***
Tony
The pounding on the door has me out of my office without even checking the camera. Dominic is at the door. What’s he doing knocking when he has a key? “What’s the matter?”
“Can I come in?”
“Of course, this is your home.”
He walks past me into the library and goes straight for the scotch. I watch with concern as he pours an almost full glass and drinks it down. What the hell is going on? “Regina, okay?”
“Linda Moretti.”
“What about Linda Moretti?” I wonder why the hell he’s bringing up a woman from thirty-five years ago. How does he even know about Linda Moretti? He doesn’t say another word, his eyes so like mine are churning with anguish and it hits me.
“No.” I’m wrong. He’s wrong.
“Luca Moretti, the capo who runs Vegas. It was like looking in a mirror.”
Fucking hell.
“Al couldn’t have kids.”
I knew Al Toro. I met him a handful of times. He was Carlo’s brother and the capo who ran Vegas before Luca took over from him. Al had a reputation for being a drunk bastard. And he raised my boy.
A prayer for strength flows out of me. Strength I’m not sure I have for this.
“His plane gets in at two. I told Carlo you and I would be at his place when Luca gets there, where he’ll be staying while he’s in town.”
Shaking my head. “Al was an angry drunk. Luca, I know so little of him.” I’ve heard of him, almost all of it good. But he is my flesh and blood, and I don’t know nearly enough.
Dominic pulls out his phone and dials, putting it on speaker. “Mr. Sabatini, my apologies. We are still unable to locate Taylor.”
“That’s not what this is about. Taylor is dead. I killed him a few hours ago. I need to know everything about Luca Toro you can find. I mean everything. If you can find out his favorite color, I want to know it.”
“You weren’t aware of his relation to you? I apologize, sir. We have a file on him. I’m sending it now.”
“Why do you have a file on him?” I ask, wondering what Luca might have done to draw the man’s attention.
“Sir, I have a file on everyone who matters in this country and one hundred and forty-two others. Luca Toro matters. He’s a good man with a deep abiding hatred of men who traffic women. The smart ones don’t even go through Vegas, let alone stop there anymore. He has a tendency to send them on their way without their dicks. It’s not in the file but his favorite color is green, he tells people his favorite food is Italian but he actually prefers Chinese with his favorite dish Kung Pao chicken, and he has a weakness for tall, leggy, blondes.”
A pause. “It’s in your email now.” He clears his throat. “I want to apologize. I made the assumption you were aware of his relation to you. Considering you are in the same crime family and the resemblance was glaring. As far as Taylor there will be no bill. We failed you, it won’t happen again.”
“It’s fine. Thank you for the file.”
I can hear my printer going in my office. It’s a large file. I consider this Valdez and what he could find on a member of the Outfit when we went out of our way to have little in a file. “This Valdez, he’s the one.”
“There is no one or nothing he can’t find. If I stop to think about it too long, it’s fucking spooky. But it’s what I need, so I don’t think about it.”
The printer finally stops. I’m going to find out about my son from a file. This is fucked up.
Dominic nods at me. “You want me to get it?”
I shake my head. “Pour me a drink.”
***
Tony