Raw anger surfaced on her face. “Don’t you dare say anything about her, Dominick. Whatever she had to endure was much more horrible than anything you’ve experienced in your life.”
“I’m not chastising your mother in any fashion, but there has to be a reason that your father carted her off to a mental institution.”
“Where is she, Dominick? If you know something, I demand you tell me!” She was more rattled than ever.
“All I know is that she’s somewhere in Canada.”
“Somewhere? And you expect me to buy that?” Caroline shoved her cup onto the counter, backing away. “Just because I was stupid enough to say I love you doesn’t mean that you can hold this over my head. I’m no fool. There is something hiding in the dark and very murky waters of this situation. The question is, what does my father have on you?”
I recoiled, another volley of anger sliding into my system. “Your father is a gnat and nothing more, a worthless piece of shit who uses people-”
“Just like you?” she interrupted.
Gripping the edge of the counter, I took a deep breath. “Maybe you’re right. I never lied to you about the kind of man that I was, but did your father?”
She twisted her mouth, lines crinkling on her beautiful face. “You’re right. He’s capable of anything. That much I know. That’s why I wanted to get away, start a new life. I was a fool to think that would ever happen. If my mother is really alive, please find her, Dominick. Ruin my father. I don’t care, but please don’t ever lie to me. You have me. I’m yours now to do with what you want, but I won’t be some stupid patsy or arm candy. Never.”
“You’re many things, Caroline but you’ll never be just arm candy. I promise you I will find her. My father…” I hissed, realizing I shouldn’t have said anything. I pulled her into an embrace but she pushed me away.
“Your father what?”
“He’s attempting to locate her. He has significant and very influential friends, much more so than your father and several of them owe him a favor. We should know something soon.”
“I hope to God you’re right or I will get the answer from my father myself. There is nowhere that asshole can hide.”
The phone interrupted the conversation and instantly my hackles were raised, seeing Lorenzo’s number on the screen.
She glared down at the phone, snorting. “I’ll leave.”
“Stay.” I no longer cared what she knew. “Lorenzo. This had better be good. Please tell me you found the fucker.”
“No, although my father was very interested. The reason for my call is that you’re going to want to catch the morning news. Check NBC.” There was a level of fury I rarely heard in his voice.
Immediately I stormed toward the television, flicking on the remote. “What the hell am I supposed to be seeing.”
“Just wait,” he hissed. “And be prepared. That’s all I can say.”
“What’s going on?” Caroline asked, moving closer to the television.
“I don’t fuckin’ know.” When the commercial finally ended, the sight of Drummand’s face standing on a platform, various law enforcement by his side sent an immediate chill down my spine. This was on the national news. Fucking fantastic. “What the fuck is he doing?”
“Just wait,” Lorenzo huffed.
I scanned the screen, able to see Dick Markus standing in the background. While he had a smug look on his face, he seemed disinterested in the proceedings.
The small crowd of mostly reporters jumped closer to the makeshift stage, jutting their microphones in front of Drummand.
Drummand waved his hand, a huge smile crossing his face. He looked directly into the cameras. I could see the smirk in his eyes. “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m Senator Drummand Hargrove of the great state of New York. As many of you are aware, I’ve been involved with cleaning up the streets of New York for some time. I take pride in the fact that we’ve been able to reduce crime by almost ten percent in the last year alone. That is why I’m very proud to announce a joint taskforce, headed by the organized crime units for both New York and Chicago. We are very close to several indictments involving members of two highly noted crime families. With our success, this will pave the way into other task force units, erasing aspects of organized crime all across our country.”
“This has to be a joke,” Caroline whispered.
“What in the hell.” My grip on the counter increased as pictures of my father and Carmine Francesco popped up on the screen.
“They’re a little out of their jurisdiction, aren’t they?” Lorenzo hissed. “Imagine what the other boys will think. They could be playing one of us against the other.”
This was a damn good possibility. Why not have the various regimes fight it out amongst themselves? For that, he’d need some significant help.
“You heard anything on your front?” I asked, studying every person standing on the platform. There were some dudes in suits, but from what I could tell, they weren’t Feds.
“You know my father. He says little. Nothing on the streets here yet. This is coming from your end, brother, but the ramifications are shit.”
“Uh-huh. Talk to your father and I’ll talk to mine. We may need to set up a meeting of the group.” I exhaled as Caroline walked closer, staring at the photographs in a horrified manner. “The trickledown effect will be coming.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of,” Lorenzo huffed. “We need to take care of this quickly.”
“What is going on?” Caroline whispered.
“As you know,” Drummand continued, “there have been recent bombings in several casinos run by both families. This is only the latest in crime-related activities causing the death of several innocent people. With confirmed sources, we have proof of drug-related activity as well, centering on the casinos.”
“Fuck!” I slammed my hand on the counter.
“He’s insane if he thinks he’s going to get away with this,” Lorenzo hissed.
“He will be dealt with as necessary,” I countered, able to tell she knew exactly what I meant by the harsh statement.
Caroline placed her hand on my arm, but there was no crying hysterically or begging me not to take her father’s life.
There was utter silence.