Deluca

EIGHTEEN

Andreas walked over to the half-finished crib he had been working on while Ana slept in the bedroom only a few steps away. It was rare when he was able to think about his daughter but in moments like these, when his life was calm he found himself constantly thinking about her.

Ana was due in four weeks, but she told him over and over that in reality, she was due at any moment. While most would be nervous, Andreas found himself humming with excitement.

He couldn't wait to be a father. To see his daughter for the first time was going to be the most memorable part of his life.

There was a knock at the door, causing Andreas to freeze. It was long past midnight, and he rarely had visitors. He lived in the less expensive part of the city, which increased the general dangers he had to worry about.

Andreas stood, grabbing his gun from the coffee table, cocking the pistol before he walked over to the door. He cursed himself for not having a peephole to see who was on the other side.

"Who is it?" Andreas called out, listening for a response.

"Open the door, boy."

The voice on the other side of the door was familiar, and dread filled Andreas' stomach. He unlatched the door and opened it with a small crack.

"Open the door before I blow it down, Andreas," Paolo said with an unsettling sense of calm in his voice.

Andreas pulled the door open, relieved to see no men were standing with him — especially his sons.

"What are you doing here this late?" Andreas asked, setting the gun down on the couch. The space in his apartment had been small. He only had a couch, television, and coffee table in the small shared space. The kitchen was the size of a closet and the bedroom could barely fit the couple's bed.

Paolo observed the room in disgust, holding his extremities close to his body so as to not touch any surfaces.

Andreas frowned as he watched his actions. "Do you want a beer?"

"No, that won't be necessary. I wanted to bring you this." Paolo held out an envelope in his hands with the contents inside being obvious.

Andreas took the envelope and opened it, seeing it packed with four bundles of euros. "What is this for?"

"Usually when I show up to someone's house with twenty grand, they don't ask questions." Paolo pointed out.

Twenty Grand? There was no information Andreas had brought back to Paolo worth that amount, and if it had he would surely be dead by now.

For a moment, Andreas was worried that Paolo had figured out he was tied up in the feds, but instead, he was giving him an amount Andreas would never be able to pay back.

"I-" Andreas stopped to compose himself, "I didn't do anything to get this."

Paolo smiled, patting Andreas on the shoulder. "That is the difference, boy. When you are working for me, you don't have to earn your keep. This should have been yours anyway."

Andreas gave him a questioning look. "We took that from Francesco. He thought he had a deal with the Russians, but now we have a deal with the Russians."

Andreas felt his heart fall to his stomach at the words, knowing that as they spoke Francesco was looking for whoever had managed to steal from him.

Andreas looked down at the money in his hand as Paolo walked over to the window to peer down into the alley. "Maybe you can manage to get yourself out of these slums. Your cousin lets you live like this?"