When one door closes, another opens.
I wrapped my arms around Reina’s waist and dragged her back against my chest.
“You ready to get out of here?” I asked huskily against her ear.
“Yes, but we have to stop off at the store first,” she informed me.
“Later,” I growled, taking her earlobe between my teeth and giving it a nip.
“No, fuck that, I’ve waited long enough,” Riggs declared, crossing his arms against his chest. He was hanging out with Bianci too long, even held the same stance as the man. “We had a deal. I help you get the pie goddess back and I get a cherry pie,” he snarled.
“Pie’s going to have to wait,” Pipe said, walking up to us, bringing down the phone he held to his ear as a smile spread across his face.
“You better have a good fucking reason,” Riggs muttered.
Pipe turned his gaze to Riggs.
“Best fucking reason,” he assured him, before glancing back at me. “Blackie’s awake.”
Right there, in the middle of Green-Wood Cemetery, my belief in God was restored.
Thank you, I silently told my real Maker.
Thank God.
Dear Jack,
I’m writing this letter to you alive, well, and completely of sound mind. However, if these words ever find their way to you that means I’ve died. I’m okay with that because it also means I died trying to make things right between us.
I’ll start by explaining the one thing you never gave me a chance to explain to you. The day I told you I was going into the bureau was the day our brotherhood died. I was young and foolish to believe you stopped being my brother when you found your club.
I became a federal agent for two reasons. The first was because I loved the aspect of being someone who traveled the world undercover. I probably watched too many cop shows because once I became an agent I realized it wasn’t so glamorous living two lives—one as an agent and one just as a man. In fact, it was pretty lonely because anyone I let into my life never knew the truth of who I was, they only knew one facet of me.
The second reason was to spite you but you knew that already. It sounds horrible, but it’s the truth. I felt betrayed by you and I felt left out. You were always talking about your brothers and this unbreakable bond you shared—but I was your brother and we were supposed to have an unbreakable bond.
I chose the law because you were an outlaw. I chose the law because I thought you chose your club. I chose the law because I thought I wasn’t the brother you wanted.
And even though I may have made the wrong choice, I learned to live with it and found purpose within the bureau. I wasn’t lying to you when I came to Ryker’s to see you, I did change my name to head the RICO unit but also because I didn’t want to be associated with you.
But not for the reasons you think.
Not because I was ever ashamed of you.
But to save you.
Being an agent had its perks, and I uncovered a lot of things, half of the things I learned I wish I hadn’t but I would never regret finding out the one piece of information that led me to apply for the RICO unit in the first place.
It was a Cutlass, the car that ran over Jack Jr. and the guy driving it was high as a kite and that’s why he kept going. He was high on heroine and he was an employee of the notorious G-Man. I changed my name to Gregorio because it was the same name as his and with that common thread I thought it would get me in with the G-Man, make him more inclined to bring me into the fold.
My plan was to get G-Man off the streets because even in prison he still had a crew on the outside pushing the drugs, but he wasn’t working alone. I started to learn bits and pieces of his operation, realizing he had been working with another mobster for years, slowly laying the foundation for their partnership to take over the streets of New York. They had a laundry list of murders under their belt as the mobster worked his way up the ladder. His name is Jimmy Gold, maybe you’ve heard of him?
You see, I thought if I cleaned up the streets, I’d bring some sort of justice to my nephew’s death. I’d save my brother from the grief he’s allowed to control his life and maybe, just maybe, fix the bond that became broken between us.
Anyway, I’m in real deep and I think they’re starting to catch on that I’m not who I say I am. But that’s the chance you take when you live a double life.
I hope you’re well. And if I should leave this earth I hope you know how very thankful I am to you for making me the man that I am. You didn’t have to step in after mom and dad died, but you did.
Your Brother,
Danny.
Bonus Epilogue