rolex and realized he was right; it was late, and not only should he be in bed, but so should I. Friday night, we had the same conversation for our meeting on Saturdays. We would have breakfast together in his sun lounge or sometimes in the garden, depending on the weather. The topics were always the same:How much money was owed to us?Who needed to be put in line?What was working well? In our business, this was a rarity. We tended to brush over anyone who fe
A Price to Pay Ricardo
In the room at one of our hideouts, I sat alone, consumed with grief and anger. We didn’t have many across the city, and we preferred them to be out of sight, but in Chicago, it was pretty hard to have hideouts in a city full of apartment blocks. So, we used one of the businesses we owned for cleaning money. The typical crap every mob king had, from restaurants to men’s clothing stores. A casino could have been added to the list, but then the damn feds would be on it like leeches. We preferred restaurants because there was nothing more satisfying than beating the crap out of someone and then having a good meal afterward. As much as I tried to erase the picture which kept flashing in my mind, I couldn’t even if a whole week had passed by, it still felt like yesterday. No amount of food, time, or drink could ever get rid of it. I stood as if a shot of lightning was being directed at the chair. I recalled Pa’s lifeless body lying in his bed. The man I loved more than myself was dead, an
A Price to Pay Adrianna
At my desk, uncomfortable as always, I tried to maneuver and find a way for my pencil skirt not to cling to every part of my body so I could respire properly. I was fine standing up, but I felt as if someone had a tight rope across my stomach the moment I sat down. I decided to look around to make sure no one was watching, so I could undo my button at the back and breathe without feeling as if I was suffocating. I sighed as my zipper naturally opened as I sat up a bit, and my stomach hung over my skirt.I closed my eyes, wondering why I kept punishing myself like this. I hadn’t put on a little weight, but a lot of weight, and the refusal to buy new clothes wasn’t an option anymore. This was the only skirt I could fit in this morning; as for the shirt, luckily it didn’t have buttons and stretched over my breasts. As for the matching suit-jacket, it couldn’t close. I didn’t need to close it anyway; I could walk around the office with it open, unlike my winter jacket, which I would wear
A Price to Pay Ricardo
Fuck!My knuckles cracked against his face. I’d told myself the only boxing I would do these days would be against a punching bag. I would change my ways and stop fucking hurting people. Six months ago, I’d had a widow turn up at my door with her child, claiming I’d killed her husband. I told her I didn’t do it, but what I didn’t tell her was I had ordered the hit on him. She was better off without him. The man had a woman in nearly every state and most likely more children, but it wasn’t my business to dig into her love life. No, I wasn’t any marriage counselor, for sure. But I did make a promise after seeing her son’s blue eyes swell with tears as his mom said, “This is the man who killed your father.”I promised to stop being the monster I’d been for so long, and try and value the life in front of me, unless I really had to put it to an end. Just like a leopard couldn’t change its spots, I knew that I was kidding myself by making such a promise.I knew even if he was a shit husba
A Price to Pay Adrianna
“Adrianna, sit. Carrie, you can go,” Mr. Gold demanded as he stood. He didn’t try to stall what was about to happen next. I looked around his ice-cold office, thinking maybe HR would pop up from somewhere, anywhere. But they didn’t. For now, we were alone as the sliding doors closed. Carrie left with a big smile on her face; no doubt she would reward him for getting rid of me. “Adrianna, I’m not going to beat around the bush. You know why you’re here?” he said as he slowly moved towards me, pointing at the sofa as if to tell me to sit. He didn’t come next to me straight away, but pressed a button and then out of the wall, a bar magically appeared. Had he watched some video on minimalism? Then decided the only way to have an office as cold as possible, was to make everything was in it appear from nowhere. Hidden, so no one could know what was truly in the office. I started to wonder if the sofa was hidden, and he pressed a button to make it appear. My mind wandered as I looked around
A Price to Pay Adrianna
I shuffled through my bag, which had been neatly waiting on a trolley and walked out of the elevator when it opened a moment later. I couldn’t believe my purse was there; someone could have taken it. Then again, there were cameras everywhere in this damn place. I sighed as I grabbed it, thinking I’d call Jen and tell her to meet me for lunch. No phone.Shit, of course!It was the company phone. I had gotten rid of my personal line trying to cut back on bills. It felt silly having a private phone when I could use work’s. Now, not only had I lost a cell, but all my numbers. Jen told me to back up my numbers from the time I cut my line, but I didn’t listen and the only number I knew by heart was hers.My pass wasn’t working as I got to the security gate to leave the building in my car, I considered embarrassing myself and telling security I’d been fired. I needed to get out of the building. Mr. Precious Gold had thought of everything else; why didn’t he let my pass work so I could leave
A Price to Pay Ricardo
I couldn’t go there directly, and not with so much fucking emotion running through my head. I couldn’t appear frail, not in this fucking business. I had to make a pit stop at home. It was the other side of town, but I didn’t give a fuck, they could wait. A quick shower and a change of clothes would set me straight. Right now, I was so fucking emotional. I still had Mario’s tears and cries running through my ears as if he was in the car with me. He’d stopped the moment I told him what his mom had done, when anger took over him. I couldn’t regret what I’d done; no, I couldn’t cave. My phone rang so I turned it off. I didn’t even feel like listening to the radio. What I needed was a shot of whiskey, the smoke of a cigar, and a shower and a change; then I’d be back to normal.“What the fuck!”I screamed out as the lights turned red and I did an unnatural stop. Someone was testing my patience today. My car jumped the lane as the car behind me bashed into me, and I swung the door open to s
A Price to Pay Ricardo
Another dead end!Fuck, this day was supposed to be a good one, giving up some positive leads. If I didn’t find my dad’s killer and take revenge, I was a dead man. Fuck, I could hear them already. He couldn’t even find his dad’s killer. He’s done. We should take him out. Either way, I would be taken out. Damned if I did; damned if I didn’t find the killer.I disturbed Jose as I wiped the blood off my hand and heard the whimpers from Pete’s throat. He was one of the lookouts on the North side. He worked for whoever was paying the better price. He was one of those types who had no real loyalty and was only interested in green. No one would miss him, so I knew I could get information out of him, and if I didn’t, then I could dump him, and his spot would be replaced in a heartbeat by the Lopez family. They preferred hiring their own, so realistically I was doing them a favor. Pete wasn’t as sharp as he used to be. The man should have been out of the business a long time ago. He was hit
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