Daughter of the Mob (Sample)

20 | Jealousy

THE MEN PARTED FOR PAMELA as she descended the stairs from her apartment to the ground floor of Albright Trimmings & Co.

Johnny imagined his jaw dropping like in some stupid cartoon as she tottered down the stairs, appraising her glamorous appearance.

Her thick blonde hair was swept up into a bun, half of it cascading down her shoulders into loose tresses around her slender neck. Her makeup was simple but flattering. Lashes combed up with jet black mascara framed her lovely eyes, a flicker of light in the room making them catch gold. Rouge coated her dark lips, darker than anything Johnny had seen her wear before. She wore a fitted swing dress the colour of dawn with a wide tulle skirt, complementary to the soft, feminine curves of her figure.

Johnny sensed his heart gallop within his chest and his palms grow sweaty. He felt like a schoolboy again, fostering a crush, yet too entranced to speak of his affection. She's beautiful.

She didn't enjoy being the centre of attention because when she saw the crowd of men and women gathered to wish her congratulations, her cheeks burned pink and she ducked her head.

Pamela's glamorous appearance wasn't missed by Johnny's peers. The men elbowed him and slapped his back, whispering crude innuendos and whistling.

Johnny shoved them away, sickened by their coarseness.

Caterina De Lorenzo followed behind her roommate, her face flushed with exertion. Johnny suspected she must have helped Pamela with her preparation for the evening.

Upon Johnny's announcement, the men had been pleasantly surprised and demanded a celebratory party. Of course, they had known about the financial arrangement and how Pamela had been in charge of setting aside twenty percent of sales for the Family, but Johnny doubted they knew about the construction tycoon, Stuart Kelly.

As he saw it, theirs was a relationship of mutualistic benefit. If Pamela bridged the gap between the Mancini Family and her father's construction business, Johnny would honour his end of the bargain and keep her from harm. If the men believed Pamela had fallen in love with him, there would be no further reason for them to suspect her capable of ratting on their operations and what she had been privy to.

"What are you waiting for? Kiss your bride!"

Johnny whirled around to perceive the wide, beaming face of Sal Palermo, his sweaty shirt plastered to his skin and his arm loosely around the shoulders of a young woman.

Lorenzo Palermo was there too, along with his long-suffering wife Victoria. So were Mike, Luca, Marco, John and Antonio. Even quiet Joey Romano had shown up with his wife Giovanna, despite his perpetual aversion to large social gatherings and parties.

Some soldiers Johnny didn't know well stood by the door, their hands dug into pockets, no doubt containing guns.

It was then that Johnny noticed Tony Bellucci's absence. Tony had been around little lately and had disappeared after Christmas. Johnny had assumed it was because he was with family for the holidays, but found it strange that he hadn't heard from his best friend in over a week. Even if this was a fake engagement party, Tony didn't wouldn't have known that, and Johnny would expect his friend to attend out of loyalty.

Roberto wasn't present either, but had been the one to recommend a proposal. He had called Johnny into his office with a distracted expression and advised him to coerce Pamela into an engagement. As a future son-in-law, he would have to be accepted by the untouchable Stuart Kelly.

"Andosh!" Lorenzo yelled, clapping his hands together. "Let's go! Give the girl a smooch!"

Johnny gazed at Pamela to gauge her reaction. Her face was blank, her mouth unsmiling.