Page 8 of Privilege

Lucia scowled. “I hate that nickname.”

“I know, but you’re not tough enough or old enough yet to stop me from using it. I dropped the kid one, but I am not dropping Lucy.”

She whacked her brother hard on the arm. John grinned back.

“They do care about you, John,” Lucia said.

“They do,” he agreed. “Right now, I just want to focus on staying sane and good.”

“Okay.”

“But I’ll be around for you, too.”

“Good,” she whispered, smiling.

“Also, I’ll let Dad know you’re loving hard on my car.”

“Why?”

John made a dismissive noise. “Maybe he’s looking to upgrade your car for your eighteenth.”

“Maybe?”

“Maybe,” her brother echoed with a wicked smile.

Lucia did a little dance in the passenger seat. “Yes!”

“Spoiled.”

“Don’t judge me.”

“You make it hard,” John teased.

Sighing, Lucia watched her brother from the side. “Does it feel weird to be out and everything?”

“No, but everyone keeps trying to make it that way.”

“I don’t get it.”

“I feel like a bug being watched as it climbs up a wall. Someone is probably waiting with a shoe to swat me when I get too close. It makes me feel like I’m living in a bubble or something, like I’m going to blink and suddenly go insane.”

Lucia hated that for John. “You’re not crazy.”

John blew out a harsh breath. “Thanks.”

Before Lucia knew it, they were driving through a dirtier part of the city. The shady part of Brooklyn that her father had always made it clear to Lucia that she was not allowed to go. Like the smart girl she was, Lucia always followed those rules because she didn’t want to find out what would happen if she didn’t.

“What are we doing here?” Lucia asked.

“Just keep quiet,” John replied. “I’ve got some business to handle. I knew that you were wanting to chat and see me, or whatever, but I still have work to do all the same. Turn cheek like Dad always told you to do, and we’ll be fine.”

Lucia chose not to respond to her brother on that front. “Working, working?”

“I don’t have any other job, Lucy. I’m a Capo, and nothing more.”

Great.

John parked the Mercedes in front of a shoddy apartment building. He repeated to her to stay put and leave the car locked until he came back. Then, he climbed out of the car, and Lucia watched him disappear into the building. Less than ten minutes later, her brother emerged from the building with a black duffle bag in hand. John unlocked the car and tossed the bag to the back.