Letty nodded in understanding.
I know what Michael is saying makes perfect sense to him. To me, it’s clear that the man is bat shit insane.
Not trying to agitate the man further, Letty stared up at him, appearing doe-eyed and horrified.
“Us men have to protect the women and the children. We have to sometimes do things we’re not proud of… to protect our families. Do you understand?” Michael asked Letty with a calm look upon his face. Letty was amazed at how quickly he could turn on and off his wrath. The thought was horrifying to her. It was the sign of a true sociopath. They didn’t feel pain. Not emotional pain, sometimes not even physical pain. They could wear a smile with a gushing trauma wound. They could fake agony simply to manipulate someone into caring. Letty knew now more than ever, she had to be very careful.
Again, Letty nodded, not daring to let any emotion show. Inside, she was a wreck. She wanted to run. She wanted to break down in tears from the horror Michael had shown her. She wanted to break down in terror from the death threats she was offered by Dante and the Fish. She wouldn’t do any of these things though.
A lesson I learned a long time ago is to never to let a man see you at your weakest. They’ll treat you like a ragdoll for the rest of eternity.
Michael’s hand gently stroked Letty’s cheek as a sick feeling crept through her body. Slyly, Michael smiled.
“You’re a brave one, Leticia. This will be our little secret… Yes?” Michael said smoothly.
Without giving it any further thought, Letty replied, “Yes, Mr. Capadonno.”
“It’s Michael, Letty,” he said before lifting her hand to his mouth. He stroked his lips against the skin of her palm. The hair on her arms stood on end. “To you, Letty… it’s Michael.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
CORINA SLIPPED THROUGH the darkness like a bullet as Miles and Landon cut through the Pine Barrens largely unnoticed. Ripping down Route 70, the road seemed darker under the shadow of the Pines. Set amidst a vast and largely undisturbed expanse of coastal forest, Carrion, New Jersey, is the last place on earth you’d think would be rocked by mob activity. The Capadonnos used to be a Philadelphia name. Miles’s great-grandfather’s family took up half the block when they lived at 13th and Wolf Streets. Then, after a series of hits, federal busts and the controversial and very public murder of Gino Rigatti outside of the Federal Court House in Philly, Miles’s father, Michael, and his uncle Sonny decided to make a move. They packed up the Capadonnos—every last one of them—and moved to a little blip on the map called Carrion, New Jersey. It was nothing but swampland and forest before they came along.
In the summer months, the Pine Barrens is the setting for many a family vacation… and why not? The scenery is idyllic: heavily wooded with beautiful lakes and plenty of privacy. It was an escape from the big city for many people. But for the Capadonnos, there were no outside eyes looking in. Not even the feds bothered them much out here at first. The Capadonnos flocked to the Pine Barrens for a different reason than most people. The trees provided privacy, the setting was unassuming and with a coastal setting, there was no shortage of places to hide a body.
Not that I’d know anything about that, Miles thought. I took the fall on murder charges, but I never took a life ’til I entered the Franklin Correctional Facility and that was self-defense! Bill Tomaselli came at me with a shank in the prison yard. What do you expect me to do, stand there and get killed? Fuck that.
In the years since the Capadonnos settled in Carrion, the city was built up. Still hidden deep in the Pine Barrens, Carrion has a unique quality to it.
The residents built what they knew and Carrion, New Jersey quickly became a miniature replica of South Philly plopped down in the middle of the fuckin’ woods. Seriously… There’s no other way to describe it.
The kid cleared his throat breaking Miles from his thoughts.
“We’re here,” Landon said as he nodded to the bright green welcome sign that was illuminated on the side of the road. Anxiety slithered in Miles’s stomach like a boa constrictor, tightening and tightening until he could barely breathe.
Welcome to Carrion, New Jersey
Population, 3,292 – Mayor Leon F. Capadonno
“The Happiest Place in New Jersey”
“You’ve got to be shitting me…” Miles said as he looked at the bright green sign.
There is so much wrong with the effing sign that I don’t even know where to start. What a joke.
“What?” Landon asked as he began to chuckle. He knew exactly what Miles was referring to.
“They ripped up the old piney sign for that? I don’t know what’s worse, the fact that they even bother to count the townspeople anymore with all the hits, the slogan or Uncle Leon’s name on the sign.”