Page 27 of Shield and Savior
“I’ve known him my whole life and that seems pretty hard to believe,” she states as I open the car door to walk around to open hers.
“It’s not like I’m in the inner sanctum. I still have no idea what’s holding four different crime families from organizations together. Is it bribery? Blackmail? A late night shady dealing gone wrong? Pact with a demon?”
“The last one. His name is Ganothor, and he’s big and hairy and is often mistaken for Bigfoot, hence my obsession,” Izzy says with a straight face. “He gives piggyback rides.”
I laugh.
“Makes a good PB and J sandwich once you take out the dead rat.”
Now my laughter is echoing through the parking lot. Somehow hearing my own laughter twice makes it much funnier to me.
Champ slides out from the back of the car. “What’s so funny?”
“Lance thinks the Four Families are being held together by a blood oath with a demon.”
He slings his backpack over his shoulder. “Sounds about right. Isn’t his name Anthorgana?”
“Ganothor,” his mom corrects.
“Yeah, that guy. He’s great.”
Honestly, I’ve seen a lot of weird shit. I’m not even sure if they’re making fun of me until they burst into laughter while I check the entryway to their apartment for threats.
Their mockery follows me all the way home. Shit, totheirhome.
Champ takes his bag to his bedroom, and Izzy turns around and leans in for a conspiratorial whisper. “It’s worse than a demon…it’s the Grandmas.”
“Was not expecting that.”
She bounces on her toes and flaps her hands like she fanning away the heat of hot tea. “So, all Four Grandmas immigrated to America in the sixties, but none of them spoke English. Well, Nana did, but her accent was so thick no one could understand her. Anyway, they all met in a Catholic church basement and became friends. Not just friends, but sisters. Pillars in each other’s lives.
“Rumor has it Thiago’s granddad and my grandpa were going to war, but Nonna locked Grandpa in a room for hours, and when he came out, he wasn’t in a “let’s go to war” mood. Abuela did the same thing.
“They were around for every major deal because they didn’t speak English, so no one was worried about them. Over the years, they hung out in their special grandma room, listening to ABBA and keeping an eye on everything. But when Babushka died the day before I left for Alabama, all three surviving grandmas walked across the altar, pressed play on a VCR, and smirked as everyone in the church heard Babushka say, ‘Thank you for coming today. Which one of us died first? Was it that old bat Nonna?’”
My gasp escapes before I can stop it. “Wait, they spoke English?”
She gives me a satisfied grin. “Yep.”
“For how long?”
“Years! Since the 1990s. They had every major family member completely fooled. Their reputations would have been destroyed if it got out. How can you possibly be a criminal threat if you were conned by your own mom for decades?”
Wow…talk about a thin alliance, it’s literally being held together by male ego. “What did your family do?”
“They laughed. A con artist respects a good con. It was the best prank ever pulled. Thing is, Joey knew Nonna spoke English because he lived with her. Joey’s rep as a secret keeper is well-earned.”
She imitates her cousin perfectly, complete with voice change and frown. “They lived here for fifty years. You don’t think they picked up ANY English? Of course you need to stick together. You’re too stupid to live on your own.”
So, the most powerful crime organization got pranked by their grandmas. Somehow, I think the demon is more believable.
ChapterFourteen
Lance
It’s been a month since I started protecting Izzy and Champ. I’m not sure when, but in myhead I stopped calling her Nessie. She’s become more than a code name to me. And honestly, it’s kind of a shitty code name. I like Champ—it’s a real nickname, and it doesn’t feel forced.
The kids are deep into their wax museum. Champ convinced his teacher to allow Ian to join his group for the project. They’re both going to be little Mongol warriors. The fuzzy hats are cute as hell and are too small for Ian’s head and too big for Champ’s.