As Cassie poured the champagne, there was a knock at the door. Knowing who it was she yelled, “It’s open!” Instead of Stephano, several armed bodyguards entered the building and immediately began a security sweep of the place. Turning over several tables, Cassie shouted, “Hey, no breaking stuff!” One of the goons smiled at her and proceeded to open the ladies restroom door and peeked inside for any ambushes. As they swept the entire room, they went back to the entrance and gave the all safe signal. Within seconds, Stephano appeared with a huge grin on his face, “Ad victorem ire spolia!” (To the victor go the spoils) he said feeling like Julius Cesar. With his coat draped on his shoulders, he looked like a great Roman conqueror as he slowly approached Cassie. Accepting the glass of champagne she offered, he declared, “It went smooth as silk. They didn’t even so much as talk shit to us, let alone put up a fight.”
“Good.” Cassie answered raising her glass.
As their champagne flutes clanked, Stephano asked, “Now it’s confession time, how did you know about the gas stations?”
Figuring it was time to come clean, she answered, “My father ran the gas stations, and when he died, my brother took them over. The Cosimos replaced him with a half-assed hood.”
“God, you’re ruthless.” Stephano said admiring her darker side.
“We’re not done yet, the Cosimos will be back and when they regroup, they’ll throw everything they got at us.”
“Don’t worry about it, I’ll handle the dog fights.” He said reassuring her. As he did, he made a gesture to one of his men who immediately left the room and returned with a large black, Hermes Birkin bag. Handing it to her, he said, “As per our agreement.” Looking inside, Cassie saw several stacks of cash neatly piled inside. “You remembered.” She said rather impressed by the $10,000 handbag.
“I remembered, I remember a lot of things.” He said caressing her cheek.
Smiling up at him, she asked, “What about Destiny?”
“She ain’t gotta know.”
“But she will, when I tell her. You know me, Stephano, I don’t play second to no one.”
“Stop bustin’ my balls, I’m doing the best I can here.”
“Alright, but I’ll only accept this for so long. I’m not a patient woman.”
“Yeah, I know,” he said in a murmur. As he leaned in to kiss her, a scuffle broke off, outside. The sounds of cursing and loud thuds could be heard as Amato and Jimmy fought their way into the room. With their guns drawn, they entered through the door as Stephano’s security team tried to pin them down. Waving his hand in the air, Stephano said, “Calm down everybody, what’s the matter here?” as though he didn’t know.
This was Stephano’s big moment and upon seeing him, Amato realized he was just a pawn in a bigger scheme. Infuriated, he seriously contemplated blowing Stephano’s head off right there and then. As his hands shook, Cassie immediately stood between the two men and said, “You can’t, you’ve come too far to blow this now. Let us do what we gotta do.” Bewildered Amato looked at her and asked, “You can’t be serious?” And through a broken heart broke, Cassie answered, “Do you want this to be over or not? With the Cosimos gone, we’ll both be free. No more running and no more hiding. I know it sounds like a dream, but we’re close now. Just let me go.”
Amato had to force his fingers to slowly unwrap themselves from the trigger. As he did, Stephano’s men backed off and rallied around their boss. Walking out the door, Cassie didn’t look back, and as Stephano followed her lead, he looked at Amato and adding insult to injury he mocked, “How did you think this was gonna end?”
Author Bio:
Rachel Rueben is author of the bestselling YA novel Hag and The Eternal Bond Series both available on Wattpad. To keep up with Rachel, you can sign up for her frighteningly entertaining newsletter here.
All of the old hat detectives delighted in reviving their alter egos from yesteryear, “Hey you mutha fuckas ready to roll?” Jimmy yelled from the end of the hall. “Aihhh, keep your toupee on!” Amato yelled at Jimmy. As the others at the bar laughed at the exchange, Cassie kept checking her phone. She got a call from her ex Stephano, over an hour ago, but couldn’t answer it without looking suspicious. She already knew that Amato would figure things out eventually but how long that took would all depend on her ability to play it cool. She had to make good on this one deal with Stephano because it could change her life. As Cassie watched the boys chum it up, she was desperately waiting for them to just leave. Finally her prayers were answered when the guys started filing out of the room, and as the door slammed behind them, she fumbled around in her purse until she found her phone. Looking at the screen, Cassie saw that Stephano left a text that read, “Location, location, location.” With that text was a pic of an empty parking lot and an unguarded gas station. Her heart leapt for joy, it was starting to look like she had a business partner. Getting up from her chair, she texted her location and invited him to the VFW.
There was no way Amato and Jimmy’s crew of grumpy old men were going to be able to pull this off without a little help. Okay, a lot of help. She hoped it wouldn’t come to this but it looked like her worst fears were about to come to fruition. She would have to watch Amato get killed, or be killed herself. Looking at their stupid corkboard, Cassie ran her hands over the pictures and chuckled. She knew it would never be enough, because once you learned how the play the game was played, the rules would change. And she could sense change in the air, it was a sudden decision but she had to seize the moment. Cassie would return, back into the fold and take what had always eluded her father and brother—kingship. She knew Stephano could get her that, and she had to try for everybody’s sake.
From behind the bar, she took out two Champaign flutes and borrowed a very expensive bottle of Dom Périgon Rosé. She would pay Jimmy back later, today, she had a lot to celebrate, her rebirth and the Cosimo’s funeral. She convinced herself this was the best for everyone, Amato would get what he wanted, and she would get off the hook, so it was win-win. Putting the Champaign on ice, she smiled as she grabbed the glasses and put them on the counter of the bar. This felt right, no longer would she be at the behest of Amato or the FBI and now she would have a new family, the Alunnis. Once the money started pouring in, Stephano would make his move and she would help him rule over the entire family. This was her chance to reclaim her family’s honor and to lead the next generation into a new era. First however, Amato and Jimmy had to play their parts.
As Cassie planned her next move, Amato and his crew were parked down the street from Clark’s gas station waiting on Caruso to come back with the intel. Info had trickled in via social media in the form of pictures and videos which he was sure to encode with hashtags and phrases like, #CarusosDayOut #OpReCon to be sure that the threads were vague and understood only by those it was meant for.
Things were going great and when Caruso returned to the surveillance van, Amato was relieved that the first part of their operation was done. “I can’t believe how little security there was!” exclaimed Jimmy as he went through photo after photo of empty rooms accessed by Caruso. “They’re getting very sloppy.” Amato answered back, “This would’ve never happened on Frank Fenetti’s watch.” Surprised, Jimmy responded, “It sounds like you admire the rat bastard.”
“No, but I do admire a tightly run ship.” Amato replied.
“Well, we got what we came for maybe we should go back to base an…”
Amato cut him off and said, “No, we need to move now before they have time to redeploy.”
Thrilled by the response, Jimmy said, “Okay, we can throw down today but we need backup.”
“Let’s roll.” Amato said as he exited the shabby, white van.
Walking up the street to his car, an elderly woman approached him on the sidewalk and said, “Hey I know you, you’re the guy from T.V..” she said.
Confused and taken aback, Amato said, “I think you have me mistaken for someone else.”
“No, you were the cop. The double-crosser!”
Laughing nervously, he replied, “Ma’am you got the wrong guy.”
That’s when another older woman who was sitting on a porch next door threw a glass jar at him and yelled, “Rat!”
Dodging out of the way, the glass jar shattered all over the sidewalk but Amato kept his cool and remained silent even though his cover had been blown. Getting on his cell he called Jimmy and said, “Get the hell outta here, we’ve been made.” As he heard the van start, he made it safely to his car, when a black SUV pulled up blocking the road ahead, trapping them all. Bewildered, Amato stared in disbelief as four heavily armed men popped out of the SUV and proceeded to enter the gas station. “Son of a bitch!” he muttered to himself.
“What the hell is goin’ on?” yelled Jimmy still on the speakerphone.
“I don’t know.” Amato answered. However deep down he had a feeling Cassie had something to do with it but how, he didn’t know. Scrambling to get inside the car, he started the ignition, and put the car in reverse, then Amato ordered, “Back to base boys.”
Author Bio:
Rachel Rueben is author of the bestselling YA novel Hag and The Eternal Bond Series both available on Wattpad. To keep up with Rachel, you can sign up for her frighteningly entertaining newsletter here.
It was all being set up, Jimmy and his crew were preparing to play supporting roles to Amato’s takeover of Clark’s gas station on 105th. They surveillanced the station for the entire day coming back with photos of both the outside and inside of the building. Jimmy pinned them to a corkboard next to the bar and as he finished, another group of his boys came in with the names and addresses of the men employed by the gas station. Jimmy’s right hand man, began running these name through the PNC (Police National Computer) and even the NNCP (National Name Check Program) to see who they were. As expect, most of them were petty criminals while a few were internationally known for drug dealing. So they knew what they were dealing with now, a drug depository for the city.
Amato and the guys hypothesized that the drugs were imported from Sicily and flown into New York where some airport employee, would lose the cargo. The drugs would most likely be taken by truck to the gas station and the dope would be dropped off at the local distributor. Then the associates (drug dealers), would come by in droves all day long in vans, trucks and SUVs under the guise of filling their tanks. “They gotta be making millions, easy!” Jimmy said astonished. Amato looked at one of Jimmy’s men, a shady looking character wearing a black leather coat and aviator sunglasses. He looked like a hood and Amato was going to us it to their advantage. “Hey you, Sticks!” he said, referring to the man’s spiky hair. “What’s your name?”
“Caruso, Enzo Caruso,” he answered standing up from his chair.
“I want you to visit our friendly little gas station and see if you find anything unusual.”
Caruso looked at Jimmy and he gave Caruso a nod in approval. The loyalty these guys showed towards Jimmy surprised Amato. In his unit, loyalty only came if it didn’t conflict with one’s own ambition. He remembered what Cassie said about, being the best and it angered him. He had spent his whole career going above and beyond and for what, to have his colleagues stab him in the back? Yes, he had burned her, and he did it intentionally because he believed it was for the greater good. He hoped she would see that one day but it was unlikely. Recalling all that Fedelta crap she talked about, Cassie was most likely going to the grave with a chip on her shoulder. Besides, vendettas were more fun than forgiveness, and for some people it even gave their lives a purpose.
Looking over at Caruso as he was being wired, Amato saw the cold stare in the young man’s eyes and it always frightened him to see it on someone’s face. It meant they were mentally checking out. As an undercover, you had to take all of your normal thoughts and compartmentalize them. Caruso would no longer be needing them when he went into Super Cop mode. Thinking as both prey and predator, Caruso would have to walk a fine line all the while looking natural.
“Brings back memories doesn’t it?” Jimmy asked seeing the longing in Amato’s eyes. “Yeah, don’t envy the fucker though.”
“Sure you do,” Jimmy said cracking a smile. “And if you could, you would do it yourself.”
“Guilty,” Amato confessed.
“A good agent never leaves anything to chance, not unless he wants to end up iced in a dumpster.”
“Why are you here Jimmy?”
“The same reason you are,” Jimmy answered.
“Nah, that’s not what I mean, it seems like you want something more and I’m not sure this operation is going to give that to you.”
“Oh yeah?”
“I want to clear my name and clean up the department but you seem to need absolution. Trust me, there’s no forgiveness in our game.”
Insulted by his psycho analysis, Jimmy coldly replied, “You got it all wrong brotha. I don’t do this because I got sumthin’ to prove, I do it because it’s all I got! I’ve been spat on, stabbed, punched and kicked…”
“We’ve all been!” Amato interrupted. “And at the end of the day, sometimes it don’t mean shit.”
The room went silent, and all eyes were on Amato. Jimmy got in his face and said, “Maybe it don’t mean nuttin’ to you, but it always means something to me. This job is my life! It’s my God damn’ religion!” Tossing his drink at the wall, he yelled “If you ain’t got the balls anymore, maybe you should hide under that fuckin’ bridge with you mentor and powder your pussies!”
Not intimidated, Amato calmly asked again, “Answer the question Jimmy, what are you getting out of this?”
“I’m here because I hate every last single one of ‘em and I want to watch ‘em rot in hell for everything they put me and my boys through! I want to watch them eat shit and die! What does it matter to you anyhow?”
“Fedelta.” Amato answered.
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“Loyalty, Cassie, was telling me about it…. It’s the one advantage the Cosimos have over us. Speaking of that, where is she?”
“She took off for a smoke and hasn’t been back.” said one of Jimmy’s men. “Want me to go look for her?” the guy asked.
“Nah, it’s good.” Amato said rather nonchalantly. However, it wasn’t all good, he knew she was up to something but he had to play it cool. Meanwhile Jimmy was still holding his head as he tried to calm down so Amato decided to back off lest Mt. Jimmy erupt again.
Looking over at Caruso, Jimmy yelled, “Caruso, get the fuck outta here already!”
However before Agent Caruso left, Jimmy’s crew hooked him up with a body cam and gave him a smart phone to collect intel. As Caruso was leaving, Cassie was entering the building. Amato looked at her really hard as she made her way confidently across the room, when she smiled at him, he knew something had changed. Disappointed, he smiled right back at her then said, “Hey, welcome back!” When she came within range he hugged her tight and said, “It’s just like old times,” and he meant that in more ways than one.
Author Bio:
Rachel Rueben is author of the bestselling YA novel Hag and The Eternal Bond Series both available on Wattpad. To keep up with Rachel, you can sign up for her frighteningly entertaining newsletter here.
Cassandra Fenetti waited for Stephano’s driver around the corner from the VFW. No one knew that she was even missing yet but it would only be a matter of time before Amato started asking questions. If he knew that she was meeting her ex, Stephano Rimaldi, he would never trust her again which is why this all had to be done on the D.L.. In less than 15 minutes, a black Cadillac Escalade, appeared from the northbound lane of 33rd street. The 60 year old chauffeur pulled over next to the curb and emerged from the driver’s seat dressed in a black wool coat and matching driver’s hat. Stephano made all his employees wear uniforms because he liked showing off his wealth. It was what she liked so much about him. He had charisma, and it was obvious that the Alunni would be calling him boss one day.
As the driver walked over to her side of the car, he opened the back, passenger door, “Madame,” he said tipping his hat. Cassie nodded her head in acknowledgement and smiled while climbing inside the nice and warm Cadillac. As the driver headed back into the vehicle, she saw a glimpse of her reflection in the rearview mirror and was horrified at the image reflected back at her. The last time she saw Stephano, she was dumping him for Amato. Back then her hair wasn’t uneven from brain surgery. Doing her best she tried to hide the mess with her knit cap but she felt people could still tell. Surveying the damage, she took out her compact, and immediately zeroed in on the scar on her face from when she fell head first on the floor when her brother Dominic shot her.
Her ego told her that it was a mistake to go to Stephano looking this way but her authentic self, told her to hell with her looks. She had no interest in Stephano and he most likely had none in the woman who kicked him to curb. Besides, she heard he married some wannabe model with fake hair and even faker assets only six months after the breakup. What was that woman’s name?.. Denise, Debbie…no, she thought to herself it was a stripper name. Cinnamon, Daisy, no it was Destiny…Destiny Van Holsten. The thought that someone would name their kid something so stupid made her giggle. It was almost as if that poor girl was doomed to work the pole. Near to laughing out loud, Cassie had to cover her mouth as she desperately tried to regain her composure. Thank God the driver was too busy watching the road to see her.
Remembering their tumultuous affair, she recalled her father forbidding her to see him. He was the enemy after all and therefore the Anti-Christ in his eyes. However Cassie never took her dad’s advice especially, when it came to matters of the heart and this was no exception. If it had been up to him she would’ve been locked up in a nunnery somewhere in Timbuktu. It was a miracle he never caught her sneaking out late at night let alone, sneaking back into the house during the wee hours of the morning. Caressing the seat’s leather armrest, she smiled at the memories this trip was conjuring up. What a shame, so many good times lost and for what? A fake fiancé who turned her life upside down once, with his untimely death and then again, with his recent resurrection. What was she doing this for? Here was a prime opportunity for her to return to her old life with no repercussions. She had avenged her father, and Dom was dead, so there was no reason to play this good Samaritan role anymore. Besides, Amato was too complicated for her tastes. She liked her men simple and easy to deal with and Amato would never be either. Plus he had secrets, and she was certain that there were more to come.
“Who are you Amato?” she asked looking out of the window. Cassie realized she couldn’t risk anymore for him and was going to level the playing field while securing her position. Just as she got lost in her thoughts, the car came to a stop and the driver got out. Recognizing the old brownstone, she almost felt a sense of relief. Suddenly a man appeared, it was one of Stephano’s bodyguards. He motioned for her to follow him which she did, right into the house and into the foyer. A butler took her coat and offered her a seat in a nicely plush, white, suede chair. Thanking the man, she looked around the room. Stephano or his wife had redecorated the house, with a white and gold theme. “Would you like a beverage Ma’am?” the butler asked. She requested a gin and tonic since she never got to finish the one she had at the VFW.
As the butler mixed her drink at the small drink cart in the corner, Cassie looked at the oddly familiar room and figured the décor was definitely gaudy, nouveau riche. It had to be Destiny’s idea, Stephano most likely just signed off. She saw several pathetic knock offs of Bellagio’s Venus and Caravaggio’s Bacchus adorning the very white walls and even though they were knock offs, she could tell they were expensive. The canvases were nice and the framing was ornate. Again this woman’s tastes made Cassie laugh because if she were going to try and pass off a fake portrait, she would have chosen lesser known work.
What was she doing? Cassie thought as she caught herself comparing herself to Destiny. How low could her self-esteem be that she was judging the wife of an ex-boyfriend? Cassie realized she had to stop and get into a serious frame of mind, if she didn’t this was never going to work. Just as she was pulling herself together, Stefano entered the room wearing his trademark steel blue Versace suit. “Hey Cassandra, what can I do ya for?” Before she could answer, the butler handed her a glass of gin. Taking a chair across from her, Cassie began with an apology. As she was apologizing, a woman walked through the door, tall, thin, and very blonde. With her were several shopping bags, clutched in her newly manicured hands. Sauntering into the salon, Stephano’s eyes lit up as she gave him a kiss. “Destiny, glad you’re here, I want you to meet my old high school sweetheart, Cassandra Fenetti. She’s the one I told ya about.”
Cassie shook her hand and asked rather annoyed, “What did he tell you?”
“Ah nothing, just that you just broke his heart.” She answered rather nonchalantly.
“You gotta be kidding me,” Cassie said then chuckled, however, no one was laughing along with her. “Oh,” she said somberly, “Well everything turned out alright for you two.” She said trying to put a positive spin on things. Destiny immediately smiled and looked at Stephano, “She’s right, I should be grateful that relationship didn’t work out.” Stefano returned the smile and asked, “Cassandra what brings you here?” Immediately, Cassie looked up at Destiny and said, “It’s personal.” Taking the hint, Destiny shrugged her shoulders and said, “I guess I’ll go find something to do.” Smiling as she left the room, she made direct eye contact with Stefano and he smiled back, unable to take his eyes off her. It was cute Cassie thought, cute, but annoying. As they were playing love struck teenagers, she took out a pack of smokes.
When she was out of earshot, Cassie continued, “I have a deal to make.” Immediately, Stephano chuckled, “What? You got some nerve…”
“The Cosimo’s gas stations, there’s gonna be a takeover”
“So what? What does that have to do with me?”
“Millions are about to go up in smoke,” she said as she lit a cigarette.
A flash of anger crossed his face and then he looked down at the floor as though he were conflicted. Carefully she hit all the right tunes, “Look, I want to help you, why look a gift horse in the mouth?”
“Cuz, you’re one of them,” he answered.
“Yeah, I’m one of them who went out her way to take them down. I gave up my brother, my fiancé and know what? I ain’t done.”
Rising up from his chair, he said forcefully, “Get out!”
Standing up, Cassie met him, eye to eye and placed a piece of paper in his jacket pocket then she whispered as smoke slowly poured from her lips, “Just in case you change your mind.”
He snorted, and then looked away again. He was struggling again, he wanted to say something but was fighting the urge. When he met her gaze again, he pointed to the door.
Without a sound she walked over to the butler who handed her, her coat. As Cassie slid it on, she noticed what appeared to be Destiny peeking from around the hallway. Pretending she didn’t notice her, Cassie took her leave and quietly walked out the front door.
However, instead of taking off in a huff, Cassie decided to get reacquainted with the old neighborhood and walked to a coffee shop at the corner where she and Stefano used to meet. Taking one last drag from her cigarette, she dropped it to the ground and extinguished it with her shoe. With purpose she walked over to a dark, corner booth in the back in that booth they would make their plans for a better life outside the business. It was bitter sweet, to know neither one of them would ever completely escape this life. But it had to be done, just one more job and she would walk away Cassie told herself. However she knew this wasn’t true, something or someone would always pull her back. As her thoughts got dark, the phone in her purse rang and looking at the I.D. on the screen, she saw it was none other than Stephano.
Author Bio:
Rachel Rueben is author of the bestselling YA novel Hag and The Eternal Bond Series both available on Wattpad. To keep up with Rachel, you can sign up for her frighteningly entertaining newsletter here.
Cassandra Fenetti waited for Stephano’s driver around the corner from the VFW. No one knew that she was even missing yet but it would only be a matter of time before Amato started asking questions. If he knew that she was meeting her ex, Stephano Rimaldi, he would never trust her again which is why this all had to be done on the D.L.. In less than 15 minutes, a black Cadillac Escalade, appeared from the northbound lane of 33rd street. The 60 year old chauffeur pulled over next to the curb and emerged from the driver’s seat dressed in a black wool coat and matching driver’s hat. Stephano made all his employees wear uniforms because he liked showing off his wealth. It was what she liked so much about him. He had charisma, and it was obvious that the Alunni would be calling him boss one day.
“I think I found it!” Amato said with a gleam in his eyes. “That’s what you said three hours ago, what makes you think ya got it now?” Jimmy said rather annoyed. Pointing to a newspaper article, he said, “You remember that D.A. Ariana Del Fino?”
“Do I?” Jimmy answered rather excited, “How do you forget the first female District Attorney? And more importantly, how do you forget that a…” he paused, forgetting there was a lady in the room. Clearing his throat, he simplified his answer to, “Yes, yes, I do.”
Cracking a smile, Cassie watched as these two apes tried to piece together a mystery of who put the hit out on Amato. Leaning back in his chair Amato said, “She was the D.A. that put Charlie Albero and several other of the Cosmios away but look at this here,” he said pointing to a copy of the trial records, “His conviction was reversed when it discovered the D.A. was busted in a corruption sting two years later.” Not getting it, Jimmy said, “What the hell does that have to do with anything?”
“She was taking money on the sly from the Alunni,” Cassie chirped up. Surprised, Jimmy asked, “How you know?”
“Who else hates the Cosimos so much and have the pockets deep enough to bribe a D.A.?” Cassie responded. Both men nodded their heads in agreement and looked at each other in awe at her insider information. “They’re moving in for the kill, and think you’re on the payroll,” Jimmy concluded tilting his glass of scotch directly at Amato. “If they think you’re one of them, the Cosimos prawbably went with it to scare ‘em.” Jimmy chuckled then he looked directly at Amato and exclaimed, “Damn’, you must be real good at your job, brotha.”
Not knowing whether to smile or cuss, Amato sat in his rickety barroom chair silent. Meanwhile, Cassie attested, “He’s one of the best” then took a sip of her gin.
Seeing this was serious, Jimmy exclaims, “So whadda we do?”
“I don’t know, what do we do Cassie?” he asked with serious stare.
Playing it cool, Cassie responded, “Well you can spend the rest of your life on the run or you can use this to your favor. Play them against each other. Offer your services to the Alunnis.”
“How?” Jimmy asked.
“I know of a racket that a few of the Cosimos are involved in, that would be catastrophic if the wrong people got word of it.”
“Which one?” asked Amato.
“The gas stations,” she said then smiled devilishly.
“Ooh, that’s gonna hurt,” Jimmy laughed at the fiendish idea.
Amato liked what he heard and knew that the Cosmios would lose millions of dollars if they lost their gas stations. You see, like most of their businesses, they were just fronts for other things like drug dealing, prostitution, and gambling. It wasn’t unusual for one family to infringe on another’s territory especially if it was lucrative. But he had only one question, “How?”
“We do a little fronting ourselves,” Cassie explained, “Rattle the Cosimos a little bit and make them believe it’s the Alunni. That’ll start a war and…”
“Then roll in and offer our assistance,” Amato finished the thought.
“Playin’ them against each other, it’s friggin’ brilliant!” Jimmy said. “And once we’re inside, we can get all the intel we need.”
So it was settled, they would begin operation: Reconquest but first, they had to plan their strategy and while they did that, Cassie excused herself, and went outside for a cigarette. Once she was safe from prying eyes and ears, she made a phone call to an old boyfriend Stephano Rimaldi, consigliere to the boss of the Alunni.
Author Bio:
Rachel Rueben is author of the bestselling YA novel Hag and The Eternal Bond Series both available on Wattpad. To keep up with Rachel, you can sign up for her frighteningly entertaining newsletter here.
The halls of the VFW buzzed with activity as old men sprung to life coming and going while they rearranged the room. “Bring in that chalkboard!” ordered a man pointing the way with his cane. A door opened and a beam of angelic light pierced the dark room, making everyone in the room pause to look. Seeing it was just Jimmy, they went straight back to work. “Guess they thought it was the Grim Reaper” joked Amato. His audience however was not appreciative. Sitting right across from him was Cassandra Fenetti, the woman he bailed on less than twelve hours prior. This was his third old geezer joke and like all the others before, all he got was a dead-eye stare.
“Okay Cassie, lay into me. You know you’ve been wanting to.” Again, all he got was silence and a stare. “Go on, tell me I’m a punk ass or a p*ssy, I can take it but know this, I did it all for you.”
Rolling her eyes at the pathetic attempt, Cassie answered, “You did it because you thought you could take on the Feds by yourself. Just like you thought you could take on the Cosimos, by yourself. This martyrdom act is gettin’ old John, I thought we were in this together.”
“Cassie, if I can do something dangerous without you, I will. If you’re waiting for an apology, then keep waitin’ sister.”
Cassandra didn’t like his tone, and in response she reminded him, “I don’t know if you’ve noticed but you don’t run shit around here! You sure as hell don’t…”
Author Bio:
Rachel Rueben is author of the bestselling YA novel Hag and The Eternal Bond Series both available on Wattpad. To keep up with Rachel, you can sign up for her frighteningly entertaining newsletter here.
“Open the door Amato, this is your last warning!” said the police officer on the other side of the door. Scrabbling around the apartment, Amato collected several of his personal effects and shoved them into a duffle bag. Meanwhile Cassie was loading her gun, “What are you gonna do take out the cops with your antique 38?” Amato mocked.
“If I have to,” Cassie said standing her ground in front of the door.
“Come on!” Amato ordered.
Following him into another bedroom, he led her to a closet where there was a hole in the wall which was big enough for a human being. Whispering he said, “Go! It’ll take you to the apartment next door. By the time they figure it out, we’ll be gone.” It was brilliant.
First Cassie walked through then Amato who went over to one of the windows revealing a fire escape. Holding the window open for her, they both heard a loud boom as the steel door next door was blown open by the SWAT team. Quickly they both went down the fire escape and made their way down 4 stories and into the alley when they heard the command, “Freeze! Hands in the air!”
However instead of freezing they both ran for it. In fact they both ran three blocks before running into a group of marchers protesting the death of a young teen killed in police custody. Holding Cassie’s hand, Amato and she blended in with the group. As the protestors chanted, “No justice, no peace, with killer police!” they tried to look as normal as possible while power walking their way to freedom.
However that wasn’t to be, because when they marched 4 blocks with the protesters they noticed two police vehicles blocking the intersection. “Damn!” Amato said frustrated.
When Cassie got to apartment, she was startled to see that Amato was nowhere in sight. He must be sleeping, Cassie thought to herself. Putting the groceries on the kitchen counter, she took off her jacket and began looking for a solo cup to put her cereal and milk into. As she munched down she reached for yesterday’s paper and out of it slipped a piece of paper. Picking it up, Cassie noticed it was a legal document of some sort. Curiosity killed the cat and she read it, to her shock it was a will, Amato’s will. It read:
I Jonathan Amato of Brooklyn, New York, revoke my previous wills and condicils and declare this to be my last will and testament. Article I I am married to Irene Butler and all references in this will to my spouse are references to Irene. Article II I direct that all my just debts; funeral expenses and expenses of my final illness be first paid from my estate. Article III All remaining tangible properties shall be distributed to Irene. If Irene is unwilling or unable to accept this property then it shall be distributed to my favorite charity Blue Heroes.
Cassie’s hands trembled, she had forgotten about Irene. Were they still married? How could that be? He told her that…
Immediately Cassie’s face burned with anger as she realized she had fallen for the oldest trick in the book, the old: I’m gonna leave my wife bullshit. If she didn’t have a head wound, she would’ve slapped herself silly for being so naïve. Hearing Amato starting to stir in the next room, Cassie tucked the will back into the newspaper, pretending that nothing happened. As she sat there mindlessly munching on her generic Cheerios that she purchased at the gas station, Cassie wondered what was the point of risking her life for someone who wasn’t on the up and up with her? Maybe she had fallen for the blue uniform, many women do. She of all people should have known better, cops are no better than the mob. Maybe years spent amongst the mafiosos made her desperate to believe in something or someone good.
As Amato made his entre into the kitchen area, Cassie remained silent as she bitterly ate her crap breakfast. In only his sweatpants and tank top, he yawned his way over to the stool in front of her. Seeing the newspaper, he pushed it over to the side and grabbed the box of cereal and looked at it, “Ah Cherrios, nice choice,” he said.
Not able to contain herself anymore, Cassie said without any emotion, “When were you going to tell me?”
“Tell you what?”
Grabbing the newspaper Cassie shook it and out came the will. “You said you and Irene were through.”
Rubbing his jaw, Amato said, “We were but…”
“But what?” she growled, throwing the paper down in front of him knocking over her cup of cereal.
“It’s not easy ending a marriage Cassie.” He said completely defeated. “I loved Irene once upon a time and I owed it to her to at least try to fix our relationship!” It was an honorable answer but it stung nonetheless. “Jesus John, where’s your wedding ring?” she asked outraged.
Pulling it out of his pocket, he stuck it in her face. “What do you take it off when you want to get a girl in bed?” she yelled.
“I took it off when she filed for divorce three months ago!” He yelled back at her. “Three months ago? That was when…”
“That was when you happened!” he shouted.
Stunned all Cassie could say was, “Oh.”
“Oh?” You turn my life upside down and all you got to say is “Oh?”
She could sense he was holding back and so she finished it for him, “If it wasn’t for me, you and Irene would still be together, huh?” Looking away, Amato’s silence condemned him. Not knowing whether to feel flattered or guilty, she did the Catholic thing and went straight with the guilt. “Sorry,” she said softly as though someone had died.
“Don’t be, most cops get divorced,” he informed her, then to her surprise, he hooked her chin with his finger and lifted her face kissing her. “When I saw you two years ago, I knew I was done. I thought I could be professional and play the role but I was just a chump.” Kissing her again he continued, “Irene knew something was up but if I told her the truth, it would’ve killed her. I mean what else was I gonna do, tell her that I fell in love with a mafia princess?”
“Yeah but…” Cassie said breathless. Pressing his finger to her lips he shushed her, “I couldn’t tell her our marriage was a mistake so I had to play the two timing bastard for her sake. I didn’t want her to think it was her fault.”
Looking up at him, Cassie stroked his face and said, “God this is a mess,” then kissing him softly on his lips she ran her fingers through his hair igniting a passion he hadn’t felt in years. Just as things were getting hot and heavy, there was a pounding at the door. “Just my luck!” Amato said beyond irritated. Cassie however sensed something was wrong and ran to get her purse and her dad’s gun. “NYPD! Open up the door!” They both froze in terror, this was not how a kiss was supposed to end.
Author Bio:
Rachel Rueben is author of the bestselling YA novel “Hag” and “The Eternal Bond Series” both available on Wattpad. To keep up with Rachel, you can sign up for her frighteningly entertaining newsletter here.
When Cassie got to apartment, she was startled to see that Amato was nowhere in sight. He must be sleeping, Cassie thought to herself. Putting the groceries on the kitchen counter, she took off her jacket and began looking for a solo cup to put her cereal and milk into. As she munched down she reached for yesterday’s paper and out of it slipped a piece of paper. Picking it up, Cassie noticed it was a legal document of some sort. Curiosity killed the cat and she read it, to her shock it was a will, Amato’s will. It read: I Jonathan Amato of Brooklyn, New York, revoke my previous wills and condicils and declare this to be my last will and testament. Article I I am married to Irene Butler and all references in this will to my spouse are references to Irene.
Through the dirty window only a sliver of sunshine pierced the dimly lit hallways of the abandoned apartment building Detective Amato was now using as a hideout. Leading Cassie through the maze of littered corridors, they came to a staircase that went up 4 stories. In the stairwell, they encountered a homeless man sitting on the steps with his dog on his lap. Looking up at her, he smiled a toothless grin which Cassie returned rather nervously.
In complete silence she followed Amato until they reached a beige steel door with the number 42 written in worn out brass. It became obvious why Amato chose this place, it was a government housing project. These places were well built to endure the abuse doled out by tenants and the neglect from building managers. If he was ever compromised, this place would give Amato the precious…
Not wanting to let go, Fiona, held on to her daughter Cassandra as they embraced on the stoop. “Come back home, you hear me?” she said still hanging on. “Got it ma,” Cassie answered, as she let go of her mother’s hand. With everything she needed, Cassandra had to find Detective Amato and save him from himself.
It was going to be a tough task since he hadn’t responded to her calls in weeks. The only clue she had was an envelope of cash with her name on it. This alone, showed just how dire his situation was. Cassie was no fool, she knew things with his brothers in blue had gone sideways and he was most likely in the wind. Now all she had to do was find out where, but if she failed, the consequences could be fatal. It was only a matter of time before…
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