“I brought you along to take care of this shit.”
Enrico rolled his eyes but got out and jogged up the stoop. I watched as he knocked, waited, and stepped back when the door opened. A man with short hair and a scruffy beard poked his head out, disappeared inside, then returned with a large duffel bag. It looked heavy and Enrico staggered as he took it from the guy and carried it back over to Reid’s car. He shoved the bag into the trunk then hopped into the back seat again.
I gaped at the men for a moment as Reid lazily pulled back out into traffic. Enrico carried a bag full of what I assumed were drugs, probably meth, or maybe crack or heroin or something very, very illegal, right in the middle of the day, with old women walking their dogs, men in their suits and ties hurrying along with their briefcases swinging in their hands, guys with tattoos on their legs riding their bikes—and cops on pretty much every corner. They did it in broad daylight without a care in the world.
“That’s it?” I asked as Reid swung the car south.
“That’s it,” he said. “Just like last time. It’s supposed to be pretty damn easy when things go right.”
“When things go wrong, they go really wrong,” Aldrik said. “Catastrophically wrong. Lots of gunshots. I guess you know that already.”
I frowned back at him but I felt Reid’s anger. “Would you shut up, asshole?” he snapped.
“Whatever, boss,” Aldrik grunted and looked out the window.
Enrico grinned huge and looked delighted. I got the sense that the only thing that made the tall man happy was to see his bald counterpart get yelled at or insulted. That probably didn’t make for a great working relationship.
Reid rubbed his face as he slowed at a stop sign then kept going. “I told you last time, I like to get out and make these runs, let the guys see my face. It’s hard to work for someone you never know or see, that’s just a name whispered in back alleys. I want them to know who I am—and know that I’m a real man that carries a real gun.”
Aldrik grunted his agreement and even Enrico nodded along. I chewed on my lip and crossed my ankles as I studied him. “Don’t all the crew guys work like you?”
“Not all of them,” he said. “Each boss has his own—I guess you could call it management style. I like to be a little more hands-on.”
“Very hands-on,” Enrico said, “especially for the fun stuff.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Fun stuff?”
“Oh, you know. Kicking in doors, beating the shit out of snitches, making sure witnesses don’t talk—that sort of thing.” Enrico grinned at me as I stared at him. “What, does that surprise you?”
“Not really,” I said, turning back to face forward again. “I’ve known men like you guys all my life.”
“Don’t forget she’s a mafia princess,” Aldrik said. “Her uncle’s got his own little kingdom.”
I clenched my jaw. “I’m far from a princess.”
“Oh, no? Your daddy didn’t buy you a pony?” Aldrik laughed and I saw Reid give him a sharp look in the rearview mirror.
“Shut the fuck up,” Reid said. “Both of you.”
“Aw, we’re just teasing her, boss.” Aldrik looked like a slapped puppy. “Besides, it’s true, ain’t it? She grew up in the damn Leone family.”
I felt something snap. I don’t know what it was—maybe the last vestiges of shame that kept holding me back from speaking my mind—but the anger rolled out of me in waves and I couldn’t hold it back.
“Just because I grew up with a bunch of macho douchebags like you two doesn’t mean I was taken care of.” I stared at him, seething. They didn’t know me, didn’t know a damn thing about me. “You think it’s easy being a woman surrounded by dickheads like you? I was treated like a piece of shit my whole life, and I’m not about to take it from some dickless two-bit wannabe thugs.”
The car fell silent. Aldrik looked surprised, Reid was grinning huge, and Enrico squinted at me.
“Why bring me into this?” Enrico asked. “I didn’t say a word.”
“You were thinking it,” I said. “Got a fucking problem with that?”
He shrugged and looked out the window again. “Guess not.”
Reid cracked up, his laughter spilling out in rough waves. I clenched my jaw and glared at him—then felt my anger break a little bit. I smiled and shook my head as even Aldrik joined in on the laughter.
“Damn right, girl,” Reid said. “Don’t you take shit from these two morons.”
“Whatever, boss. I’m just speaking my mind.” Aldrik beamed at me. “You got a mouth on you.”
“I guess that’s the one thing I did learn from my family.” I smiled at him and shook my head. “You’re still a dickless thug.”
“And you’re still a princess.”
Reid chuckled and pulled over on a relatively empty block, only a few cars parked against the curb. The house had a big blue door with a black iron gate in front of it and bars on the lower windows. It wasn’t a bad neighborhood, and none of the surrounding houses had any sort of home protection like that, and it felt sort of obvious to me—but wasn’t my place to criticize.
“Okay, Cora.” Reid nodded to me. “You’re up.”
“Excuse me?”
Aldrik snorted. “Make her work. Smart man.”
“You’re up. Carry that bag to the front door, knock, and then come back.”
I gaped at him. “No fucking way.”
“Come on. You’re going to come all the way out here and do nothing?”
“That wasn’t part of the deal. I’m not going to be your drug mule.”
Enrico barked a laugh. “Drug mule. You wish, girl. I doubt you could fit a baggie up that tight ass of yours.”
I gave him a look and wished I could slap his smug face but shook it off and looked back to Reid. He was smiling at me, head tilted, and I knew that look in his eye. He wanted to challenge me, wanted to test me, just to see what I’d do. It annoyed the hell out of me and he expected me to chicken out—in fact, I was willing to bet that he counted on it. He wanted me to back down and let him do all the work while I sat around in the car and watched it all go down. The two idiots in the back would keep on thinking I was some stupid, spoiled mafia princess, and I’d keep getting angrier and angrier.
So I pushed open the door and got out.
For a moment, Reid looked surprised. I savored that look and smiled at him sweetly as I slammed my door shut. “Pop the trunk,” I said, and walked around to the back.
The duffel bag sat in the center of the trunk like a dead seal. I took a deep breath then grabbed it. I felt bundles inside—square bricks of something I couldn’t identify, but could guess at. The bag was heavy, maybe a quarter of what I weighed, and it took all my strength to heft it up onto my shoulder. I carried it across the sidewalk, up the door, and dumped it down onto the top of the stoop. A doorbell glowed faint orange and I jabbed my finger into it three times. Inside, it buzzed loudly.
I heard someone grumble, footsteps, and the door swung open. A fat man with light brown skin and short hair squinted at me. He was sweating through his white tank top and his jeans were skintight.