I turned and left, leaving the door unlocked and open a crack behind me.
* * *
I parked the SUV outside of Sergio’s Bakery and climbed out. Colleen stared out the window at me with a frown on her face. I gestured with my head for her to follow, and she reluctantly got out of the car.
“This is it?” she asked.
“This is it,” I said. “Come on, let’s go in.”
She didn’t move. “This is just some bakery. You want me to meet with some violent criminal in a nice-looking hipster bakery?”
I winced and shook my head. “Don’t let them hear you say that,” I warned.
“Say what?”
“Hipster bakery. Sergio will lose his shit.”
“Who’s Sergio?”
“He’s sort of Dante’s mentor. Sort of mine, too, in a way.”
“I’m not sure what that means. He’s like your mobster mentor?”
I nodded and ran a hand through my hair.
“Look, me and Dante, we came up in this crew,” I said. “Sergio was the Capo back then. We went through some shit with him, had some bad times, and Sergio retired and started this place. Now Dante uses it as a sort of meeting spot, brings a lot of business into his old mentor, helps out around here when he can. You know, that sort of thing.”
“Got it, so he’s a gangster with a heart of gold.”
I snorted and shook my head. “Not even fucking close,” I said. “He just owes Sergio a lot, and Dante doesn’t turn his back on his responsibilities.” I turned away from her and walked to the door. “Now come on, let’s go.”
She followed me and headed into the bakery when I held the door for her. I stepped in behind her and the smell of fresh baked bread hit me square in the chest, and a smile came to my lips.
It’d been a while since I came to the bakery. I’d been too busy and I had my own spots to check on these days. But Sergio’s smelled exactly the way I remembered. I used to spend long hours in this place, and it felt like coming home to be there again.
Colleen lingered just in the threshold and I moved up behind her. I put a hand on her lower back and I felt her tense, but she didn’t pull herself away. The bakery had an industrial feel to it, mostly grays and browns. There were tables and chairs on either side of the main open space, with ceiling fans turning lazy circles up near the ceiling. A young guy with black hair and a bored smile stood behind the counter next to the pastry display and in front of the baskets packed full of fresh bread.
There were a few customers, some eating and talking, some with their computers out. I spotted Dante and steered Colleen over toward his table. He was talking with an old lady with white hair in a frizzy mess on her head. She was gesturing wildly and he was nodding with a smile on his lips.
Dante was a big guy, muscular, blue eyes, hair cut short. His tattoos peeked up from the edges of his perfectly tailored suit, crawling up his neck and down onto his hands. He looked good, like he was keeping himself in shape, and he wore one of his trademark bespoke suits in black and white.
“Listen, Mrs. Garcia,” Dante said to the old woman. “I promise, I’ll find your cat. Okay? I’ll put my boys on it right now.”
“Thank you, Dante, you’re a very good boy, you’re all very good boys. Oh, I remember when I was your age, things were so different, and I just—”
Dante gestured for one of his guys to come over. He stood as Mrs. Garcia kept talking and stepped away. Dante’s soldier took his place and nodded along as Mrs. Garcia spoke, not missing a single beat.
“Steven,” Dante said, coming over to me. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Hey Dante.” I gave him a grin. We shook hands and hugged, and his hand lingered on my shoulder.
“Fucking hell, man, you don’t come around enough. Sergio was just talking about you.”
“Yeah? What’d that old bastard have to say?”
“Nothing good, nothing good. You know him, always complaining.”
I laughed, and shrugged. It was just like old times.
“You can tell Sergio that I’m a Capo now, and he needs to show some respect,” I said.
Dante laughed at that and I grinned at him. We both knew Sergio would never show anyone respect, except for Don Leone himself.
Dante’s eyes moved over to Colleen and he tilted his head. “Who’s this?” he asked.
“Dante, this is Colleen,” I said. “And Colleen, this is Dante, my former boss.”
“Charmed,” Dante said.
Colleen smiled a little. “Nice to meet you,” she said.
“Where’d you find her?” Dante asked.
“He shot me,” Colleen said.
Dante stood still for a second then looked at me. “She joking?” he asked.
“We should sit,” I said. “I’ll tell you about it.”
Dante sighed and shook his head. “Never pegged you for the type,” Dante said. “Just shooting innocent bystanders.”
Colleen made a face. “He’s definitely that type. Have you met him? Total asshole.”
Dante laughed and I glared at Colleen. I steered her away and toward a table in the far corner, away from the other patrons. Dante joined us, nodding over to the kid behind the counter, who instantly started making a few coffees. I put Colleen on the bench in the corner and sat next to her, while Dante sat down in a chair across from us. He leaned back as the kid behind the counter returned with three espressos.
“Anything else, Dante?” he asked.
“Nah, we’re good, thanks.” Dante looked at me as the kid walked off and leaned forward on his elbow. “All right, tell me what happened. How’d you end up shooting this nice girl?”
I glanced at her. “She was a bystander at the hit
