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tonight?”
                “Yes.”
                “But he
didn’t stop you.”he
                “I try not
to let things stand in my way of something I really want.” I closed my mouth
with a snap, completely mortified I let that slip. I turned my head and stared
out the window.
                “Am I
something you really want?” he teased. I ignored him, not ready for him to
know.
    Dominic told me a
little bit about himself too. I finally got the answer to my questions about
the family business he would take over someday.
                “Ah, Uncle Marco,”
I said.
                “Yeah, I’m
learning all of the positions. They had me start out as bar back, now I’m
bartending.”
                “What’s
next?”
                “I think
I’m going to be working under your brother.”
     “That
should be interesting.” I said, imagining just how thrilled Grant must be at
the idea.  
    Dominic slowed down as
he turned off of Broad onto a smaller side street. Most of the row homes were
dark, their occupants asleep. A few were boarded up. He parked in front of one
of the abandoned homes. I got out and followed him up steps which led to a
condemned building.
                “Dominic,
where are we?” I asked, recalling how the serial killer, Gary Heidnik lived in
a similar neighborhood. I mean, how well did I really know this guy?
                “You’ll see.”
He knocked three times on the door. It immediately opened from the inside and a
very large man peered through the crack. Dominic said something in what sounded
like Italian and the door widened to let him through. I gathered myself together
and quickly followed him in.
    The large man eyeballed
me.  “Does she need to be searched?” he asked Dominic.
    The thought of this man
searching me with his bear paw sized hands was very disconcerting and I was
relieved when Dominic told him I was cool and worked at Crimson. The man
relaxed even more when he heard I was Grant’s sister.
    Once inside, I was able
to take in my new surroundings. The home wasn’t condemned at all. A long
hallway led to a back room, where a group of men were seated at a table playing
cards. The smoke from their cigars hung in a haze above their heads. To my left,
a steep staircase led to a dark second level. A living room or parlor, which had
been converted to a bar, was to my immediate right. Several people sat around the
bar counter and the bartender waved when he saw Dominic.
    I followed him into
this room and saw the front windows were boarded up, but aside from that the
room was well maintained. The lighting was soft and jazz was playing quietly in
the background. I noticed how people paid attention to Dominic as he crossed
the room. They regarded him with respect. I quickly caught up so I was walking
next to him. I wanted these people to know who I was with.
    Behind the bartender
and above the bottles of liquor there were three framed pictures. One was of
the Pope, one of Marlon Brando and the last one was – Frank Sinatra. Only Rocky
Balboa was missing. I felt like I had just walked into a scene from Goodfellas
or The Godfather. I never thought places like this existed.  This was
definitely a first for me and I was determined to memorize every detail because
my friends were not going to believe this shit. Dominic ordered us glasses of
red wine and we relocated to a private table tucked away in the back corner of
the room.
    He took my coat and
hung it up on a hook behind our table. I sipped on my wine quickly, waiting for
the magical blanket to soothe and relax me. Dominic peered over the rim of his
glass at me and winked.
    “What?”
I asked.
    “You
seem very relaxed, that’s all. Don’t you find this place a little weird?”
    I sipped some more wine
before answering. “Well, it’s better than a condemned building – I was having
some serious concerns there for a