Scarlett and the Feds (3 page)

Victor walked into the house carrying a bouquet of flowers. “Security just intercepted the delivery guy at the gate with these.”

Victor had called to let my new boss, Ashley, know about the accident and that I would be out for a few days. Ashley was a bubbly vivacious little blonde with an infectious laugh. She felt bad for me that I got trapped working for Nelson. She despised him because he’d made moves on her a week before her wedding. She confided in me that Nelson pinned her up against the news van, grabbed her by the back of the head, and tried to make out with her. I was not at all surprised. She was pretty and a woman, his two favorite flavors.

I pulled out the card from the plastic holder:

“That is sweet. My new boss is so thoughtful.”

“Better than that last asshole.”

I rolled my eyes at Victor, just as I got a text from Nelson.

Hey heard you were in an accident. What are my chances of getting an interview with you? Miss you, wish you would re-consider coming back to work for me, the new girl is a troll. Let’s have lunch soon.

I ignored the text. Victor was riled up enough with all that happened. Throwing Nelson into the shit storm was too much.

Luke was waiting in the Escalade. Victor helped me climb in, his hand in its usual place on my ass. Victor got in the front with Hawke. He was guarded around Luke. I could sense there was something he didn’t trust about him.

“Are you comfortable, Luke?” I asked, gently touching his arm.

He winced and jerked away. “I’m fine,” he snapped, his eyes ablaze.

We both sat silent. My thoughts reverted back to when we were in the backyard and I fell out of a tree and hit my head so hard it knocked me out cold. Luke picked me up and carried me inside to Aunt Ella. He sat next to me nervously chatting all the way to the hospital. I was fine, but he felt responsible because it was his idea to climb the tree. He was very attentive for a few days after that.

Luke just stared out the window. Silent.

“I’m so sorry, Luke.” My voice was barely audible.

“This is on you, Angelina. If you had just given them the fuckin’ book, I wouldn’t be a freak. Every time I look at my left hand, I will blame you,” he snapped, thrusting his left hand in my face.

I had to hold Scarlett back from kicking him in the balls.

“I know,” I whispered.

Victor turned around and glanced at me. At that moment, all I wanted was Victor to be sitting next to me and holding me. It was the longest car ride of my life. Scarlett was trying to pass the time by playing the license plate game. I wasn’t in the mood. My thoughts were consumed with keeping my family, Nicole and Victor safe, and I had no idea how to do that. Scarlett was going through her rolodex to find a guy who could give me a new identity and plastic surgeons who could alter my looks.

It was just after lunch when we pulled up in front of Aunt Ella’s. She came running out of the front door and flung open the Escalade door before Hawke had even shut off the engine. She started fussing over Luke and scolding him for making her worry as she helped him get out. She put her arm around him and walked him up the step onto the porch and inside. I followed behind, Victor firmly holding my hand.

Luke was settled on the couch as Aunt Ella rushed to my side. She gently touched the bruise on my head that had faded considerably.

“Are you okay, darling?”

“Yes. I’m fine.”

“Thank you both for taking such good care of Luke.”

“Sure,” I said, my tone flat.

“Is everything okay, Angelina?” she asked.

“Yup. I’m just tired, it was a long trip.”

“Please stay for dinner.”

“Thank you, but I think we’re going to head back. Victor has to work in the morning.” I kissed Aunt Ella and said goodbye to Luke.

No reply.

Aunt Ella exchanged glances between us both, but didn’t say a word. I was grateful to get back in the Escalade and snuggle next to Victor. I was quiet, consumed by guilt and fear.

“This isn’t your fault, Angelina.”

“Yes it is.”

Victor grabbed my face in between both of his hands, his eyes laser focused on mine. “Stop blaming yourself. He made the choice to get involved with the Mob. That’s on him.”

I nodded, ‘okay’ to pacify him, but I knew it was my fault. I made the choice. Victor over Luke.

N
either of us spoke for the first half hour of the drive back to Salvatore Disney Land. We were both lost in our thoughts. Mine were consumed with trying to figure out my next move, what I had to do to keep us all safe and most important alive. My experience with the Mob was limited to a few in person interactions, meeting Victor’s father, and gangster movies. That was it. However, with Victor, it was part of his DNA, it coursed through his veins and ran through his core. I knew his struggle had been to distance himself from anything to do with being a gangster and the Mob life, but why?

“Can I ask you something, Victor?” I said, grabbing his hand breaking the silence.

“Of course.”

“Why have you tried so hard to sever all your ties with your father and ‘the life’ that must have been pre-determined for you at birth?”

He turned away from me and looked out the window. I instantly regretted asking the question.

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to...”

“My mother,” he whispered, interrupting me. His eyes widened, the corners of his mouth turned downward, and he tightened his grip on my hand.

“I was immersed at a young age and knew everyone in the ‘family’ since I was six. They all knew I was being groomed to take over for my father at some point. The day my mother died it made me realize that at any second in this life someone you love can be taken from you and it’s just part of the Mob, something you have to accept. I watched her die and was helpless to save her. I have to live with that my entire life. I don’t want to ever to lose someone I love at the hands of the Mob again, and will protect those that I love at all costs.”

“How old were you when she died?” I asked. Scarlett tore off the top of the box of tissues something told her we might be needing them.

“Fourteen. She was taking me to baseball and the car wouldn’t start so she climbed into one of my father’s cars. I had forgotten my glove in the garage and went back to grab it. When she started the car, it exploded. I ran to her side of the car and struggled to get close enough to open her door and pull her out, but it was fully engulfed. I screamed for help, but no-one came. I was overcome with grief. I just fell to the ground and sobbed. The explosion was meant for my father, but she was collateral damage.”

I gasped and held Victor’s hand tighter, his eyes fully expressed his grief and guilt. Scarlett sniffled and wiped her noses with the back of her hand. My heart felt heavy and that same feeling I had in the pit of my stomach the night my parents both died, retuned. I understood what Victor was feeling. That question of
why did I survive and they didn’t
? And
how could they both be taken from me
?

“I’ve resented and blamed my father for her death. If he wasn’t who he was, then she would still be alive. His reaction at her funeral was cold and distant, like he had made peace with the fact that this is a price you must be willing to pay to be in his position. I’m not willing to sacrifice someone I love for the Mob.”

“I understand. When my parents died that night and I survived, the emotions that invade you are overwhelming and the guilt can be debilitating. I feel like you never really can let go of it. It will always be a part of who you are and helps shape your life. When Uncle Sid was murdered the guilt was replaced with rage and confusion. Always wondering,
why him?
That haunted me until I found that book, and now I know. He was trying to do the right thing and the names in that book were his insurance policy, but it was also his death sentence.”

I pulled Victor into my arms and we just held each other. This was the most emotionally naked and vulnerable side of Victor I’d ever seen and I understood why he was so overprotective and suffocating at times. I felt for a brief second I thought that just maybe we’d survive this. I had a mobster in my corner. We still faced a daunting, terrifying opponent, but the odds were not impossible. Scarlett snapped the clip into place on the machine gun and gave me two thumbs up. She was ready.

We pulled up through the heavily guarded iron gates to Salvatore Disney Land. Scarlett started drooling when she thought she saw a rocket launcher hidden in the shrubs and she blew kisses to the goons. As we drove the mile and half down the road to Victor’s house I had the urge to go running. It had been such a long time. My body was still sore, but I needed to clear my head and focus. If I stayed on the property, Victor would approve and I wouldn’t be followed by a tank armed with a rocket launcher.

“Hey, babe. I’m going for a run.”

Victor raised his eyebrows and gave me a look like perhaps I had lost my mind for a brief second.

“I’m not sure you have recovered enough yet.”

“There is only one way to find out. If it’s too much, I will come back and I will totally be safe on the property.”

“Fine, keep your phone close. If you’re not back in an hour, I will send my men out to find you.”

“I don’t doubt that for an instant,” I said, winking at him.

Scar smiled a devious grin as she imagined Navy Seals repelling out of helicopters to come search for me. She went to find some rope and duct tape to tie me to a tree. She was so in the mood for a visit from hot special ops guys. I saw her lick her lips as she went skipping past me.

I gave a little wave to the goons as I headed down the long driveway out onto the road. My muscles were not happy with me at the moment. My thoughts diverted to Uncle Sid’s book. I was becoming more intrigued by the second about the names in the book and why the Mob was willing to kill anyone in its way to get their hands on it. Names don’t mean much unless those names are linked to corruption and secrets that would bring the Mob to its knees if in the wrong hands. Maybe if I knew what truths were lurking in those pages, it would protect us.

Victor was right. As long as I had that book, we were safe. I knew that Victor’s father didn’t care who he had to torture or kill to get what he wanted. He would protect the scandals and corruption in that book, even if it meant killing his own son in the process.

I stopped at the thought of that and put my hands on my knees, catching my breath and to rid my mind of such an unfathomable thoughts. I glanced at my cell phone to see I had been gone for forty minutes. I turned and headed back to the house. Scarlett gave me the double bird and stuck her tongue out. She had put on her favorite lipstick for the Navy Seals.

Those names beckoned me. I couldn’t shake the curiosity to know, to unlock the secrets.
But was it worth the risk of unveiling the hiding place of the book just to know?
I had no doubt that I was followed every time I left Salvatore Disney Land, by not only the goon squad, but the Mob, my own version of the Paparazzi, but they didn’t want pictures of me shopping, they wanted to protect me or kill me at any given moment.

A
few days later, I eased the Honda out of the station’s parking garage into traffic. At the first traffic light, the Honda started to buck and lurch forward.

“Shit!” I snapped. I looked at the gas gauge and it was empty. “What the fuck!” I had just filled it up yesterday. I looked for a safe place to pull over. Scarlett was in the middle of the road directing traffic around the Honda. I crawled on what fumes I had left down a side, one way street and eased into the first parking place I could find.

Scarlett was standing at the edge of the street looking toward the main road. We both wondered where the goon squad was. Out of my rear view mirror I caught glimpse of a black SUV as I began dialing Victor to tell him I was out of gas. I snapped the phone shut as the black SUV turned down the street. My goon squad had arrived, but the look in Scarlett’s eyes sent a chill down my spine and made every hair on my arms stand to attention. She was banging on the window of the car for me to let her in. Before I had the time to hit re-dial on my cell, my car was surrounded by black suits with thin ties, guns drawn. FBI.

“Miss Ellington. Unlock the vehicle and exit slowly, your hands in clear view.”

I did what I was told.

“Turn and face your vehicle, hands behind your head.”

My heart was pounding out of my chest and I was shaking. Scarlett was standing in front of the Honda, her arms folded, tapping her foot. She was so over this already. The two agents that visited my office and dropped the bomb about Victor’s true identity with their glossy black and white 5 x 7’s of Victor and I on all of our outings, flanked my side.

“Miss Ellington, you need to come with us,” Agent Parker ordered, grabbing my left arm.

The other agent grabbed my right. They put me in the back of the SUV and both men climbed in the front. The remaining two agents stayed behind. They were searching the Honda. Scarlett was relieved she’d left her other purse with the grenades and hand guns at home.

“What is going on?” I asked my tone guarded.

“You’ll be briefed shortly, Miss. Ellington,” Agent Parker replied.

“You know I have a security detail, they will be here any minute,” I said, looking for the goons.

Agent Parker smirked. “Don’t worry about them, they’ve been handled.”

With a frown I climbed in their SUV, worried about what I was going to tell Victor.

Sighing, I looked out the window. Scarlett was fiddling with the controls, but nothing worked. She started smashing on them like a soda machine that just ate her money. She wanted out of the SUV and so did I. It seemed like forever before we stopped at a non-descript, brick building surrounded by a barb wire fence. I gulped and my palms started sweating. It resembled a minimum security prison. Scarlett’s eyes got wide and the corner of her lips turned down. I sensed she was as freaked out as I was.

The SUV stopped, Agent Parker got out, and escorted me inside a gray metal side door. We walked down a narrow hallway to the end, and upon opening the door, he motioned for me to enter. It’s was very similar to those rooms you see in the crime flicks where they interrogate the bad guys.

Scarlett was scanning the room for torture devices— this was the Feds, so anything goes. I reminded her that the CIA were the ones that water boarded terrorists, not the Feds. They just put you in prison and throw away the key. She gasped, orange was not in her color wheel at all. She never wears it and ain’t starting now.

He pulled out the small metal chair and I sat down. Without a word, he turned and left. I was alone with Scarlett and my thoughts, neither were helpful. Scar was Googling how to make a small bomb to blow a hole in the brick wall to escape. My thoughts were flashing at a rapid fire pace, Victor, Nicole, Aunt Ella, Luke, Hawke and even Nelson. Would I see any of them again?

I was fiercely fighting off tears. I had to hold it together for as long as possible. Hell I had the mark of the mob placed smack dab on my back and I was still alive so far. Maybe prison would be safe? Fuck who I am kidding? I’d be dead in less than five minutes. Joe Salvatore would make damn sure of that. Scarlett was still struggling with the orange jump suits, fuck she hated the color. It washed out her complexion and clashed with her red lip stick. Prison would shatter my life and destroy everything I had worked for. I would never get a job except for the fast food industry with a prison record. The tears were waging their assault and creeping into my eyes when the heavy metal door flung open and both agents walked through. Agent Parker carrying a diet coke, he placed it in front of me.

“Thought you might be thirsty.”

Scarlett snatched it and started sniffing to see if she could catch the scent of vodka…she’d even settled for cheap gin at this point. She was disgusted to find out the diet coke was a virgin.

“Thanks,” I said. Not touching the soda. My eyes darted back and forth between both agents. Fuck they’re good at concealing emotions, one of them could have just won the lottery and I’d never know. Scar had one of those little lights doctor shine in your pupils to see if they dilate. She was going to figure out how they did that, the bastards.

“Miss Ellington. You’re here because of your relationship with Victor Salvatore and connections to organized crime. You’re now on the FBI’s top one hundred watch list. Do you know what that means?”

“No,” I said, stealing a page from their own hand book and not giving any emotions in my answers.

“It means that from this point forward, when you try to fly, TSA will detain you, it means the FBI will watch you every second of the day, and if you even hiccup we’ll be all over you. Understand?”

Scarlett jumped up, her chair crashing to the ground behind her, she was in Agent Parker’s face shaking her fist. Shit, she had balls of steel.

“It means that we can arrest Victor Salvatore on charges ranging from extortion, bribery, money laundering, murder…shall I continue? Victor Salvatore will spend the rest of his life on this Earth in prison, and maybe some of his after-life too.”

Scarlett took the soda and poured it over Agent Parker’s head and smirked as it ran down his face.

“Then why haven’t you arrested him?” I snapped.

“Because we have been building our case, so when he is at trial, no amount of money will save his Italian ass from rotting in jail.” His eyes were still cold and not giving anything away.

Prick! I hate him.
Scarlett was scowling at him, deviously planning on how to seek revenge.

I scoffed louder than I should have. “Victor will walk away from every one of those charges because they are bullshit and you both know that.”
Except for the murder one,
I thought. I had a brief flashback of my attacker in the alley, but Victor was smart. He never pulled the trigger himself, he insulated himself by having someone else do it. I knew the Feds were trying to bully me to rat out Victor. That would never happen, even if I went to jail. Then I would know in my heart it was for love.

Scarlett was scanning the web for attorneys in case prison was in my future and of course she’d pull the Bedazzler out of storage. If I had to wear that gaudy orange, at least she could bling it up.

“Am I being charged with a crime?”

Both agents exchanged glances and Agent Parker leaned closer toward me.

“Were building a case, but for the moment no.”

“You can build whatever case you want. I know this is just your way of scaring me to rat out Victor, and that will never happen,” I said, crossing my arms.

Scarlett shook her finger in Agent Parker’s face.

The other agent didn’t speak, he just jotted down notes.

Scarlett snuck up behind him and peered over his shoulder, the suspense was killing her, she had to know what he was writing.

“We’re the FBI, Miss Ellington, don’t forgot that, we can do what the hell we want and bringing down the Salvatore’s is going to be my legacy. It consumes me. It is why I wake up every day and come to work. I will not stop until every single one of those bastards is behind bars, and if you get swept up in the process that is your fault. You can cooperate with us and perhaps avoid jail time.”

“Cooperate how?” I asked skeptical.

Scarlett was sitting on the edge of her seat. This she had to hear.

“We have proof that you’ve met Joe Salvatore.”

The agent who sat silent slid a glossy black and white photos of Victor and I arriving and leaving Joe Salvatore’s estate in front of me.

“Yes. We had brunch so I could meet his father, and he came to my house once as well.”

Both agents exchanged glances.

“Why? What did he want?” Agent Davis asked.

I had to think fast, there was no way I was telling them about that book.

“He was looking for his son. Victor wasn’t home, so he assumed he was with me.”

Agent Parker expression was cold and unforgiving. I sensed he knew I was lying.

“Joe Salvatore doesn’t just pop bye to say ‘Hi’. There is a purpose to everything he does.”

“Then I have no idea what he wanted. I’m not in the inner circle as you think I am.” Scarlett was trying to pick the lock to the door. She was ready to go home. She needed a drink and so did I. A fuckin’ big one.

“You’re screwing the head of the Mob’s son. That is as inner circle as you can get, Miss Ellington.”

“I think I need to contact my attorney if you’re going to continue, Agent Parker.”

Scarlett had found a pit bull lawyer and he was on speed dial.

“I’m done speaking with you both, so unless I’m being charged with a crime, I want to go home now.” My voice started to crack. I was gripping the edges of my metal chair trying to maintain my cool.

“We will be back shortly, Miss Ellington,” Agent Parker said, his chair scrapping against the concrete floor as both agents got up to leave.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Even though the agents had left the room, I knew I wasn’t alone, that someone was watching from behind the wall. I waved in their direction so they knew I was aware they existed.

I had to come up with a plan to save both Victor and myself from jail, and I knew what my get out of jail free card was. I was prepared to dangle that card in front of their noses.

Scarlett had her mouth pressed against the glass where my voyeur was watching and was leaving lipstick prints on the glass.

The door creaked back open as both agents walked back in. It was time to end this interrogation and intimidation. I had to control my fate.

“Miss Ellington, let me clearly spell this out for you. We have you connected with the Mob. You claim you’re innocent, but by association you’re guilty. We have the authority to arrest you for aiding and abetting a known criminal and accessory after the fact for any crime your boyfriend has committed. So I can hold you for as long as I see fit, unless you want to cooperate with our investigation.”

“Cooperate how?” I asked again.

“We want you to set up a meeting with Joe Salvatore and ask him some scripted questions while wearing a wire.”

Scarlett was stretching in the corner, it was time to open the can of whoop ass. She put on her favorite pair of brass knuckles that she’s been saving for a special occasion.

I shifted in my chair and didn’t answer immediately. Both agents had their eyes riveted on me.

“Fine,” I said. “But if I’m going to put my life in danger, I want in writing all the bullshit charges you claim you have against me and Victor dropped.”

“Not a chance. This will keep you out of jail for the moment, but that’s it.”

“The only way I will agree is if the charges and investigation on both myself and Victor are dropped. If throwing myself into the frying pan with Joe Salvatore isn’t a sweet enough deal for you, then how about if I provide you with a list of names of influential people with ties to the Mob, such as Senators and councilmen? I think I even saw the Mayor’s name on that list as well,” I said, my tone steady and my eyes darting between both agents.

Scarlett thought she saw a sliver of emotion from Agent Parker, but she’s hooking him up to an EKG machine to see if his heart rate fluctuated or to see if he even has a heart, the jury still out on that.

“What list?” Agent Parker leaned in closer.

I had his attention. “I’m in possession of a file that contains the names and how they’re tied to the Mob.”

“How did you come to obtain such a list?”

“That isn’t important,” I said. Not giving them my source because they would storm Chanel Six and Nelson’s office demanding the file and he would cave and hand it over. This was my insurance policy.

“So do we have a deal?” I said.

“We will be back, Miss Ellington,” Agent Parker said, again his chair scraping the concrete as he shoved back from the table.

“In writing, signed by whomever has the authority to approve this deal,” I said as both agents disappeared out the door.

Scarlett was fogging up the window where my voyeur watched and amused herself by writing ‘loser— dork —bastard’ in the mist. I got up and walk around the room. My stomach was free falling off a cliff without a parachute. I wanted the Feds to need me more than I needed them.