He laughed. “You looked like you were dead, man.”
“Well, I’m not dead yet. But I have something for you.”
“What’s that?” He stood up as Cassidy and I walked into the office. She began to set the VHS player up to the small TV in the corner.
“We found this at the house the Spiders lured us to.”
“They left it for you?”
“I think so.”
“Why the fuck would they do that?”
“Can’t say. I assume it was in case their plan fell through.”
“They’re fucking insane.”
“That they are.”
Cass nodded to me and turned the TV on. She silently hit play, and we stood around the small screen, watching.
I paid more attention to Vince’s face than I did to the tape. I’d seen it enough to know what the guy said. Vince didn’t look too surprised, but I could see a small smile creeping up along his face.
Finally, it ended, and Cassidy hit stop.
Vince couldn’t help but laugh. “This is fucking crazy.”
“Right?”
“That’s one of Ernesto’s top guys. If any of that is true, it could take down his whole organization.”
“That’s what I was thinking.”
“Wait, why?” Cassidy asked.
“You don’t get to steal that kind of money from the mafia without bribing people, no matter how high up you are,” Vince said.
“We’re serious about money.” I grinned at her.
“So you guys think he had help?”
“Definitely,” Vince confirmed. He looked at me. “What should we do with this?”
“I was hoping you’d know.”
“Well, shit. I guess we should take it to Ernesto and rub his dirty fucking face in it.”
“Why?” Cassidy asked. “We can just take it to Arturo and torch him.”
“No,” I said. “It’s better if we have leverage over him instead of just destroying him. He could be useful.”
“He’s dangerous, though,” Cassidy said.
“He is,” Vince agreed.
“We’re dangerous too,” I said, grinning.
Vince laughed. “Trust me, Cassidy. This is the best play.”
She glanced at me, and I knew what that look meant. “It’ll be okay,” I said.
“Okay. I trust you.”
Vince looked at me. “Come on. Let’s go.”
“Right now?” Cassidy asked.
“Right now. We can’t sit on this.”
She looked nervous, but I nodded at her. “Stay here. It’s going to be okay.”
“I want to come.”
“No. It’s dangerous, and I don’t think he’ll listen if you’re there.”
She went to argue again, but she stopped herself. I could see the defiance in her eyes, but I also saw something else. She was remembering what had happened last time, my body bleeding in the backseat of the car as I mumbled directions to her, near death and draining. I could see that, and I wished she didn’t have to remember that shit, wished I could take that away.
She nodded. “Okay. Go get him.”
I grinned at Vince, grabbed the tape and the player, and we headed out.
“Strong girl,” Vince said as we walked.
“She is.”
“Saved your life.”
“Almost got me killed, too.”
“True. But you should have seen her yelling at security.”
I laughed. “I can imagine.”
“So is she really pregnant?”
“Could be.” I shrugged. “Not for lack of trying.”
“Damn.” Vince laughed, shaking his head. “You’re all sorts of fucked up, aren’t you?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re trying to get this girl pregnant to keep her safe. The Rafa I know would never give a fuck about some bitch.”
“I’m still that Rafa. But we all change, don’t we?”
“We fucking do. Trust me. You’ll change even more when that kid comes along.”
“I don’t doubt it.”
“Just remember what’s important.”
“What’s that?”
“Your life. Your kid’s life.” He shook his head, sighing. “Everything else is just bullshit. This organization, this money, this danger—it’s good, and it gets us through the day, but in the end all that matters is your family. If this girl is family to you, hold on to that.”
“I don’t know about family. We barely know each other.”
“Family isn’t always so simple.” We stopped outside a plain door. “You ready?”
“Let’s go.”
Vince knocked as I hung back. We heard Ernesto grumble from inside before finally pulling the door open. He stopped short when he saw that it was the two of us.