Gabriel pauses to think for a moment. “What about the bedroom fire escape?” he asks as he turns to me. “The guards are already knocked out there, and we can get back to that room without being spotted if we go back the same way. None of the other guys are down that hall.”
“No, it won’t work,” I shake my head. “Leo said the stairs on the fire escape were removed so that I couldn’t escape.”
“And you believed him?” Gabriel smirks as he reaches for my hand and heads off back toward the room. “Leo’s a habitual liar, I think we can all agree on that now. I’m guessing that was nothing more than a lie he made up to keep you from trying to go anywhere.”
We make it back to Leo’s bedroom and Nick quietly closes and locks the door behind us as Gabriel opens the window and hangs his head out to assess the escape route. “There’s not a single guard down below,” he says with a vindicated chuckle. “And the stairs look fine. Leo figured his mind fuckery would keep you inside the room—no need for a guard even if you’re too scared to walk down the fire escape.”
“Ugh, that makes me feel kind of stupid for falling for it,” I groan.
“Don’t. We all fell for my brother’s deceptions.”
“I’ll go down first,” Nick says. “Just to be sure the stairs aren’t actually cut and unstable.” Within seconds, he’s at the ground waving us down. And within minutes after that, the three of us have escaped into the backstreets of the city and out of sight.
“We can’t go back to my apartment,” Gabriel says as we walk quickly to get as much space between us and Noho as possible. “I’m not sure who I can trust anymore, since some of my crew seems to have defected to my brother. And he’ll think to look there.”
“Well then,” I say, getting ready to make a bold suggestion. “Let’s go to the Grecoborgata.”
“We don’t really know who we can trust there either,” Nick says.
“True, but I met an old acquaintance in the warehouse that said most of the Grecos don’t want Leo to take charge. If he’s right, then we might be able to make fast allies and get more protection than it just being the three of us alone out here.”
“And you trust the guy that told you this?” Gabriel asks. I nod. “Let’s hope he’s right, then.”
When we first arrive back in Hell’s Kitchen, we’re met with a wall of aggression and suspicion until Florian walks out from among a group of men gathered there. “You’re here!” I exclaim in surprise. I guess I hadn’t noticed that he never reappeared in the warehouse after having left to deliver the message to Nick.
“And so are you,” Florian smiles. “I’m glad to see you were able to make it out of there.”
“Thanks to your help,” I smile.
I introduce Florian to Gabriel. “You’re the one who got us help. Thank you,” Gabriel says with a nod of his head.
“I figured I owed as much to Camille for teasing her when she was younger about how she couldn’t lead aborgatasince she was a girl,” Florian laughs, almost sounding melancholy now. “Boy, was I wrong. The men in charge have really mucked things up.”
“Glad to hear you say that,” Gabriel says. “Because we’ve got a pretty crazy plan to propose to you and the rest of the Grecoborgata, if you’ll indulge us.”
Florian welcomes us inside one of the restaurants my father used to own. It brings back a wave of nostalgia as I sit in one of the booths and remember sitting across this same table from my father once. He was teaching me how to fold napkins, at the very same time as he was teaching me how to hide a gun under my shirt. My mother always teased that they were helping me to be “well-rounded,” but now I’m starting to wonder if they hadn’t anticipated that this day would come and that I’d need to be well-prepared for it.
“The situation here has changed,” Gabriel starts off. “The Grecoborgatahas been fractured, and even though some of them have defected to Leo, we’re hoping many still want to keep the family within the hierarchal lineage of the Grecos.”
“You’re right to assume that,” Florian says. “Most of us here don’t want an outsider in charge. Especially not one as unhinged as your brother, no offense.”
“None taken. Leo’s out of control. With Johnny Greco dead, that means the only blood family member still remaining is Camille.”
I can see Florian shift in his seat as he thinks about what Gabriel is implying. “I mean, I think Camille would make a great leader, and I admit I was wrong to think a woman couldn’t do a good job running a crew. But I don’t think you’re going to be able to convince the rest of the Grecos that. They are all pretty rooted in the old ways. They aren’t going to just hand over the keys to the kingdom to Camille.”
“But what are their options?” Gabriel argues. “You can’t not have acapo, and it sure doesn’t seem like you have anyone here strong enough to step up into the role and fend off my psychotic brother.”
“If I may pose another crazy idea,” Nick interjects. “What if there was a way to have Camille lead but not ascapoor even acapo’s daughter. What if we filled the role ascapofor the Grecoborgatawith Gabriel?”
“Now that’s definitely the craziest idea you’ve had yet,” Gabriel laughs. “I have my ownborgatato lead, and the Grecos have no reason to follow me. I’m not bound to their family by blood.”
“True. But if Camille was part of your family, and in charge of leading her family with you beside her, then there’d still be acapofigurehead to appease the old laws.”
“You want me to leave my ownborgatato become co-capoof the Grecos with Camille? What would happen to the Adamis?”
“Haven’t you always said you didn’t want the role ofcapoto begin with?” Nick reminds him. “Ever since I’ve been yourconsigliere, you’ve told me you stepped into this role out of obligation and duty but never because you wanted to lead. Granted, you’re an amazing leader, but your motives aren’t the same as your brother’s. He wants power and you don’t.”
“That’s true,” Gabriel acknowledges. “I’m not opposed to the idea, since I never wanted to becapoof the Adamiborgataanyways. But what about the rest of my crew? There are still people that don’t want to defect to my brother, people depending on me as their leader.”
