Blood in the Golden Palace

Chapter 13: Angelo-2

Angelo grinned and turned to Alex, who looked ready to boil over. “Well how about that? Crisis averted. And hey, that means no depositions, doesn’t it, Pinkie? That’s a win no matter what.”

Pinkerton stared at Angelo, dead-eyed. “Yes,” he said. “Again, Mr. DeRossi, please don’t call me that.”

“Ain’t this some happy news?” Aldo flashed a few golden teeth as he smiled. “Tell you what, this has got me in some good spirits. Why don’t you and your boys visit the casino floor? Take a load off, enjoy the city. You’ll even be my guests at the restaurant downstairs.”

Angelo was already on his feet. “Hey, I might just take you up on that offer, Don Corsetti.” Luciano, Gio, and Pinkerton also stood. Luciano approached Aldo, who greeted him on his feet. They shook hands, albeit in a far less friendly manner than most.

“Thank you for indulging us, Don Aldo,” said Luciano. “It’s good to know that our agreement remains strong.”

“Certainly, Don Luciano. Certainly.”

With the meeting cut short, the DeRossi men were escorted from the conference room and back to the elevator. Upon leaving, Angelo couldn’t help his smug smile as he bowed his way into the hall. He could still feel Alex seething through the frosted glass. The four piled into the elevator. Luciano loosened his tie, as though he’d been holding his breath the entire meeting.

“This was not how I expected today to end,” he said. He turned to his lawyer. “Thank you for your services, Elroy. I am not sure how you managed what you did, but we owe you a debt of gratitude.”

Pinkerton pushed his glasses up his nose. “I suppose you could say I was inspired. Still, I dare say we got lucky this go around, Mr. DeRossi. If this happens again, I can’t promise a happy ending.”

“Agreed,” said Gio. “We’re still operating with a traitor in our midst. The sooner we find him out, the better.”

The doors dinged open to the main casino floor just as Angelo turned to Gio. “Well don’t worry there, big guy. I’m sure he’s not far.” Gio glared, but said nothing. Breaking off on the main floor of the casino, Angelo switched his phone back on, only to notice that Hank had left him a text, asking for a call back, which wasn’t exactly his normal style. Finding a quiet spot in the back alley of the casino, Angelo rang his number. “Hey, you wanted me to call?”

“Ah, hey boss. How was the meeting?”

“Better than we could have hoped.” Angelo propped his phone on his shoulder and fished out a cigarette.

“Did Corsetti fess up?”

“No, but we got the next best thing.” Angelo lit up and leaned against the brick. “Pinkerton managed a miracle. We’re off the hook for the raid.”

“That’s wonderful news.”

“Sure is.” Angelo hesitated. “So why’d you want me to call you? If you wanted an update, I could have just sent a text.”

Hank hesitated on the other line. “Right, well…It’s about Penny.”

Immediately, red alarms rang in Angelo’s mind. “Penny?” he said. “What happened? Where is she? Is she all right?”

“She’s fine, boss, she’s fine.” Angelo felt his muscles relax. “It’s just…We were down in the lobby, and erm…well…”

“Well what? Spit it out.”

“We ran into Miss Acino.”

Angelo’s high spirits dropped the moment he heard that name. “Ran into…What’d she say?”

“She introduced herself. To Penny.”

“Shit.” Angelo took a drag and pinched his nose between his ring finger and thumb, holding the smoke with his knuckles. “How is she?”

“She’s uh…Gotta be honest, boss, she’s not great…”

“Christ. Is she upset?”

“Yeah.”

“Where is she now?”

“In the room. I tried getting her something to eat but she says she’s not hungry.”

“I see.” Angelo finished his cig and shoved it into the brick behind him. “I’ll be right over.” With that, Angelo hung up and shoved his phone into his coat pocket. With how well the meeting had gone, he was hoping to celebrate with his new favorite travel buddy. It seemed like that might be out of the question…

“Hey!”

Angelo turned, seeing Alex approach him directly. He was alone, for once, and if his expression was anything to go by, ready to throw hands. Angelo turned to leave, but Alex picked up the pace and blocked his path. “Don’t you walk away when I’m talking to you, fucker.”

“Meeting’s over, Alex.”

“You think you’re so slick, don’t you, DeRossi? Think you saved your asses from the fires for good?”

“Move aside, Corsetti.”

“That little power move back there? I’m not even worried about it.”

“Yeah, you don’t seem bothered in the slightest.”

“Who gives a s**t if my father knows I was dead center in your garbage ass city? You think I need him to handle my business?”

“Bold talk behind his f*****g back.”

“f**k you!”

“I’m out of your league.”

Alex, up to his limit, threw a wild haymaker straight into Angelo’s face. One which would have done major damage to Angelo’s jaw, or even knocked out a couple of teeth, if it had hit. With Angelo side-stepping the trajectory all together, Alex instead went off kilter, and stumbled into the wall. He tried swinging again, but this time, Alex caught his wrist in the air and squeezed.

“Grow the f**k up, Alex.”

“You think you’re so much better than me.”

“I know I am.”

“You’re not better than me!” Angelo threw Alex’s arm to the side, turned, and started toward the road. Which was, tragically, when Alex made his biggest mistake. “You only exist because your w***e mother wouldn’t swallow, you gypsy b***h!”

Fuck it.

Spinning a complete one eighty, Angelo sent his knuckles dead on into Alex’s face. The floodgates were open, and together they clashed into the side of the casino. Angelo managed to get a few good swipes in, but it wasn’t long before Alex was returning fire. Somehow, Alex managed to get Angelo into a headlock, which Angelo used to his advantage by pummeling Alex from below. Once Alex finally let him go, Angelo grabbed onto his sweaty hair and slammed his knee into Alex’s solar plexus, barreling him over. Alex flailed backward, but grabbed onto Angelo as he tumbled, and the two collapsed into the filth of the asphalt. They tumbled further down the alley, until Alex ended up pinning Angelo by sitting on his chest. Dizzy, Angelo barely had a chance to register the knife that Alex had pulled out of his jacket pocket before it was on a one-way collision course for Angelo’s jugular.

Fortunately for both of them, it never struck. Raising the weapon in the air, Alex was ready to make the biggest mistake of his life when a hand shot out from the darkness and suspended his swing. Alex looked up, frantic, to see Gio Ferri rip the knife from his clutches and throw it deeper into the alley.

In an instant, the two were separated, and Angelo stumbled to his feet. Through their sweat and bruises, neither one looked ready to back down, and might not have, had Gio not physically stepped between them. He addressed Alex first. “I would suggest you go back inside, young Corsetti.”

Alex snarled, nursing a wounded shoulder. “He’s the one who broke the truce. He started the fight with me. What are you gonna tell your boss when he finds out that his son violated the rules, huh!?”

Gio c****d an eyebrow. “Is that why I had to pull the weapon off of you, Alexander?” Alex had no rebuttal. Gio looked between them. “As far as I’m aware…I saw no such fight.” He turned to Angelo. “Did you?” Begrudgingly, Angelo shook his head. “Then I recommend you both take the elevator from now on. The stairs are very dangerous. Easy to trip and fall.”

Once more, Alex and Angelo stared each other down. Waiting for the other to flinch. But with the situation diffused, Alex spat at Angelo’s feet, turned, and walked back inside. Angelo took a deep, calming breath, and felt up what he now assumed to be a split lip. Gio handed him a handkerchief. Angelo stepped out of reach, heading toward the main street. Gio followed, stuffing the hankie back into his pocket.

“Don Luciano wanted to know where you’d run off to.”

“I’ve got my own business to deal with. You can tell him that, personally.”

“More important than family matters?”

“Yes.” Angelo took out his phone, pulling out a ride app to get him back to the hotel, when Gio’s fingers covered the screen. Angelo looked up.

“Why are you so bent on not trusting me, Sottocapo?”

“Don’t call me that.”

“It’s what you are.” Angelo yanked the phone from Gio’s hand. Rather than seeming offended, Gio put his hands in his pockets. Angelo hated how pitiful his eyes looked. “All your life, I’ve never known you to run away like this—”

“You see me running anywhere?”

“Yes. I do. I see you running from the business. From your family.”

“What? Upset that I won’t fall perfectly into your trap?”

Gio shook his head. “You keep insisting—”

“Because you keep failing to prove me wrong,” Angelo snapped. “Don’t try to play the nice guy card. For all I know, you kept me from getting sliced open because your little business partner’s too excited. Might sit it off too early.”

“You’re being paranoid.”

“Oh really? Then where have you been lately? Huh?” Gio didn’t answer. Angelo continued. “You show up when Pop needs you to put look the part, like tonight. But otherwise, you’re skulking around the house, or gone for days at a time. I know you’re planning something—”

“To what end?”

Angelo scoffed. “I know how you think, Ferri. You call me the sottocapo? The underboss? Last I checked, families don’t get taken over by bastards. All you have to do is undermine me just enough as I’m taking on the right amount of responsibility, and then—” Angelo clapped. “—boom. You’re the perfect replacement.”

Gio took a deep breath through his nose. To Angelo, he looked like a sore uncle, ready to patronize his eccentric nephew. Angelo resisted the urge to smack the look right off his face. “You can think what you want,” he finally said. “All I can say is that I have never, not once, had anything but the best interests of you or your family in mind. Good night, Angelo.” Without giving Angelo a chance for rebuttal, Gio headed further into the night. Angelo shot daggers at his back until he rounded the corner and vanished from view.

Pushing that anger back down, Angelo pulled up his ride share app and ordered a car back to the hotel.

* * * *

Angelo stared at his meaty face in the reflection of the elevator doors. Alex definitely looked worse off between the two of them, but he’d gotten a few square licks off before Gio stepped in. Reaching his floor, Angelo smoothed back his hair and headed directly for his and Penny’s room, only to see Hank step out of his for a bucket of ice just before he could fish out his key card.

“Boss?” Hank tucked the empty bucket under his arm. “What the hell happened to you?”

“It’s nothing.”

“It don’t look like nothing.”

“It’s not what’s important right now.” They both turned to the closed door. Angelo squirmed inwardly; this wasn’t going to be a fun conversation to have. “She still pissed?”

“I wouldn’t put it that way. More…hurt.”

That’s so much worse. “Thank you, Hank.” With a swipe of his card, Angelo stepped inside. It was dark out now, which only added to the oppressive mood Angelo walked into. A single bedside lamp was turned on, and Angelo saw a small dent in the new mountain of books on the desk, but the proud owner of said mountain was not in the middle of a new story. Laying on the bed, her back turned to the door, was Penny. She was in a T-shirt and jeans, her shoes kicked lamely to one side. Angelo hesitated at the door.