“You came over here to tell me after all of shit had already gone down,” I say as a statement instead of a question. I see Frankie’s eyes flinch, apparently put off by my accusing tone. “You came and told meafteryou spoke to the guy you think ordered the hit, andafteryou sent members ofmyfamily to help Victor’s crew clean up the scene of the hit. I got all that right?”
I glare at Frankie like I’m trying to kill him with my eyes, and he reads the accusation loud and clear. He recoils, sitting back in his seat and putting his hands up like he’s showing me he’s not hiding anything.
“Whoa, wait a minute, Dominic,” he says in a tone that’s a mixture of anger and fear. “You don’t think I had anything to do with this, do you? I would never turn my back on this family. Never. I’ve known you your entire life. Me and your father came up in this thing together. I would never do that to you, not just because I respect you and Our Thing, but because I loved your father like a brother. I would never do that, Dominic.”
I try to think of a smart way to respond, considering the thoughts bouncing around in my head. It all sounds like bullshit to me. He was trying entirely too hard to convince me it was Victor, and all he did was convince me it wasn’t.
“Okay, Frankie,” I bring myself to say. “Well, obviously I got a lot to think about. I’m gonna take a minute to get my head straight, then we’re gonna meet up and figure out the next move. For now, I know a lot of people were close with Raphy, so go give his family our condolences. We’ll meet up soon. Oh, and make sure his body is taken care of at your morgue.”
“Absolutely,” Frankie says, frowning. “Are you alright, Dominic?”
“I’m fine,” I reply quickly like I knew the question was coming. “I just gotta wrap my head around some shit. Just go make sure Raphael’s family is taken care of. Anything they need. We’ll talk soon.”
Frankie is hesitant, but he eventually gets up and heads for the elevator. Before he gets in, he turns around one more time. “You sure you’re alright, Dominic? Arewealright?”
“Of course we are. Make sure Raphy’s mother knows to come to me with anything she needs.”
Frankie nods as the elevator doors open for him. He steps in and presses the button to be taken back down to the basement. As soon as the doors close, I walk to the bedroom where Alannah is waiting for me.
“Is everything alright?” she asks with genuine worry in her voice.
“No,” I reply bluntly. “Frankie just came in here and told me our guys got hit on their way to Chicago this morning. Raphael Barissi got killed in a shootout, and Dan Stanza, who Raphy vouched for, is in the ICU with some pretty bad wounds.”
“Oh my god,” Alannah exclaims with a gasp.
“Yeah, and Frankie just came in here and convinced me that he can’t be trusted. Something doesn’t fucking feel right about this.”
“Does Frankie know who did it?” Alannah asks with her hand on her cheek, still shocked and worried about the murder.
“Frankie doesn’t know shit, but he was doing his best to convince me it was Victor.”
“You don’t believe him?”
“The more he tried to convince me it was Victor, the less I believed him. Victor wouldn’t make a move on us in that way. He’d make it personal so we’d know it was him. Whoever did this had an agenda. They were trying to keep the money from getting to Chicago.”
“Wait, what are you saying, Dominic?”
“I think it was an inside job by somebody close,” I admit out loud for the first time since Frankie was sitting on my couch. “Whoever did this knew the money was there, and they took it to hurt the Family.”
I walk over to my nightstand and grab my cell phone.
“Are you fucking serious?” Alannah says as her fears consume her. “Who are you calling?”
“The only fucking person I think I can trust,” I reply as I push the button to make the call. “Tommy, it’s me. Where the hell are you? Alright, listen, you and I need to meet up after you’re done at the hospital. Don’t tell anybody you’re coming to see me. I think we may have some snakes in our house, and it’s time to start chopping off heads.”
