Omerta- Book I (Winner of the 2015 People's Choice Award)

16) Lick

                        Robert laughed again, more nervously this time. "Sam..." He sighed, lowering his voice. "I'll talk to him, but you gotta know something else first, and you can't say nothin' about it to anyone, got it?"

                        I nodded, tremendously curious.

                        "Since you've been gone, a lot has changed. He's gotten clever and paranoid. He's killed Dom, Vinnie, and Ty. He's gotten rid of the core group, hired new guys who don't know who he is. He even talks in the third person now. But you noticed in the furniture store, didn't you?"

                        "I noticed," I said, swallowing hard. "I thought he just lost his mind, to be honest."

                        "That's what we all think, sweetheart, but nobody is man enough to say anything about it. Our organization is thriving. He lets us move locations now, hang out at clubs like this so he can make new alliances. You know, I get that it's wrong that the Family kept you all those years when your father owed the Boss money, and yes, he put you in this tiny outfit, and made you do chores and stupid shit for him,  but we were all mutually jealous of how he treated you. Always seemed to favor you a little more than everyone else. He had a soft spot for you."

                        My mind drifted halfway into the shadows, but I pulled myself back. Robert's words hit me like small knives probing my memories, reminding me again of what my life used to be like, always on-call for one of the most powerful, guarded men to ever exist. I couldn't go back to being that girl again...

                        But if I ran, he would come after me.

                        "In all honesty, I'm surprised he even came to collect me," I muttered.

                         "I'm not surprised at all." Robert shook his head at some thought that he never said out loud. "I think he's considering taking a st@b at the tr@fficking business, Sam."

                        My mouth fell into a thin line. "Wonderful," I said sarcastically.

                        "All I know is that the Boss is planning something. We've been hanging out at his club for a few days now, with these women who this guy Orlando sells around." Surprisingly, Robert seemed a little disgusted with this information. "I mean, I'll admit that it's nice being here. The girls are sweet here and all, but it's like they're like ghosts, kinda, you know. It's haunting to look at them."

                        I didn't say anything for a while, letting it all soak in. A tr@fficking club. That's where we were. Suddenly, a thought came to me. Was Scarlett going to be tr@fficked?

                        I needed to talk to the Boss.

                        "What else aren't you telling me?" I asked slowly, watching the short Mafia man in front of me avert his gaze from me again.

                        "He forces Ferro to play first base and use his second name, Dante, when he's with the Family, then puts himself in the stands, so all eyes are off him. But behind closed doors, only his closest soldiers, me obviously being one of them, know who really calls all the shots in the Family. You understand, now, how more ruthless he's become? It's like the damage to his eye gave him clarity, or some ironic, deep shit like that. But, if you ask me, he's a f#cking ticking time bomb, Samantha. You, and anyone else, could set him off, if you question his reasoning for anything. He's the Boss. His word is law."