“I can’t wait to see the look on the great Joe Coli’s face when I carve up his little princess.” The driver laughed at Enrico’s words—there would be no mercy for the woman who knocked out his front teeth. I curled myself up into a ball, dreading the next few hours.
After driving for a while, the van came to a stop. My heartbeat was pulsing in my throat. The driver’s door opened, then closed again. Then, I heard the passenger door open and close. I waited to be yanked out of the back of the van, most probably by my hair, but nothing happened. I couldn’t recall that silence had ever been that deafening.
I waited but nobody came.
JOE
The instructions were clear. I was to come to an abandoned warehouse near the docks, alone, and bring the money. The note had the usual “come alone or the girl gets it” crap, so I dropped Fabio, Mario and Franco a few streets away from the meeting place.
“We’re right here, Joe. We’ll sneak up on them so quietly, they won’t see us coming. I love you, man.” Fabio put his hand on my shoulder before he got out of the car.
The warehouse was a few blocks away. I hadn’t been to that side of town since I was a child. I’d go there with my father when he still owned a large fleet of fishing trawlers. It was the most exciting place for a young boy to be. I would play cowboys and Indians in the back of the warehouse on top of the highest pallets until it was time to leave. Every so often, I got to escort my father onto the fishing trawlers. The smell of fish made me nauseous, but it was worth it.
When you’re a kid, everything is big and magical. The boats would dwarf a small boy such as myself. It was amusing to me when I grew taller—how a room could be so enormous when you were a kid, then become rather ordinary when you were a grown man. The feeling of excitement and anticipation I felt as a boy was a far cry from the fear and angst I felt as I drove to the abandoned side of the harbor.
The gatehouse that once barred entry to anyone but my family was empty. The room that housed the guards forlorn, windows shattered. The sea air had not been kind to the walls and window sills. Everything made of metal was rusted, the paint chipped off the surfaces.
I knew that my father’s best men and my gang of misfits were close behind, but I was nervous, nonetheless. As I drove up to the abandoned warehouse, a brute of a man, holding a tommy gun, stood at the entrance. Not the kind of guy you’d want to meet in a dark alley at night. He waved me on with the barrel of his gun, and I drove, obediently, into the warehouse.
Five men, all armed, stood alongside a white panel van. I looked around before I got out of my car, sizing up the enemy. Three of the men were of average build—I’d have no problem taking them down. The other two were neckless gorillas, not too smart looking but definitely capable of snapping a man in half. I got out slowly with my hands open at my sides.
“Frisk him!” The smaller of the five shouted the order. He was the ringleader, for sure. One of the muscle-bound giants came straight at me. I didn’t move a muscle, even though I longed to push my fist deep into his ugly face. Pick your fight, Joe.
When Conan the Barbarian was satisfied that I wasn’t carrying a weapon, he nodded to the small man with the big attitude, who, in turn, approached me with caution.
“You alone?”
“I am. Where’s my wife?”
“Where’s my money?”
It was a standoff. Ordinarily, I’d be up for the challenge. I hadn’t made it to where I was in business by backing off when an opponent threw down the gauntlet. But I wasn’t in the boardroom now. I had to think through every step, every response, or my Ella would die.
I prayed that Abriana’s plan was merely to humiliate my father and force him into making Gino his successor. I hoped that it wasn’t her intention to kill me. Surely a smart woman like her would understand that doing something so heinous would get her beloved son killed, Coli blood or no. Abriana had to know that she’d eventually be fingered as the mastermind behind the scheme. Nothing in Palermo stayed hidden forever. She was a conniving bitch, not a complete idiot.
“I want to see my wife before I show you the money.”
“You don’t have any say here.” He spat at me. “Now, where is the money?”
I stood staring at him in silence. He nodded at Conan, who in turn punched me in the stomach. I dropped to the floor in a heap, a world of pain shooting through my gut.
“I’ll ask you again. Where is the money?”
I stood up and glowered at him, silent, defiant.
Conan popped me again. Fuck! That one really hurt.
I hoped the cavalry were close. I didn’t know how much more I could take from the pissed off giant. I had no doubt that he hadn’t even worked up a sweat yet. Probably too dumb to get tired.
“Okay, that’s enough.” The menacing leader held up a hand and called off his monkey.
“Is that all you’ve got?” I leered at him. And the
