Dirty Money Read online

  “Come on.” Ryan dragged me to my feet. “Let’s get out of here.” He pulled me to the window. We peered out through the blinds.

  “Can you see anything?” he asked.

  “No. You?”

  “No.”

  I went to the door. It was unlocked. Vito was pretty sure of himself.

  “Be quiet, okay?” Ryan nodded. “We’re going to be quiet and then we’re gonna run like fucking hell.” More nodding.

  The plan was good in theory. We opened the door and slid out. I didn’t even look below. We just crouched down so they couldn’t see us. I pulled the door shut behind me. It made a little noise, but some people downstairs were shouting so I was pretty sure no one heard. Below us, a guy sat in the chair I’d passed on the way in. We were halfway down when we heard her.

  “Where are they?” Reese shouted.

  “I told you, honey. We don’t know.” Vito. Liar, liar, pants on fire.

  “Yes, you do.”

  Ryan looked at me, his eyes wide and gray. I shrugged. Reese just had to be our knight in shining armor. Not that I was complaining. It hadn’t escaped me that she was looking for me too. Just thinking about it made my head spin. Or was that the concussion?

  I continued down the stairs in an awkward crouch. We tried to be quiet, but the stairs were probably older than us, and upkeep was clearly not a priority. No one on the floor seemed to hear the creaking of the stairs. They just kept shouting at each other. But the guy at the bottom had to hear. He gave no sign of it. When we got closer, I realized why. The dumbass was listening to his iPod. Vito was going to kill him. Literally.

  I pointed to Ryan and then pointed to his hands. Ryan nodded. Then I pointed to me and covered my mouth. We were so good at hand signals. At the bottom of the stairs, we moved fast. Just like I planned. Ryan grabbed Dude’s hands. I covered his mouth. He tried to jump up out of his chair, but Ryan pulled down hard on his hands so he couldn’t move. I cradled his head in my arm so he couldn’t jerk away and start shouting. Then I yanked out his headphones and wrapped them around his wrists. Ryan let go with one hand so he could feel the dude up. He found a knife. He pressed it against the guy’s throat.

  “You can stay here,” Ryan whispered in his ear. “And they’ll probably kill you. Or you can run and you’ll have thirty minutes head start.”

  The guy nodded. Or tried to. I was still holding his head. And Ryan had a knife at his throat.

  “Blink once if you want to stay. We’ll knock you out and you may not wake up. Blink twice if you want to go.” He started blinking rapidly. “Good choice. Be very quiet. If they hear you leave, you’re dead. Coop is gonna check you for weapons. Make a noise and I’ll kill you.”

  I waited to make sure he got it. Then I slowly let go of his head. He didn’t move. Didn’t make a sound. There was a gun on his belt and another in his waistband. And he had a small revolver strapped to his ankle. Also an assortment of knives. This dude was carrying a small arsenal.

  When I was done with my check, Ryan and I backed away slowly, each with a gun trained on him. He walked quietly to the door and then he was gone.

  We each filled our pockets with knives. Which we knew was unnecessary, but it couldn’t hurt. Ryan handed me the little revolver. I gave him my confused look. Which he responded to by untucking my shirt and pointing to my crotch. I rolled my eyes. What was with this boy and guns in underwear? When I didn’t do it, Ryan reached over, pulled out my waistband, and shoved the gun into my boxer briefs. Ewww. I didn’t know where that gun had been.

  Ryan looked me up and down. And found me lacking. Because he proceeded to mess up my hair, loosen my tie, and, just for fun, rearrange the gun in my junk. Then he grinned and gave me a nod of approval. I was about to turn and walk into the room when he grabbed me and pulled me close.

  “Backup plan,” he whispered in my ear.

  I waited for him to elaborate. He didn’t. “You’re insane,” I whispered back. If that was his backup plan, we were never getting out of here alive.

  “Let’s go.”

  The second we set foot in the room, I knew it wasn’t going to go well. The whole crew was there. So I figured I should just go with it.

  “What is wrong with you, Vito?” The room went silent. “I heard you lying to Reese.” I grinned and shook my finger. That would really piss him off. “You had me and Ryan tied up in that little room up there. And she was all worried. Were you just going to surprise her later? Maybe gift wrap us?” I didn’t look at anyone else, just Vito. With every step I took toward him, he got more and more pissed. People in front of me parted. I halted in the center of the room. Reese was to my left. I could feel her. But I didn’t look. Instead, I made eye contact and greeted everyone in the room by name.

  “Sal.” Head nod. From me, not him. “Oh, hey, Dom. Steve. Lorenzo, haven’t seen you since before Thanksgiving. How’s it going, man?” He gave me an angry little stare. “Bobby. Georgie. T, how’s the shoulder? Still bothering you?” Like that, all the way until I was back at Vito and the livid woman at his side. “Alexis, honey. Listen, I know we need to talk, but the thing is you’re a horrible person. That’s why it never would have worked between us. It’s not just ’cause I have this thing for your cousin, well, there is that, but it’s you. Not me. I lied before. I didn’t want to hurt your feelings when you threw yourself at me, but now I know you don’t have feelings. So I figured I should just be honest.

  “So anyway,” I looked at the only guy in the room I didn’t recognize. He was old. Wearing a better suit than anyone else present. His hair was thick and gray, as was his mustache. I imagined he would smell like cigars. I found out later he smelled like cigarettes and lavender. An oddly calming scent. We’d never met before, but I knew who he was. “You must be the don. I’m going to call you Mr. DiGiovanni because the don sounds stupid.”

  “And you must be the little crazy one. Cooper, is it?”

  “That’s me. I’ve heard a lot about you. None of it good, I promise.”

  He laughed at that. It was a good sort of laugh, deep and rich, but with a bit of a wheeze at the end. The cigarettes.

  Vito cleared his throat and nearly every person in the room produced a gun, which they pointed at Ryan and me.

  “Put down the guns, you two,” Vito said.

  Most of the time, Ryan and I were relatively stupid. But I had a gun in my junk so we did the smart thing. Ejected our clips, slid open the chambers, displayed them with very visible hands, then carefully put down the guns. It was a cute little show, really.

  “Boys,” Vito said. Men stepped forward and grabbed us. Bobby came up and patted us down. He emptied the knives from our pockets. But he didn’t have the balls to check my crotch. Good for me.

  “Damn, guys,” I said. “This feels a little unnecessary, ya know?”

  “I agree,” Ryan said. “I mean, you tied me to a chair, you hit my best friend in the head with a baseball bat—”

  “It was a baseball bat?” I asked Ryan. “No wonder I feel like I’m gonna hurl.”

  “I know, right?” Ryan smirked at me. “A little heavy-handed. And then my sister comes in here looking for us and you lie. That’s pretty lame.”

  “Lame,” I echoed.

  “So why don’t you let us go?”

  “Be quiet, Ryan,” the don said.

  “Oh, hey, Pops.” Ryan gave him a head nod. “How’s it hangin’, old man?” Only Ryan would ask his grandfather that.

  “I told you to be quiet.”

  “Yeah, it didn’t work when I was five. Why would it work now?”

  “Shut up, you little bastard.”

  “Don’t call him that,” Reese said. And I just had to look at her.

  My knees got weak. Literally. Although that could have been latent effects from the baseball bat to the head. She was wearing a fur coat, which was a little weird, but hot. Under that was a dress, of sorts. It stopped about an inch short of decorum. Her hair was pulled back in some sort of knot. Danglin
g earrings caught the lights and sprayed her neck in a series of ever changing patterns. The heels were what made it, I decided. They were like high. And totally hot. And black. Her eyes were dark too. And shining like those earrings. She was classic Hollywood. But slutty. And way sexier than those broads ever were. There’s just something about a classy girl dressing up trashy. And I knew she did it to piss off Grandpa. Damn, I loved that girl.

  “I will call the bastard whatever I want to call him,” the don said. Back to reality.

  “Why do you hate me so much?” Ryan shouted. “Really, all of you. What the fuck did I ever do that made you hate me so damn much?”

  No one answered. So I thought I would.

  “You looked like your father,” I said. The room got quiet.

  “What?” Ryan asked.

  “You looked like you father.” I looked at the don. “Reese looked like Carissa, but Ryan looked like Breno. How unfortunate for you.”

  “Breno?” Reese asked.

  “Your father.” I spoke directly to her for the first time. “He was Christopher’s best friend. Your grandfather gave them a choice. Abort you or kill Breno.”

  Reese gasped. I looked at Ryan. His face had gone pale. Neither said a word.

  “So you did learn something in California,” Vito said to me. “I thought you killed Christopher before you got any information out of him.”

  Beside me, Ryan coughed and swallowed loudly.

  “You’re lying,” Reese said.

  “No, honey,” Vito told her. “Your girlfriend killed your father. Or at least what passed for one.”

  “Coop?” Ryan.

  “I’m sorry.” I looked at Reese, then Ryan. “I’m so sorry.”

  “You killed Christopher?” Reese asked.

  “I…Yes. I’m sorry.”

  “But…” Ryan had tears gathering now. “Why?”

  “It was…” This was not a lie I had prepared for. “We were supposed to question him.”

  “Go on, Cooper,” Vito said. “Tell them. You got angry and you beat him to death.”

  “You beat him to death?” Reese looked shocked. She should have been. I wasn’t the girl she knew before.

  “Yes.”

  “There’s more. Come on, finish the story.”

  “Shut the fuck up,” I told Vito. “I…Christopher had killed the guy I was working with.”

  “Your friend,” Vito said. “Esau was your friend. Or would mentor be a better term?”

  “I told you to shut the fuck up.” This time Vito waited. “If I could take it back…I can’t. I’m sorry. And I know that’s not enough. But it’s all I have.”

  “Okay,” Ryan said.

  What the fuck was wrong with him?

  “What?” I asked Ryan.

  “I’m sure there’s more to it, but I love you and I trust you. So that’s enough for me.”

  I knew there was a reason I loved that boy.

  “Same here,” Reese said.

  Holy fuck. These kids were insane.

  “What?” Alexis screeched. “She killed your father. You’re just going to let that go?”

  Reese turned to her. Her eyes were sharp and glittering. “Be quiet.”

  “I will damn well say whatever I want to say,” Alexis shot back.

  “Yeah, you’re good at that,” I said.

  “Excuse me?”

  “You are good at saying and doing whatever the hell you want. It’s a whole elitism thing. Like the world and everything in it belongs to you. Except it doesn’t,” I explained.

  “That’s enough,” the don spoke again. “I did not come here to listen to my family argue. Reese, would you like to stay with us this time?”

  “No.”

  Simple. I liked it.

  The don gave a little hand signal and Georgie and Dom stepped forward.

  “Wait, Uncle,” Alexis said. He looked at her, smiled, and nodded. The guys stepped back and Alexis crossed to me.

  The first time she hit me I was more shocked than anything. It was such a girly little slap. I think I laughed.

  “What are you doing?” Reese asked. “Don’t hit her.”

  Alexis ignored her and backhanded me. And again, with the massive rings. There had been a time when I thought Alexis’s pinkie ring was kind of hot. Now, not so much.

  The next time she hit me it was with a closed fist. Before, I thought my head hurt. After that I couldn’t even think. The third time I almost threw up. I managed to keep it in check, but only by spitting on Alexis’s shoes. Which made me laugh again.

  “Sorry, sweetheart. Those are probably ruined,” I said.

  So she hit me again.

  “Stop this, damn it,” Reese said.

  But Alexis didn’t listen. Reese stalked over to her, grabbed her by the shoulders, and pulled her back.

  “That was kinda hot,” I said. They both glared at me. “Sorry.”

  “What is this?” Reese asked her grandfather. “You beat Coop until I agree to run your business?”

  “Of course not.” He frowned at her. “I am simply hoping you decide to do the right thing.”

  “Fuck that,” I said. “She’s never going to work for you. You may as well kill me.”

  “I am not opposed to that,” the don said.

  “Go for it,” I told him. That was probably not a smart thing to say in a room full of people with guns who very much wanted to kill me. They were kind enough to confirm that for me by putting a gun to my temple.

  “Shut the hell up, Coop,” Ryan said. “We came back to get you. Not kill you.”

  I smiled at him. “It’s okay. Get out. Don’t come back.” I looked at Vito, then the don. “One thing.”

  “What?” Vito asked.

  “Dying wish and all that.” They waited. “Let me kiss her. Just once.”

  And the crazy fuckers gave me a nod.

  “No!” Alexis.

  “Haven’t you learned to keep your damn mouth shut?” I asked. She backhanded me again. My lip split. “Cunt.” She slapped me again. Blood ran down my chin.

  “I am not doing this,” Reese said.

  “Sure you are,” I told her. I shrugged off T’s and Steve’s hands. I very slowly put my fingertips on the gun Bobby was holding to my head and turned it so it was pointed not at my head.

  “No, stop it.” Reese looked panicked.

  “It’s okay.”

  “I’m not letting you die,” Reese said.

  I wiped the blood off my mouth with the back of my hand. Reese took a step backward. I grabbed her hand and pulled her into me. And then I kissed her.

  Chapter Nineteen

  It was like coming home. It was worth leaving home. She didn’t kiss me back right away. And then she did. Her lips moved over mine, exploring, teasing. She didn’t open her mouth. Just kissed me. Her back arched. She moaned. The tip of her tongue traced my bottom lip. I groaned.

  Someone cleared their throat. Then I remembered why I was supposed to be kissing her. I angled my hips forward into hers. Reese paused. Good, she felt it. Her hands, which had been grasped in mine, moved to my stomach. I wrapped my arms around her waist to cover her movements. Deftly, she removed the gun. The backs of her fingers trailed over my stomach.

  I stopped kissing her.

  Reese pressed her cheek to mine. “Follow my lead.”

  “All right, peanut butter.” I nodded and kissed her cheek. Then I stepped back.

  “This is how we’re going to do this,” Reese told the room. “Cooper, Ryan, and I are going to leave. You are going to let us. When you die”—she looked at her grandfather—“Alexis will probably take over. She’s crazy and you like crazy. You will never see us again. And you’ll never even try to see us again.”

  “No.” The don smiled.

  “Yes. Because if you don’t let us go.” Reese pressed the revolver to her temple. “Then I’ll be going with them.”

  “Fuck that.” Ryan tried to throw off the guys holding him. It didn’t work. T
hey were bigger.

  “Holy fuck, Reese. Put the gun down.” I tried to step forward to take the gun away. But Alexis grabbed me by the hair and yanked me back. Ouch.

  “Go ahead,” Alexis said.

  “Psychotic bitch.” I elbowed Alexis off me. She punched me in the back of the head. I saw lights and colors I’d never seen before. Steve stepped up and grabbed me. He was half restraining me and half holding me up and half keeping Alexis off me. Wait, that was too many halves.

  “Stop it,” Reese said. “Make a choice.”

  I turned to look at the don. Everyone turned to look at the don.

  “Give her your keys,” the don said to Vito. “You may go,” he told us.

  “Thank you.” Reese cocked the gun. “Everyone move slow, okay? My finger is on the trigger. And these things go off with so little motivation. Let go of Ryan. Good. Cooper, the keys. Let’s go.”

  Ryan and I preceded her out the door. We ran for Vito’s car. I hurled from all the running, then got in the driver’s seat. And drove the fuck out of there.

  “Are you insane?” I asked once we were on the main road.

  “Madly,” Reese said.

  “That was so un-fucking-cool,” Ryan contributed from the backseat.

  “It worked.”

  “Not cool,” I said. “You scared the hell out of us.”

  “It worked. Now do you have a plan?”

  “Yes. Sort of. How shitty do I look right now?”

  “Hella shitty,” Ryan said.

  I glanced at him in the rearview mirror. He was wearing a tight sweatshirt. Like skintight. It said Yale across the chest.

  “Are you wearing Reese’s sweatshirt?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Never mind. What are you wearing under it?”

  “I got some awesome pecs. And a six pack. No, wait. A twelve pack. Yeah, baby.” He grinned.

  “I meant clothes, tool.”

  “I’m just wearing the sweatshirt.”

  “Take it off.” I pulled off my tie and tossed it back to him. Then I unbuttoned my shirt. “Grab the wheel.”

  “What?” Reese asked.