Enforcer: A Prequel Novella to the New Mafia Trilogy by E. J. Fechenda Page A

and he showed
up on time to do his job without any issues.
    Marco and his brothers were back in the VIP area while the
clean-up crew was busy shoveling up debris and tossing it into small dumpsters.
Joey stood off the side while I approached Marco. A bottle of scotch was in the
center of the table and each of the men had a tumbler in front of them.
Apparently not all of the glasses in the club had been broken.
    I set the picture of Mike down in front of Marco.
              “What’s this?” Marco asked, looking up at me with
glassy, bloodshot eyes. “Is this the motherfucker?”
              “Yeah,” I ran my hand against the back of my neck,
debating how to tell Marco and decided being direct was the best approach.
That’s how he operated, he didn’t hold back. “It’s Mike Torino.”
              “Mikey? Ya serious?” Marco picked up the paper and
studied the image. I pointed at the tattoo and he slammed a hand down on the
table with a forceful smack that caused scotch to slosh around in his glass.
“That fucking son of a bitch!”
     Rico was next to study the picture and his lips formed a
thin line as he shook his head in disbelief.
              “What do want us to do?” I asked.
              “Find him and bring him to the plant. Let me know
as soon as you have him,” Marco instructed. I looked over at Joey D. and he
dipped his head in acknowledgement.
              “We’re on it.”
    Before we left Crimson I stopped at Miranda’s office,
knocking once before opening the door. I wasn’t prepared to find Miranda
crying. She sat up straight when she heard the door creak open and was hastily
wiping her tear stained cheeks.
              “Hey, are you okay?”
              “Yeah,” she sniffed and cleared her throat. “I’m
fine.”
              “Liar,” I said with a smile and walked around the
desk. “Come here.” I grabbed her hand, pulling her out of the black leather office
chair and into my arms, wrapping her up in a hug. She hesitated at first, but
eventually relaxed against me and returned the hug. This was my first time seeing
Miranda’s vulnerable side and it made me want to be her protector. Tucking her
head under my chin, I ran my hands up and down her back in a soothing rhythm.
We stayed like that for a few minutes until she slowly stepped away.
              “Thanks,” she said, smiling up at me. There was a
slight flush on her cheeks and her green eyes still glistened with tears. Her
beauty stunned me.
              “Want to talk about it?” Normally an emotional
woman, with my sister being the exception, sent me running in the opposite
direction. There was something about Miranda though, that made me want to
listen to her problems. I knew then that I was in deep and Marco’s threat was
no longer a deterrent.
              “I wouldn’t be surprised if my dad fired me. You
saw the damage and all of this was done on my watch.”
              “Your dad won’t fire you. None of this is your
fault and since your tires were slashed, that makes you a target. “
              “Grant, you don’t understand. This is as close as
I’ll get to being part of everything. I’ll never be a capo or boss. Dad still
laughs at me when I bring it up.”
              “It’s a violent world, why would you want to be a
part of it?”
              “I already am a part of it. This is my reality. I
remember Uncle Rico getting shot, people going to prison. It’s like Uncle
Rico’s business, Grabano & Sons, when have you ever seen ‘& daughters’
on a business sign? I’m out of the running for managing the family business, so
I’ll manage the shit out of Crimson to show I’m worthy.” She paused and sucked
on her lower lip, while staring at me.
              “What?” I asked.
              “Please don’t tell anyone I was in here crying.
That just