Love and Liquor

Your Place

IX
Your Place 

The car ride was mostly quiet; both of them seemed wrapped up in their own thoughts. Grace’s mind flitted to the man sitting next to her. He was quite the character from what she had seen. He was a man, horribly devoted to his family, but he was also a wild card. Russo seemed to do whatever the hell pleased him, but he went about it in a cautious way. It made him untouchable.

Grace wondered what had happened to make him lose his cool yesterday.                                  

“What happened at the docks yesterday?” She asked, without thinking.      

Russo spared her a quick glance, before turning his head back to the busy roads of New York City.                                                                                                                                                         

“I got a little too excited, and hit a prohibition agent,” he didn’t elaborate.                  

“Why’d you hit him? Surely he was just doing his job.” Russo gave a humorless chuckle.             

“He shot one of my guys in the shoulder. I got mad."                                                            

“Oh,” there was a pause, as if Grace was deciding what she was going to say next.                        “Perhaps now your friend will start living an honest life, conducting honest business.”

She knew she had struck a nerve.                                                                                                                        

Russo’s knuckles turned white as his grip on the steering wheel tightened. He appeared to be physically biting his tongue to keep from lashing out at her. Grace didn’t know whether or not to be scared or amused.                                                                                                                              

“There is nothing dishonest about the way we conduct business. And you’d best be careful. If my father or even Luca had heard you say something like that, there would be consequences. They don’t take lightly to things like that.”                                                                       

“How can you say there is nothing dishonest in the way you live?” She asked, ignoring his warning.                                                                                                                                                    

“We are not conmen. We do not cheat people out of their money. Everything they buy, they get in full. It just so happens that our product is illegal at present.”                                                       

“Oh no, you’re right. Bootlegging is much better than conning!” She was close to yelling. It was a good thing the windows were up in the car; otherwise, she feared people would stare.     

“You forget your place!” Russo was yelling. The sheer volume of his voice scared her.                  

“And what place is that?” she whispered, still angry.