The Don's Instructions
1640 Words
She didn’t let her face betray a single emotion but being stuck at Cap’s beck and call was going to be a pain in her arse. “My shifts at Skin?”
“Continue to work them. I’ll have the guys stop pulling you in to drive the overnights though until my son and his team are up to par. Ears to the ground,” he said leaning backwards his eyes on her.
“You want me to spy?”
“He doesn’t know you or the value you have in this organization. He’s going to think you’re a low level if you’re anything at all. I would much rather you be his first, but he’ll never give up Tulio. My goal then is for you to be his second, a far better choice than the moron Vinnie he has working for him now. We’ll make him see what you can do over the next little while. We’ll figure something out for Vinnie, but I’ll never let the little letch be second in this family. He’s a loose cannon and a liability. Cap’s been able to keep him under control in Italy, but this isn’t Italy.”
“Understood.”
“Cap has no idea of the work we’ve done over the last five years, Giada. Just do your job as the driver. Keep him safe,” he gave her a sharp nod, “and if you see anything which isn’t right, let me deal with it. Don’t tangle with him. He’s got a hate on for me right now and if he thinks you’re going to bat on my behalf he’ll come for you.”
“Yes sir.”
“Good,” he held a finger as if wanting to add more. “He’s an ass when it comes to women. His mother made him promise to never cheat on his wife.”
“He’s married?” This was news to her. How the hell had she missed this? Then her godfather’s next words corrected her misunderstanding.
“No. He’ll never be married because he thinks he can’t be faithful to one woman. He made a vow to his mother to never cheat on his wife. his workaround is screwing around with everyone and not being serious with anyone.”
She didn’t know what to say to this information, so she said nothing and waited for the man to speak again. He was quiet for several minutes and then he sighed.
“He thinks I cheated on his mother with Simone. His b***h of a mother let him think this even while she lay dying. I don’t want to be the one to ruin his opinion of her. She was a good mother.”
Again, she kept her lips shut. She knew better than to weigh in on such a deeply personal matter. This was her father’s job, not hers. She might look like her dad, but she wasn’t him and she wasn’t stupid enough to think she could fill his shoes. However, her boss kept talking as if she was in fact his number one.
“There was a time in my life I hoped he would settle down, give us an heir and grandchildren but he is not keen. I considered skipping him altogether and naming someone else, a person who does whatever it takes for this family to thrive. However, I need to give him a chance to prove himself, heir or otherwise. If he fails the tasks, I’m going to put him on, then I’m naming an alternate heir.”
She immediately thought to the man he was training under her father, Cap’s cousin, Dino. He bled Amato blood, and he was brought up in the family since birth. He was a quiet son of a b***h, but she liked him. He liked her too. They’d done many jobs together and she knew he’d make her his number one. If she was going to be a number one to anyone of Ermano’s kin, she was glad it was going to be Dino. She almost prayed Cap failed. She gave a nod of understanding to her boss.
“I’m sure anyone you name will be proud to carry your mantle.”
He gave an exaggerated sigh. “Unfortunately, word has reached me Cipriano means to take the business no matter what and it is his birthright. I will give him his shot but if he f***s it up, I will appoint a new head of this family and he can either go with it or f**k off. I love my son, but his prejudices and anger are not going to serve this family well. You report anything he does which is stupid back to me. I have a funny feeling you and I will be on the phone constantly with the way he’s been behaving. The last time I flew over to Sicily, I walked in on Vinnie and three hookers drunk and having a ménage, half the soldiers drunk out of their skull and Cap and Tulio somewhere in Spain. He treats my grandfather’s house like a whorehouse. My ancestors are rolling in their graves, I’m sure of it. I can’t imagine his behavior will improve while he’s here, but he has his own house here he can denigrate.”
“I understand.”
“Good. His flight arrives in an hour at our private airfield. You should have enough time to get a team together and meet his jet. I called a few guys here already to save you some time.”
This explained why Swifty was there. She smiled at him with gratitude.
“The arrival was kept quiet and last minute so nobody knows he’s coming. Go collect him and bring him home.”
“Am I bringing him here? Did you want to see him right away?
“No. He has his own estate a couple of miles away. Bring him there first. I’m still pissed after finding out last weekend he made a play for one of our affiliates in France. Smoothing over those waters was a problem. He doesn’t know we intervened, nor does he need to right now. I want to see what he decides to do.”
“What if he requests to come?”
“Bring him but he won’t. There’s no love lost, Giada. He’s a grown man but I swear to f**k he’s still a teenage boy doing everything he can to get under my skin.”
“How many in his entourage?”
“Eighteen as far as I know, give or take.”
“I’ll arrange transport and meet his jet.” She patted her knees impatiently knowing she didn’t have much time.
“Giada,” Ermano looked to her intently, “guard yourself with him. He’s not a good man. Don’t let him use you.” His meaning was clear.
“I’m not a good woman,” she shrugged, “I will respect El Capo, but I will not be his bed warmer. I have too many years in this family to give up my position for a new one on my back.” She said it and she meant it.
The one time she messed around with Cap only ever left her with a terror of him finding out and then relegating her back to nothing. She harbored no romantic illusions about rekindling anything with the man. She hadn’t pined over their encounter in the bathroom. It left her with a bitter pang of regret for being so stupid as to think she could reason with him if they’d been intimate. Fool. With luck, he’d never know it was her.
“As long as we are clear.” He rose from his seat, “come,” he held his arms out and she stepped into his warm hug.
He smelled of nicotine and expensive cologne and a hint of bourbon. She frowned as she considered it was this early in the morning and he’d already been drinking. This reunion was not going to be one for the scrapbook, of this, she was sure.
“Oh, one other thing,” he said as he released, “Pierluigi is on the flight. Go easy on him.”
“He got my father shot.” Instantly her hackles were up. So, this was where the man who f****d up their entire operation weeks before disappeared. Mano hid him and his family from her when she’d lost her cool and put a gun in his mouth. The family returned to their New Jersey apartment this week without Pierluigi. She’d been wanting a piece of him for a while.
“Let’s not make waves in front of Cipriano, yet please.”
“Fine. But I want thirty minutes with him alone.”
“I need him alive. He serves a purpose, and his child needs him.”
She knew the purpose involved the man being so skinny he could get through air vents in almost any buildings making him damn good in a robbery. “Yeah, yeah,” she nodded and kissed his cheek warmly. “I love you, old man. Now, I need to get out of here. Time is ticking.”
She pulled her phone out and waved to Swifty as she made her way back into the grand foyer, “Swifty, I need six SUVs at the airfield. Pro drivers. Armed and ready to go. You in?”
“Yes,” he jogged after her as she exited the house, leaving her car in the yard and moving to the massive garage. “Who are we picking up?”
“El Capo.”
She heard his feet tripping as he stumbled at the words, and she smiled to herself. This was going to be a f**k fest, and everyone knew it.
- Writer
