"Boss, do you want us to kill him?"
Why wasn't that kid running?
"Yeah. Go ahead." The gun went off, and blood splattered everywhere. Bummer; should've paid me my money.
My attention was still on the kid at the park; he was just sitting there, minding his business.
"Clean everything up."
"Of course, Dom."
"Leo, you come here," I said.
"Yes, Dom?"
"What's his name?"
"Who?"
"That kid sitting there knitting, what's his name?" I asked, pointing at him.
Leo looked over in his direction, squinting his eyes. "I'm not sure; would you like me to find out?" Leo asked me.
"Yes, please," I said, walking over towards him.
He had his hair in what looked to be French braids, and he had a cigarette between his lips. He was knitting a sweater and was completely unfazed by the gunshots and people screaming.
Interesting.
I want to get a better look. "Dom, everything's cleaned up."
"Thank you," I said, turning back to Leo and my other men.
"His name is Ryder Callahan; he is 21 years old, and he dropped out of high school when he was 16. He lives at home with his mom, dad, and siblings Eliza and Brandon, and used to live with his grandmother too, but she passed away," Leo said, reading me something off his phone.
"Interesting, anything else?"
"His dad works at Caruso Enterprises," Leo said, giving me a freaky smile. Maybe getting him would be easier than I thought.
"Fantastic, and what about his mom?"
"She runs a flower shop downtown. She is Mexican, and his dad is black," Leo said, and I nodded, smiling as we looked around at the park.
"Hey, I know that look."
"What look? I just think this park would be great for Isabella," I said, my smile not fading.
Leo stopped, and he looked at me. "You are 40; he is 21. Let the kid live his life..."
I cut him off with my hands raised, "Hey, I'm 38!"
"Still. Do the math, dickwad; you have your PhD in economics. That's like 17, 18 years," Leo said.
I rolled my eyes.
"I call the shots, dipshit, so I don't know who YOU are calling dickwad," I said, irritated, and I walked back over to the other guys away from the park.
"Dom?" I turned back around and looked at Leo with an eyebrow raised.
He didn't say anything.
"What?"
"I don't want you to get hurt again; let the kid go," Leo said. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
"Let..." I reached up and smacked him.
"Shut the fuck up." he knew better than to mention my past.
Leo nodded, and I watched him go back to the car.
I turned back. The guy was gone. Bummer. Maybe Leo was right.
"Boss, Isabella's school ends soon." I nodded and got into the car, putting on my seatbelt.
I sighed. Anything for my little girl, anything to keep her safe.
"Boss." I looked at Leo.
"The kid's siblings are 15 and 17, and they go to the high school of Isabella's school," Leo said. I nodded.
"Uh, and those guys you killed earlier were a test sent by Matteo himself, so he's planning something else," Leo said, and I nodded.
He was the head of the Red Vipers (which is a loser-ass name if you ask me).
The people under him call him the snake or some shit. And people call me the big dragon, so it looks like we all have issues.
"No one calls you that, Dominic," Leo said, typing away at his iPad.
I also tend to think out loud around THIS bozo.
The Matteo guy has some sort of personal vendetta against me, and truthfully I don't care. As long as I kill him, I will be fine.
The problem is: he just doesn't know when to quit.
Hey, when I'm at my daughter's basketball games, please don't smash all of my windows and leave weird things in my car. Reason number fifty-two of why I want him dead.
Matteo has no soul, no family, NO NOTHING. So there is nothing holding him back from going bat shit crazy.
He's an orphan, and something about that fucked him up, and he's been off his rockers ever since.
Do I feel bad for him? I mean, kind of?
My daughter said that I should be less heartless and see the world from different perspectives. It is insane how a 12-year-old is lecturing my old ass and making me a better person. The one problem with taking her advice is that because I have a heart, I can't kill people as much as I used to. If they are like I have a family, I just feel bad, and I just think about my little girl, and then suddenly I can't kill them anymore.
Matteo, on the other hand, has no one, and like my dad used to tell me, family holds you back, and I guess he's right about that one. But then again, he also gave up the mafia life to spend more time with his wife and 5…4, excluding me, kids, so I guess I will take what he says with a grain of salt, because his DICK is holding him back.
I opened my phone to Isabella's contact lighting up my screen.
"Hi, sugar plum," I said.
"Hi Dad, are you almost here?" she asked.
"Yeah, rounding the corner right now, everything okay?"
"Yeah," she said, and I nodded, and she ended the call.
I felt my sniffle a little bit. "Boss, are you okay?"
"Leo, shut up!" I snapped. My baby was getting older, and it was making me sad.
God, family does make you weak and holds you back, but it also makes you want to be a better person. And…my little Isabella REALLY makes me a better person every single day.
We pulled into the parking lot, and I got out as Leo followed me.
"Did you text her that we are here?" Leo asked, and I pulled out my phone.
"I'm here, sugar plum," I said out loud as I typed it and then sent it.
I watched as she came out of the school building.
She was 5'8 and not even in her freshman year yet, thanks to my 6'5 genes. She had my dark black hair, but hers went down to her waist.
She had soft brown eyes and these weird bangs that I think she cut in the dark.
"Hi Father," she said, handing me her backpack. God, I'm going to start crying.
"Leo," she said, nodding to him.
"How was your day?"
"Fine…." Isabella's voice started to fade out as my attention landed on a man walking behind her…there he is, the guy from the park.
God, he's such a doll.
The way he walked, the way he talked. He's so perfect; I just want a better look.
"Dad!" Isabella yelled, taking me out of the trance that I had been put in.
"Yes, baby cakes?" I asked, turning my attention back to her.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, honey, I'm fine. Just some work stuff," I said, and she raised her eyebrow at me.
"Your daddy-o, despite my better judgment, has a little crush," Leo said, patting my back.
"You mother fucking snitch, don't I pay you to be on my side?" I asked, and Leo shrugged while laughing.
"On a student?" Isabella asked me with this horrified look on her face.
"No, no, this guy he saw in the park earlier," Leo said, continuing to expose me to my daughter.
"Stop it. Stop right now, both of you."
The two of them laughed the same way as they continued to torment me.
"Whatever makes you happy, Dad, now let's go," she said, smiling.
Awe, my little girl.
"Dad! Let's go!" She yelled, repeating herself. I nodded quickly, walking after her with her backpack in my arms.