Page 6 of Darkness and Duress
“Wait for now. I don't trust the Morettis.” I took the opportunity to skim Henny’s appearance as he disconnected the call without any form of closure. His frosted hair was naturally brown at the root and bleached to within an inch of its life at the ends. The delicacy of his features startled me. Narrow nose, thin lips, golden brown eyes that would have been striking if they weren’t accompanied by dark circles and skin just this side of too pale. His frame was lean and wiry, but showed signs of strength that wouldn't be out of place on a kickboxer or runner. Overall, I wasn't impressed. The mesh shirt under his jacket revealed miles of complex ink in shades of black and grey and amber. It was probably the singular interesting thing about him if I cared enough to devote any piece of my brain to his existence. Unsurprisingly, I didn't care.
The first location was, at a glance, nothing special. I knew from experience that the inconspicuous places were the ones that needed to be highest on the radar for potential issues. The ramshackle exterior of the delicatessen helped the Morettifamily hide in plain sight. Jericho’s Nissan was parked literally across the street from the establishment. So much for waiting and laying low. I would apparently have to spell out all the basics for this chaotic crew of imbeciles.
“Double park it at the front door,” I muttered, checking my underarm holster as I ran through a mental checklist of conversation topics. As expected, we got the attention of our intended audience before I was ready—men filtered out of the deli in groups of two and three to clutter the sidewalk.
“Yes, your Highness.” Henny’s voice was laden with attitude. I briefly wondered if Pops would have a problem with this driver of mine losing a few teeth.
“Keep your mouth shut and let me do the talking,” I replied with a low voice. Once I pushed the door open and jumped from the car, it was showtime. I affected the stance of my father, with a bit of my own flair picked up from four years in prison. Cool, calm, collected, and utterly confident. First impressions were make or break moments. I needed these goons to sit up and pay attention straight away or our working relationship would be anything but functional.
The posturing between our groups would have been funny if it weren't so deadly. All of us were armed. So were they. We had motives. So did they. It was a tired old game. Thankfully, the idiots assigned to follow me knew enough to stay quiet.
“Morning, gentlemen.” I nodded and made a mental note to keep my hands visible instead of pushing them into my pockets. “Damiano said you would be expecting us.”
“Damiano was right, but that doesn't make us happy about it.” A man around my age stepped forward with a squint to his eyes. “We’re real tired of getting jerked around.”
“Of that, I'm sure.” I held my palms up in a placating gesture. “We’re here now to talk.”
“No, enough talking. We were promised money, we expect money.” Another man, no more than a boy really, sucked his teeth and jerked his chin. “Did you bring money?”
“I did not. That was not the purpose of today's meeting.” I tried to stay as level-headed as possible, but I'd been here before. I'd been in tense situations just like this and the consequences were always the same—hot tempers and low patience levels never ended well.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. This is getting ridiculous.” Yet another man threw up his hands. “It was part of the alliance. Pay up or leave before we take what we’re owed in lives lost. I'm sure Damiano will be more keen to listen if you end up with the fishes.”
Beside me, Henny snickered and tried to cover it up with a snort. My eyebrow twitched and my jaw clenched.
“What, you got something to say?” One of the opposing guys stepped forward with his fists clenched.
“No, it just seems a bit cliché to say ‘swimming with the fishes.’ Like, come on. It's the new millennium. Surely we’ve outgrown phrases like that?” Henny shrugged and held his palms up. “But what do I know?”
“You motherfucker—”
“Enough, everyone!” I pressed my palm to Henny’s chest and physically pushed him behind me as one of the young men rushed forward. I had a full foot of height on the kid and my shoulders were twice the size of his. He backed down, quite prudently in my opinion. “We came to discuss the terms. Yes, you're owed money upon upholding your end of the bargain. Names and addresses of all the locations in Jersey before the end of day. Then you will get your money. Or rather, Matteo will get it. If you think I would hand you a quarter million in broad daylight, you're as dumb as you look with your jaw hanging open like that.”
A rabble arose as they churned closer. Jericho’s mutt growled and pulled the leash taut as he lunged. Quick math had us outnumbered two to one. I pushed Henny back again when I saw him reach for his jacket.
“Moretti knows what he agreed to. We came here in good faith to discuss who needs to do what. Bring the message to him or don't. It's in your hands now.” I nodded toward the group and tightened my grip on the mesh of Henny’s shirt to physically drag him toward the car. This dumb fuck was going to get us all killed if he didn't relax. Hell, all of them needed to fucking chill.
“Yo, you just let them shit all over us like that? What the fuck, man?” Henny turned to scowl at me from the driver's seat as soon as the door was closed.
“Drive.”
“No, tell me what the fuck that was?”
“Drive.”
“Answer me—”
“Drive the fucking car or I will put your head through the fucking windshield!” I lost the grip I had on my temper and it reflected in my voice. The bellow caught the attention of people on the street as Henny recoiled.
Muttering under his breath, he turned the key in the ignition and punched the gas to catch up with the other two cars in our group. I was seething mad and couldn't clench my jaw harder without risking a tooth, but at least I'd resisted the urge to punch him in the mouth he refused to keep shut.
We spoke to half a dozen more of Moretti’s crews and it all went exactly the same. We needed him to know we were moving in, were serious about the alliance and everything that was agreed to, and that I was going to be the contact moving forward. Overall, it was an effective day in that respect. Unfortunately, keeping myself from committing homicide was exhausting.Imagine my chagrin when, at the end of the day, Henny did not direct the car toward my apartment building.
“You have thirty seconds to explain where we are going,” I practically growled from the passenger seat.
“Jesus Christ. Dinner. Calm the fuck down, your Highness.”
“I prefer to dine alone.” The tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a knife.