Charlie is the one and only exception. Even Gian doesn’t know the full plan at any given moment. Charlie is just too bright to keep in the dark, plus most of the plans are his.
I’m smart, I can case a joint and find all the weak spots, but it’s Charlie who can put all the pieces together. With only two other men on the crew, made men who I trust, we’re a tight-knit, unbreakable crew. Tony is the sweet talker who breaks into safes as a hobby and Frank is the big guy who enjoys smashing knee caps.
“How’s Annie doing?” Charlie asks.
My eyes snap up to his. Charlie Massaro is the only crew member who’s not made. When I met him, he was a lanky seventeen-year-old who was seeking legal counsel from Giuseppe after he got caught pick-pocketing. As smart as he was, pick-pocketing was not his strong suit. Giuseppe got the charges thrown out and I took the kid under my wing. “Why?” my voice comes out gruff.
“Woah, skip.” Charlie puts his hands up defensively. “I didn’t mean anything, just after the whole thing with her brother I wasn’t sure how she was feeling, ya know? That’s a lotta money she owes you now.”
He’s right, but I haven’t even thought about the extra fifty grand. Hell, one hundred grand in total and it was chump change to me.
To Annie, or even to Charlie, that’s a ton of cash.
“Yeah,” I mutter. “She’s fine, deal still stays the same.”
Charlie whistles. “You think he’ll stop gambling?”
I blow a breath of air out. “He better. I have men posted on him to make sure.”
“And if he doesn’t?” Charlie asks.
That’s a good question, because men like Johnny don’t give up their vices easily. Anyone else and I would have cut them loose, but I’m infatuated with Annie and I’m not quite ready to lose her yet.
I probably should have killed Johnny the day I met him, but my fucking obsession with Annie prevented it.
“Haven’t decided yet,” I answered.
Annie would be the death of me or at least my waller. For some reason though, I don’t give a damn.
“Are you coming to the wedding or not?” I can imagine my father’s annoyed expression over the phone, he’s probably flinging his hands around in agitation. In school we were always teased for talking with our hands. I remember one kid joking that I spoke sign language, which earned cackles from the other kids.
DelGado’s are loud, enthusiastic, and we use a lot of motions when talking. We are Italian after all.
“Yeah, yeah,” I respond. I’m a little busy at the moment watching Annie try to get through the make-shift vent we created for her. Every time she gets stuck, frustrated, and the guys have to pull her out. I can’t handle it anymore, every time she whines I want to pull her out and comfort her, but I know damn well that won’t get them the results we need. “I’ll be there,” I tell my dad.
“This is Gulia’s only daughter,” my dad continues. “She’s gonna be a wreck, you know that?”
“Yeah, pops. I know, Aunt Gulia will be sad.” I roll my eyes, thankful he can’t see me.
“You know one of you could get married, hmm. I have three adult children and not one has any interest in marriage.”
Yeah, yeah.
I’ve heard that sob story before. My mom was the queen of it, always asking for grandbabies. Gian and I are both lacking in the serious relationship area, which is killing our parents. Gian at thirty and me not too far behind and neither of us have a wife or kids.
Nothing could disappoint our parents more.
Gemma, my baby sister, had a few boyfriends, but we didn’t like any of them. You could say Gian and I are a little protective of her. When she brings home a boy it normally doesn’t go well, so she stopped trying.
“Okay, pops. I’ll work on that for ya.”
“Yeah, sure.” Giuseppe sighed on the other end of the phone.
“Dad, I gotta go, I’m working.” I tapped the end button with a heavy exhale.
“I can’t do this.” Annie’s hands hit her hips with a slap. “It’s too tight.”
“Oh, madone.” I threw a hand up. “You and my father are racing to see who can kill me first, hmm?”
Annie frowns. “That’s not fair. I don’t even know your father.”
“Yeah, and thank god for that.” I run a hand through my hair. The gel is starting to break down and it’s looking unruly. “It’s the only way, Annie. You have to get through that vent, okay?”
Her arms instinctively cross over her chest as she gazes over the metal contraption again. “Where does it go?”
“Fuck, sweetheart. You know I’m not gonna tell you that right now.” I’m in a foul mood, between prepping for this job and talking to my father, plus carrying all of Gian’s stress, I’m a second away from cracking.
“Okay.” Annie backed down sensing my frustration. “So you want me to crawl through this vent.”
“Yes, you crawl through that vent and that’s all you have to do.”
“Fine,” she mutters. “I’ll try again.”
I take a deep breath, taking my frustration out on Annie isn’t going to help. She’s a champ though, she climbs the ladder and tries again, and again.
Charlie talks her through it with the patience of a saint while I sit down with a cup of espresso. Maybe a minute and some caffeine will do me good.
“Okay, breathe through it, Annie,” Charlie tells her.
She inches forward causing the metal to shake.
“I’m in!” she finally shouts.
“Yes! Good job!” Charlie looks at me with a huge smile on his face.
She fucking did it.
“We have a problem.” Tony breaks through the excitement with just a few
