Carlita, certain her tenant was mere seconds from death, wedged her body between the warring women. “Stop!”
She said it forcefully enough that even Ricco, who was charging like a bull, slowed, but the murderous expression on his face was still firmly in place. “Ricco, please let me handle this.”
It was as if the man never heard Carlita, his eyes on his target, and she wondered if he was deciding whether he was going to fill Angelica full of lead or choke her, a strong possibility judging by the way his fists were clenched.
Carlita swung around to face Brittney. “Let go of Angelica’s hair.”
“She hit me,” Brittney gritted out; her fist still full of the other woman’s hair.
“Yes, she did. I think it was a reflexive move. She didn’t mean to.”
Angelica made a gurgling sound, which Carlita took as an apology. “See? She’s apologizing.”
Carlita placed a firm grip on her daughter-in-law’s arm. “Let go. This isn’t solving anything.”
Brittney reluctantly released her hold, and Angelica stumbled backward. “She deserved to be slapped.”
“That’s enough,” Carlita snapped.
Mercedes sprang into action, grabbing Angelica’s arm and pulling her toward the stairs.
“What are you doing?” Angelica jerked her arm, attempting to escape Mercedes’ grasp. She was no match for Mercedes who kept an ironclad grip on her as she dragged the woman down the stairs.
“How does a night in jail sound?” Mercedes said the first thing that popped into her head.
“Jail?”
“For assault,” Carlita said. “You assaulted my daughter-in-law.”
“I did not. I merely put her in her place.”
“And left a mark on her face.” Carlita followed her daughter and temporary tenant to the bottom of the stairs. “I want you out. You have twenty-four hours to vacate this apartment, or I’ll contact the authorities and have you arrested.”
“You…you can’t do that,” Angelica huffed. “I have a signed lease.”
“And you broke the lease,” Carlita said. “You’re disturbing the peace of other tenants.”
“We’ll see about that.” Angelica stormed down the hall, flung her apartment door open and marched inside. She slammed the door so hard it rattled the hall window.
“I’ll handle this.” Mercedes followed Angelica into the apartment and closed the door behind her.
Carlita slowly turned her attention to Ricco and Brittney, who stood watching from the top of the stairs.
“Why did you stop me from poppin’ the putz?”
“Because you can’t go around killing people. You want the heat on us? You start offing people and what’s happening in Atlantic City will be the least of your worries.”
“Yeah. I guess you’re right.” Ricco relaxed his stance. “A body right now could be somewhat problematic.”
“I’m evicting her…pronto.” Carlita climbed the stairs and approached Brittney, the outline of Angelica’s hand clearly visible on her cheek. “I’m sorry, Brittney. Angelica is a troublesome tenant. I’ll need to give her a couple of days to move out. In the meantime, I think it’s best if you avoid her.”
Brittney placed a light hand on her injured cheek. “I…I will. It’s a good thing Daddy wasn’t here. We would already be dragging her body to the car.”
Visions of Vito Castellini offing her tenant filled Carlita’s head. And for the umpteenth time, she wondered why on earth her eldest son had become entangled so deeply in “the family.”
Mercedes exited Angelica’s apartment and sprinted up the steps. “She’s on the phone trying to find a place to go. At first, she kept threatening us for breaking her lease, but after I reminded her that Brittney has every right to press charges, she realized she could be in trouble and agreed it’s time for her to leave.”
“See?” Carlita forced a smile. “Problem solved.”
Ricco took the keys from Carlita and returned downstairs to grab Brittney’s last bag. Carlita trailed behind. “Where are you and Luigi staying?”
“I dunno. We weren’t plannin’ on makin’ this trip. It was kind of spur of the moment. We’ll probably end up sleepin’ in the car.”
“No.” A sudden thought popped into Carlita’s head. “If you can make do for a day or two until Angelica moves out, you and Luigi can move into her furnished efficiency.”
“Are you sure?” Ricco eyed Carlita. “That’s mighty kind of you, Mrs. G.”
“Yes.” Carlita warmed to the idea. If someone was targeting Brittney, the closer Ricco and Luigi were, the better. “Absolutely.”
“I appreciate the generous offer.” Ricco removed the last bag from the back seat and shut the car door. “We’ll stay on the down low. You won’t even know we’re around.”
They began strolling toward the apartment when a movement from the building on the opposite side of the alley caught Carlita’s attention. Dernice, Elvira’s sister, stepped onto the stoop and pulled the door shut.
Carlita slowed, motioning to him. “Go on ahead. I’ll catch up.”
He returned inside, and Carlita waited until Dernice noticed her.
“Hey, Carlita.”
“Is Elvira around? I want to talk to her about the parking situation.”
Dernice’s eyes slid to the side in the direction of the back door. “She’s…kind of under the weather. Yeah…she’s caught some terrible virus. I don’t think you should be around her right now. It could be some sort of plague.”
“Plague?” Carlita wrinkled her nose. “Is she all right? Has she seen a doctor?”
“No. I mean, I think she should, but not yet. Is there something I can help you with?”
“One of my tenants is complaining about your security services van parking in our lot and blocking the parking spots. I know parking is tight, but I have out of town guests who just arrived. I’m going to need all of my spaces for my tenants and company.”
“I understand. I’ll move the van, and we’ll start parking them on the street.”
“Thanks.” Carlita turned to go. “Tell Elvira I hope she’s feeling better soon.”
“I
