It wasn’t a request. It was a straight up fucking demand. Don’t act like a * in the heart of South Philly. You’ll be forever known as a chump. Around here, respect is everything, and once you lose it, it’s gone forever.
Dante Sabotino glared up from his seat at Miles. With sneaky eyes and well-gelled hair, his appearance was as slippery as his personality was. Dante’s cousin, Vinnie “The Fish” Moretta, wasn’t much of an improvement. His rounded belly threatened to pop the buttons off his striped button-down shirt. His terrible comb-over damn near made Miles laugh. Damn near, but he didn’t.
I might not be scared of these idiots, but the last thing you want to do is disrespect him in his own backyard. Vinnie ran the blade of his butter knife over his finger nail. Now that actually made me chuckle. I guess that shit was supposed to scare me. A dumbass with a butter knife. I’ve created weapons more threatening in the confines of my cell. Shaking my head as I walk by, I decide not to give Dickhead Dante the time of day.
“Here ya are, fellas. What can I get ya?” Rita asked as she slipped on a pair of reading glasses and whipped out a notepad to write upon.
Miles ordered first. It’d been forever since he’d had a decent meal, and in his eagerness, he accidentally cut off the kid. Landon looked like he understood, so Miles wasn’t too embarrassed.
“Putanesca with some of those garlic knots,” Miles told Rita.
I can almost taste it now. My favorite dish. Angel hair pasta, extra virgin olive oil, capers, olives, fresh tomato and basil. Delicious, Miles thought.
“That meal comes with a salad. Do you want chef, Caesar or garden?” Rita asked.
“Chef,” Miles replied quickly.
“White wine or red wine?” Rita asked.
Miles shook his head. “Tall glass of ice water. I have to drive back to Jersey tonight.”
“Very good, and Landon, what can I get ya, hun?” Rita asked as she scribbled Miles’s order down onto the notepad.
“Cheesesteak provolone wit’… and an order of fries,” Landon said as he handed over his menu, ordering in the local lingo which meant that Landon wanted a cheesesteak with fried onions and provolone cheese.
“And to drink?” Rita asked.
Landon gave Miles a crooked glance. The kid wore his heart on his sleeve. Miles could immediately see right through his brother’s facade. He was going to try to play his hand. He wanted to see how far Miles would let him slide.
“Make it a Jack—straight up,” Landon said with a wicked smirk.
Rita laughed at Landon and then looked at Miles.
Miles quickly replied, “He’ll have a Shirley Temple with an extra maraschino cherry.”
Landon scoffed as Miles winked at him. “I think that’s a little more your speed, kid,” Miles said as he chuckled loudly.
“All right, Miles. Order will be up shortly. I’m glad to see you looking so good.”
With that, Rita walked off, disappearing behind a set of kitchen doors to place their order. Miles looked over at Landon, and he seemed nervous as he sat across from his brother, tapping his fingers on the wood of the table. Clearing his throat, Miles caught his attention as his stark blue eyes peered up at him.
Jesus, he looks like my mother.
“So… what’s been going on?” Miles asked. The kid looked like something was plaguing him. Landon shrugged as he looked up at Miles.
“Just the usual, man,” Landon began.
Miles laughed darkly.
“Your usual and my usual are worlds apart, dude… You are staying out of trouble, right?” Miles asked, giving his younger brother a scorching glare.
The look of pure hostility on Miles’s face caused Landon to recoil from his gaze. Landon stared back at Miles with a nervous look oozing from his eyes.
“Not trying to make you nervous. I have your back. I’m just wonderin’ what I’m coming home to,” Miles explained.
Landon let out a deep sigh. “The focus is on Dad right now. The doctors are saying he’s fading but he’s still a loud, miserable bastard. Sasha’s living at the house again. So is Rainey but she’s rarely home. Dustin comes and goes. We have a nurse that comes to the house during the week, and she’s helping to take care of Dad.”
“What about Knox?” Miles asked with a lethal edge to his voice.
Knox was the one person Miles was most anxious to see. They were tight once. Miles had only heard from him once in over seventeen years. Once was enough.
“Knox is Knox,” Landon explained. “Busy up in New York being DA and all. I haven’t seen him since Christmas.”
Miles let out a breath of relief.
At least I know that I won’t be ambushed the second I stroll through the damn door.
“You let me handle the old man. Just give me a heads up when you hear about Knox coming around. He and I need to have words,” Miles said.
“All right…” Landon said as he tapped his fingers on the table. “What about?”
“That’s between him and me,” Miles said coarsely.