Page 47 of Time Served in New York
“Technically, it’s Boss’s fault we’re here. He took one look at Cool Cat and was lost and then the rest of us fell like dominos. I’m okay with that.”
“You’re still riding that high from her saying yes instead of stabbing you and disappearing into the crowd, never to be seen again,” Kitty teased.
Hook nodded. “I think it was touch and go there for a second. There was a momentary flicker in her eyes, but it went away and she accepted after all.”
“If you make us come back here and do this shit again, I’ll kill you my damn self,” Preacher threatened. “This whole thing is a ‘been there, done that’ situation that I’m not willing to repeat.”
“You’re still hungover, huh?” Rodeo asked.
Preacher’s face fell, and he looked sad enough to cry. “Fuck yes, I am. I don’t know how people do that shit all the time.”
“I’m with you. I haven’t felt this bad since I ended up on the bottom of a dogpile in the middle of Soldier Field, and I was fucked up for days after that.”
“Chef, we don’t want to hear about your sexual exploits before you met Brea,” Bug teased.
“I’ll fuck you up, firebug,” Chef threatened.
“Why the fuck do we have to go to this thing tonight anyway?” Preacher asked.
Stamp replied, “Frankie’s brothers are hosting this as sort of an introduction to polite society around here. For years, our families lived on the fringe, loaded rich and running things but still considered outsiders who weren’t fit to invite to the more elegant affairs. None of the men who were in charge ever helped the community, they mostly just hurt it with crime like embezzlement and shit. The four families want to make a change, kind of like we did at home, while still running things their way.”
“What does that have to do with the fucking wedding?” Kitty asked.
“They’ll know exactly who Paula is the second they see her. Same with me. They might have seen me on television but know I was run out of this town because I killed one of the higher-ups without it being sanctioned by my family. Frankie is the princess who refused to have anything to do with her family’s business and wasveryvocal about how she didn’t appreciate how they were handling things.” Stamp paused and laughed with the rest of us because we all knew how vocal Frankie could be when she disagreed with someone. “Anyway, the fact that we’re all friends and here together is going to show the rest of the players in this big, fucked-up game that all bets are off since the four families are united. Frankie’s brothers will dance with Paula, Paula’s son will dance with my Birdie, my sons will be seen making toasts and sharing conversation with Zachary, his uncles,andthe Romanos after decades of tense history.”
“It’s all a show?” Preacher asked.
“Not at all. It’s for real, and this is the first public showing of it. Paula’s brothers have an announcement to make that’s going to send ripples through the state. Hell, all over the fucking country. Up until tonight, everything has been speculation on the street and among the cops, FBI, and the press. When they see this show of force and how the four families are interacting with each other, and for a good cause, no less, it’s going to cement how they want the future to play out.”
“And all of us getting dressed up and schmoozing with the socialites of this town does what?”
“I’m not sure if it does anything besides give people an idea of what they might be up against if they get their hands on one of our women, namely Paula, Frankie, or Birdie. You’ve got to admit that we can be an intimidating bunch when we’re together wearing our game faces.”
“Birdie’s in it, too, just by marrying you?”
Stamp shrugged at Rodeo’s question. “It’s part of the name, and it’s not a secret that she’s my old lady.”
“They could use Santa and Hook against the family now, too, just like they could use you?” Preacher asked.
Hook let out a bitter laugh before he said, “They could try.”
“We’ll be fine at home,” I assured the men. “We’ve got our own shit to worry about, and we’ve got enough eyes and ears around now that we’ll know if anything starts to get fishy. We take care of our own.”
“Damn right,” Chef growled.
“Get your fucking hand off that tie, Soda,” Preacher snapped. Soda frowned and dropped his hand with a tortured sigh, and I laughed along with the others.
“Here they come,” Rodeo said as he pushed away from the wall, watching the lights above the elevator that was reserved for the floors we were using start to count down.
“Thanks for doing this, you guys. I know this wasn’t what you were expecting when I asked you to stand with me at my wedding.”
“Anytime, Santa. We’re here for you, even if we do have to dress like trained monkeys,” Bug assured him. “That’s what brothers do, right?”
“Hell yeah it is,” I agreed as I turned and waited for my woman to get off the elevator. The doors started to open, and I could hear the women chattering before I said, “Here we go.”
The ladies all stood still for a second and smiled as their eyes found their men. I could see Jenn standing at the back of the elevator next to Blue and Brea, and I waited patiently for the rest to clear out so I could get a good look at her.
I felt my heart stop before it started again, racing at the sight of the beauty before me as she walked my way.
