Crossing my arms and looking at my boss, I thought he was actually joking, but that wasn’t the case here.
“Ambrose I’m being serious, until the Mafia is done fighting with the new gangs in our area, Mia and you will work out of the next town over. This is the safest thing to do.”
“What about the others? Are they not being—--”
“Their fathers aren’t the chief of police. You know you’re a special case, Ambrose.”
“This is utter bullshit. I can’t just pick up all my shit and move it to the next town over!” I yelled in frustration.
“Yes, you can, and you will if you intend to keep your job. You will start there next Friday. That gives you ten days to find accommodations in the area. Mia has already agreed and is looking for a place. Reach out to her and maybe she can help you.”
Biting back the words on my tongue, I left the bay. Yes, I would get a relocation bonus, but this was still bullshit. I served my two weeks off for this? I slammed my car door as I got back in, heading towards dad’s. This was all his fault, and I was going to let him know that.
Pulling into the driveway, his car was there, but so was Maddox’s. Based on the time, they were having a dinner meeting here. The neighbours were unaware of how close the mafia boss was to them. This was a private, normal looking car. He always showed up in this one when he came here, otherwise it was flashy sports cars and SUVs. I let myself in, like I still lived here. I barely registered the gun pointed at me. This was one of the five underbosses. I didn’t know him well, but he knew me.
“Sorry, did not know you were going to be showing up.” He said, tucking away his weapon.
“Neither did I.” I grumbled, not bothering to take my shoes off when he let me pass.
Maddox and my dad were speaking about safety measures and I cleared my throat before pulling out a chair. I waited until Maddox finished speaking before I interrupted. I was mad, not stupid.
“You and I need to have some words. For you to go over my head and make choices for me is bullshit. I have grown up here, and worked here for a long ass time. You just don’t get to do this shit.” I snapped, looking at my father, making it clear it was him I was annoyed with.
“They suggested it to me, and I happened to say it was a good idea. Simmer down, Ambrose.”
“Simmer down.. You did not actually just say that to me?” I said, looking at him, almost dumbfounded. I chuckled before looking at Maddox.
“Excuse my actions.” I muttered, before picking up the centrepiece on the table, setting the flowers on the top, and tossing the water in it at my father.
“Ambrose!” He yelled, pissed off that I drenched him.
“What? Don’t like it when someone takes your choice away, huh? Kind of like I just took away your choice of being dry.”
“This is my house—--”
“This is my mother’s house, actually.” I muttered, setting the vase back down and putting the flowers back in it, and reaching across the table to take the glass of water my father was drinking and refilling the vase.
I looked back to Maddox and then back to my father.
“Have a splendid dinner. Bye.”
“Ambrose, we are not done here.” My father said, standing up.
“Oh, we are. I have ten fucking days to find a new place to live in the next city over, since I have to work there now, since someone like to piss around in my affairs.”
“Ambrose!” He yelled.
I turned around and chuckled.
“Oh, and don’t forget to tell my mother about this.”
Leaving, I slammed the door on my way out. I was still pissed off and fuming about this whole fucking deal. I should have gone home, but I really didn’t want to deal with that right now. Instead, here I was, outside of the bar at eight pm. I had a drink every now and again here after some long shifts. The bartender looked at me when I walked inside.
“Ambrose, you’re early, not working tonight?”
“Oh boy, that’s a loaded question.”
“Tell me about it, but first, you intend on getting heavy with the bottle tonight?”
“Perhaps, Here I know what you want.”
I tossed him my keys. He wrapped a paper label around the loop and wrote my name on it, and dropped them in the key bucket for the night. He slid an empty glass in front of me and spoke as he poured.
“Tell me about your troubles, Grayson.”
“Ugh, where the fuck do I start?”
“The beginning is the best spot, normally.” He laughed.
I tipped the glass back and felt the burn of the whiskey as it went down. Setting it down, I pulled out my wallet and dropped two hundred on the top of the bar.
“One of those nights, huh?”
“It’s going to be.”
“I’m glad I took your keys, then.”
“You and I both.”
I started rattling on about my last few weeks and then about the shit I walked into at work today and my father’s decision to move me to a different city without my approval.
“I can see how that would be frustrating. Your father makes a ton of choices for you, and his power is well known, for many reasons.”
“Besides that, he’s in the pocket of you know who, he’s got no power without him. Sort of.” I groaned.
I was all too aware that this was a Mafia owned place, but what family owned it, was the question. Maddox had been allowing some of the other families to have business here, as long as they respected his territory and didn’t cause problems. Friends of his, you could say, if he even had friends.
Tossing back a second drink, I was still annoyed. The bartender was being pretty heavy-handed tonight and not really watching my alcohol consumption, and I knew it. By around ten pm, the bar was pretty full, and I was a few drinks deep.
One thing led to another, and it was hard to tell what actually started the fight behind me, but even I was eventually pulled into it. A bartender was on the phone. The mafia was going to be crawling all over this place in a minute, but that didn’t stop people from throwing hands. The bartender yanked me out of the way before I got crushed by people fighting.
“Stay here. You are too drunk to be that close to this shit. Besides, they are on their way.” He said.
“Who owns this?” I muttered, not really thinking about it, and not really hearing more than the words ‘Di Salvo’. I couldn’t figure out where the hell I had heard that before.
Minutes later, the bar was being commanded by a few taller males, guns clearly on their hips. They spoke to the bartender, and he nodded before speaking.
“Attention ladies and gentlemen. The owner is on his way and not a single one of you is to leave the bar until he dismisses all of you. Destruction of property and such, you know.”
The bartender gave me the open bottle.
“Amuse yourself Ambrose, it’s going to be a long fucking night.”
“Right. Well, I should try to get sober then. In case I need to walk or some shit.” I groaned.
I pulled out my phone, debating texting someone for a hand, but honestly, the only person I had from the Mafia was Alessio and I would not beg him for help. I had nothing to do with the fight, so I was going to be just fine. The few men cleaned up some tables and chairs, having everyone sit back down, quietly. The bartender let me go back to my chair where I had been.
He passed me a glass of water and spoke.
“Should help you sober up a little.”
“Right, thanks.”
Drinking it back, I looked at the doors when they opened and he walked in. I could have puked my guts out right then and there. It was the fucking guy from the complex and the one tried to pop my damn head off nearly. Marco.
I really was not sober enough for this.
“Any chance I could sneak out the back?” I muttered.
“No. Marco would make sure you were found.”
“Ha, that’s the thing I’m worried about.”
“Marco is only interested in those who wrecked his bar—--”
“He is the one who choked me in the alley.” I muttered, drinking the rest of the water and praying to sober up quicker. Marco commanded the bar and started forcing everyone to piece together the events that happened. I watched him speaking and moving around from the mirror over the top of the bar. Once he let the others leave, I tried to sneak out, but he snagged my arm.
“Hold up. Not you, I haven’t had the chance to ask you about what you—--” He spun me around. “Oh. It’s you.” He muttered, frowning.
“I’m loaded and would like to go home.” I said, trying to pull my arm out of his grip.
“Yeah, I don’t think so. We need to have a long conversation about not only what you saw tonight while in the bar, but also about the alley incident.”
“I didn’t see shit, and I don’t know shit. As for you choking me all unsexy like, I’m not in interested in reliving that, thanks but no thanks.”
“Right, so that’s not how this is going to work. We are going to speak about what happened.”
“Yeah, I will pass.” I hissed.
“You don’t get that option. At least, at this moment.” He said.
“Give me my damn keys so I can go the fuck home.” I snapped at the bartender.
“Do not. He is drunk and I can drive him home.” Marco said.
“Driving drunk is far better than getting into a car with you. You tried to kill me!”
“Hardly. I tried to make you pass out, not kill you.”
“Keys. Now.”
“No, I will not let you drive drunk.”
“Fine. Then Ill just fucking walk.”
“That’s dangerous.”
“I’ll take my chances—--” He pulled me out of the bar behind him “Hey wait!”
He shoved me in the side of his SUV and closed the door. He got in on the other side and demanded I put my seatbelt on. Not trusting him, I did just that. He waited before he started driving.
“Where am I taking you?” He asked.
“To my death?” I muttered.
“Hardly. Where do you live so I can take you home?”
“Oh, right?” I gave him the directions, but when I reached for my keys I hissed.
“I can’t get inside.”
“What, why?”
“My keys.”
“Guess you’re coming with me then.”
“What! No, I can stay at my dad’s—-”
“It’s one in the morning. Just give it a rest and I’ll drive you back in the morning.”
“Fine. But you better.”
“You have my word.”
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