"You can learn it. Look out there. See the swell? Watch it roll in and break. Now watch a thousand more and you'll get it. And paddle a lot faster or you won't catch shit."
"Next time."
The wind blows us dry and I fish some sandwiches out of my backpack. Peanut butter and jelly on whole wheat. Not the fancy finger sandwiches Mila is probably used to, but she smiles and takes a big bite. "Oh my gosh. I haven't had PB&J in forever."
Good. I'm glad she likes my offering.
I hand her a water bottle and she opens it and takes a sip. "So," she says in a leading tone. "Did you hear?"
Uh oh. "No. What?"
"Rocco Maretti's walking around with a black eye." She twists her lips into an ironic grin.
"Huh. Is he now?" I act like I don't give a shit, which I don't.
"You have any idea how that happened?" she asks me.
"Nope." I keep my eyes on the waves and take a bite of my sandwich. I'm not owning up to nothing, but I would love to share the satisfying feeling of the crunch of my knuckles on his privileged rich-boy face.
"Donnie said you kicked his ass."
Henry grunts and chuckles. I spent a good half an hour debating with him if I should beat the crap out of Rocco. He attempted to appeal to my rational side. Don't make enemies. He'll come back for revenge. Could make me look bad in her father's eyes. He even convinced me to drop it. But Rocco showed up at another fight, and I invited him into the octagon with me. He accepted. His stupid decision. He knew I was undefeated, but his inflated ego wouldn't let him back down. I crushed him easily. I did hold back and tried not to break any of his bones, but only because of Henry's warnings. Needless to say, he won't be touching Mila ever again.
"First rule of fight club is never talk about fight club." Donnie's a dick for telling her. I'll deal with him later. If he wasn't her brother, he'd be fucking black and blue by tonight.
She bumps me with her shoulder as she squints into the sun. "I'm not mad it happened. I just wanted to be there to see it."
Ahh. A surge of pride makes me smile. "From now on, you come to all my fights. You're in my corner." I wrap my hand behind her neck and pull her in for a PB&J kiss.
She stiffens at first, but I refuse to lighten my grip. She's kissing me wherever we go. If we're on the beach, at a fight, in a restaurant, at the gelato shop, anywhere we go from now on, my lips will be locked on hers and I want everyone to see it.
Chapter 16 Vaughn
Vaughn Bianchi sent me to the South Bronx tonight saying he wants me to meet with Sal Giordano again, but I met with him last week and got the money. He can't be behind on another payment that fast.
The address leads me to an old corrugated metal warehouse that smells like piss and is surrounded by trash. Suspicious as hell. Vaughn must be going downhill if his clients are meeting in shitholes like this.
As the door creaks open, my fight or flight radar goes off. I'm reaching for my gun when something rustles behind me. I pivot in time to see Rocco coming at me full speed.
I brace, get my guard up, and block his attack with a clumsy forearm to his neck. It doesn't knock him down and his face sets in anger. "What the fuck, Rocco? What's your fucking problem? Still sour I humiliated your ass?"
"Fuck you." He has a nice dark purple shiner around his eye. I nailed him good.
I open my arms inviting him to attack again. "You want another go at me? I won't hold back this time and you'll be in a fucking wheelchair for a year if you're not dead."
He's breathing heavy from his first pass. His eyes glow wild and he looks from side to side like someone's coming for him. What the hell is his problem?
I can't see into the dark corners of the warehouse but I get the feeling we're not alone.
Shit. Yep. Two more guys. I don't recognize them. But they come at me slowly from each side. One is bigger than me and looks mean as hell. The other guy is more milktoast and smaller like Rocco.
"Why'd you bring your boys, Rocco? Afraid you can't take me alone?"
They're all really slow so I pull my gun and point it at Rocco. "Stop and back the fuck up."
They freeze. How the hell did this happen? I can understand why Rocco wants revenge but why did Vaughn set me up?
"Back the fuck up!"
They don't move but their eyes look over my shoulder. Oh shit.
A blunt force knocks me down from behind and my head thumps the ground. Rocco runs up and stomps on my hand. Ow fuck! He kicks my gun to the side and what feels like five guys come down on my back. Jesus. I can't even turn around. Blows land on my sides, legs, face. Shit. Everywhere. Someone is whaling on my head. Fuck. Ignoring all the pain, I force the weight on me to shift and I'm able to side kick at least one of them off me. My fist nails someone in the balls and he grunts and disappears. There's still at least two guys, but it's so hard to see.
"Hold him down."
Who the hell is that?
I keep fighting. I'm not down yet. Never give up.
I'm at the bottom of a pile up but I will always fight my way out. I hear yelling and scuffling as I'm returning blows to anyone who comes at me.
"Enough! Hold him down!"
Like six sets of knees pile drive down on my ass and I'm flattened to the filthy earth face down. The punching stops but unbearable pressure pins down my arms and legs. I'm immobilized. Shit. Who the fuck is doing this? Rocco's big-ass knee is right on my neck and I'm staring up at his crotch. I shoulda disabled the dickwad when I had the chance.
I hear his shoes before I see him come into view. Fucking Vaughn Bianchi with a gun pointed at my head. Shit.
"Impressive," he says to me.
"What the fuck, Vaughn? You jumping me in?" Is this my initiation into his stupid crime organization?
"This is part of it. You passed the first test." He's smirking down at me, finger on the trigger. He's wearing a suit when all the other guys are in street clothes. They all work for him? I had no idea he had so many soldiers. They're laughing and talking shit with their knees and hands holding me down.
"Get them the fuck off me."
"I got another test for you," he says calmly, like he's not some deranged Mafia wannabe.
"Not interested, Vaughn."
"Oh you're not? I guess you don't want Mila then?"
Oh shit. Fuck. This is about Mila. "What about her?"
"I know you've been fucking her. Been watching you two sneak around thinking I'm not watching. I watch every damn thing she does, and I know you're using her."
"I'm not using her."
"You're a fucking pig." His voice raises and he spits the words at me. He's got himself all worked up thinking I'm a cop?
"I'm not a cop." I push against the weight on me, but they've settled in now, grinding knees into my joints and back. "Get these fucking assholes off me."
"I knew you were a fucking pig from day one. Who else but a cop would take my daughter down into a wine cellar in my own home during a storm? Only a fucking cop would do that to get info out of her."
"Bullshit. I'm not a fucking cop." I scream it as loud as I can. He needs to hear me.