Indebted to the Mafia King

Eleni

After a few days of wheedling, I've finally convinced Seb to walk with me around the property. His car is locked up in the garage, and if Dante's right about how far the nearest towns are, there's no point in me running. So, I'm stomping through what I can only call woods in shorts I've never worn before and an oversized T-shirt, and somehow still sweating enough that I'm sure I must smell and Seb's just not mentioning it. Spring came early to upstate New York, and a hot spring at that.

I crunch a stick under a pair of steel-toed combat boots I found in the depths of the suitcase I packed. Yet another thing that just appeared in my closet. I've never worn anything like them in my life, but they're incredible for stomping. "I'm surprised," Seb says.

I glance at him and have to suppress a snicker. He's trying to do the same hike in a full suit, and he's red as a tomato. Maybe that'll keep him from aimlessly flirting with me for a little while. I don't really mind it, but I've never been more bored, so I'll take anything new.

"Surprised how?" I ask.

"I figured a city girl like you would be sunning yourself by the hot tub, not clomping through the woods."

I shake my head. "Just because I don't know anything about plants doesn't mean they scare me. I'm less worried about what I'm going to step on out here than I was in my back alley at home."

"Fair enough." He glances at me out of the corner of his eyes. "I'm also surprised you actually pried yourself out of your books long enough for this."

I grimace. My final is right around the corner, and I should be plastered to the wi-fi disabled laptop Seb brought up with him. But I still can't quite believe Dante's promise that he'll get me back in time. He's abandoned me up here for days now, and I don't even have a phone to check in with him. Seb is my only connection to the outside world.

"Ah, I know that look." He grins. "Slacker?"

I shake my head furiously. "Never. Do you know how much these classes cost?"

"Not really." Seb wipes sweat off his forehead. "The most book-cracking I ever did was when I fucked a girl into a library shelf hard enough that a few books fell off."

I shake my head. I can't decide if Seb's a ladies' man or a wannabe, but he has more of those stories than I thought someone my age could.novelbin

"A lot," I say. "Enough that I can only take two a semester."

Seb whistles. "That...sounds like a light load?"

I smack him gently, falling into patterns from before Christos disappeared, then recoil when my knuckles impact metal.

He winces and pulls a gun out of his jacket. "Sorry. Seemed better to be safe."

It doesn't seem like there's anyone in this forest with us other than birds. "I won't complain if you let me shoot it."

Seb screws up his face. "I don't know...."

"Baby." I shake my head and return to hiking.

"Shit, fine." He hurries to catch up. "But only when we reach the edge of the property. I don't want to find out Dante has some kind of antique tree that I let you kill." Always worked on Christos.

"But in exchange, I wanna hear more of your school shit," he says.

I glance at him. He gives me puppy-dog eyes, and for the first time in days, I almost smile. Maybe he's just curious because he didn't pay any attention.

"I'm going for a computer science degree," I say. "But with only two classes a semester, it's gonna take me forever to finish." I kick a stone out of my way and watch it tumble through the trees. "Two classes if I actually make it to my finals."

"This might sound stupid, but...why do you care so much?" Seb asks.

I swallow. I can't tell him about the fights Christos and Baba had when he dropped out of school. Christos swore he'd spoken to a real recruiter for a professional football team, and as long as he went now, he'd be guaranteed a spot. Baba pulled out curses in Greek I didn't even know yet and said Christos was throwing away the real opportunity of a lifetime, an education. Mama and I sat on her bed together, both pretending not to listen.

"I'd be the first person in my family with a degree," I say finally. "And my parents really wanted that for...the family."

Seb nods quietly. "Yeah, I get doing what the family wants."

Before I can ask what he means by that, he stops dead. "Edge of the property."

I stare at him in confusion until he offers me the gun. Right. I'm no longer the good daughter who waits while her family fights. I'm the stubborn bitch who's going to get our revenge. I take the gun from Seb. "Hit that tree." He points at one maybe ten or fifteen feet away.

I take aim, trying not to feel the ghost of Dante's hand on my waist, and shoot. Bark flies.

"Nice!" He points a bit farther away. "That one next."

I shake my head and hold the gun out. "I want to see what a real Staten Island Saint can do."

The words burn on my tongue, but Seb grins. Just like I thought. He never really believed I was in. I don't even know if Dante told anyone.

Still, we trade shots back and forth, each trying to outdo the other, until he points at an oak in the far distance.

I check the cylinder. "Two bullets left. You first this time."

He lines up his shot with a smile and just clips the very edge.

"He shoots, he scores!" Seb fakes a cheering crowd as he celebrates.

I shake my head and take the gun. "Have you ever fired that thing in a real fight? Like, killed someone?"

Seb holsters his gun with a sigh. "Nah. I've fired, but I haven't killed anyone yet. I can't become a capo until I do."

I aim. Inhale. Know you want to take that life. I fire, and bark explodes off the trunk.

Seb stares, stunned. I approximate his celebration.

"When I kill someone, will I become a capo?" I tease.

"Absolutely not. Girls still aren't allowed, and the amount of time it's gonna take you to fight that will let me get my kill in first." He snatches the gun back, grinning.

"Hey!" I swing out, half for the pistol and half just to hit him.

He sticks his tongue out and takes off through the woods. I chase him through the trees, trading easy insults until we both have to slow down because we're laughing too hard. It's been a long time since I laughed. We emerge out of the trees nearly in unison, and I shout, "I'm gonna make you regret that, Bellini!"

Seb freezes, staring at the porch, and I turn slowly. Dante stands there with his hands on the railing. And he doesn't look happy.