Breaking Bones by Harley Stone

Author:Harley Stone [Stone, Harley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-06-24T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

Bones

“BONES, WE’RE RELATED,” Angel said, staring at his computer screen. “Well, kind of. Distantly, through marriage.”

“What?” I asked, leaning over his shoulder to see what he’d found.

We were back in the condo, sitting at the kitchen table as we competed to see who could find information on Pops the fastest. Predictably, Angel had won. Not-so-predictable, were the results.

“Related how?” I asked.

“Your grandfather on your dad’s side married Nonna’s cousin, Elena. Elena isn’t your grandmother, though. Your grandmother died shortly after your father was born. Elena was his second wife.”

I shook my head, confused. “There must be some sort of a mistake. Pops told me he was an orphan.”

“I’m sorry, Bones, but he wasn’t. He grew up with his parents. Your grandfather didn’t die until two-thousand-three, and your dad is listed as ‘surviving family’ in his eulogy. Look.”

I scanned the article, and sure enough, Gino Leone was listed. “You’re sure that’s him?” I asked.

Angel gave me a flat stare. Of course, he was sure. He was a technical genius, so little things like internet identity searches were nothing to him. Still, this new information made it feel like my identity was crumbling.

“Pops lied,” I acknowledged. “He told me he never knew his parents. Said he grew up in the system. Why would he lie?”

“No clue.” Angel’s gaze returned to his screen. “Your grandfather lived in Claycomo, Missouri of all places. I don’t think he and Nonna’s cousin had anything to do with the family business.”

When I was first brought into the family, and became familiar with the way things worked, I used to wonder if Pops had been a mobster. He wore suits, worked strange hours, and his bizarre disappearance all shouted mafia. Somewhere along the line, I’d convinced myself that I was just projecting—searching for some sort of connection to him—so I pretended we were alike. That he was a bodyguard like me and had gotten killed protecting his charge.

But what if I hadn’t been projecting? What if Pops really was a mobster? Surely Carlo would have told me if Pops had worked for the Mariani family.

Could Pops have worked for another family?

While I was still trying to puzzle it out, my phone rang. Carlo was calling.

“Hello?” I answered.

“What are you doing?” Carlo asked, his tone clipped.

I glanced at my laptop, confused. Carlo was a hard man, but he wasn’t a micro-manager. At least, not with me. He trusted me to get my shit done, and I always came through. He’d never called and asked what I was doing before. “Research,” I replied.

“I gave you a task and told you it takes priority, and you’re sitting at home fuckin’ around. Get your ass to my office. Now.”

Startled, I stumbled over my response, “Yessir.”

Carlo hung up.

I stared at my phone, wondering what the hell had just happened. Everyone knew the underboss had one hell of a temper, but since I kept my head down and did my job, it had never been directed at me before.

“Was that Uncle Carlo?” Angel asked, sounding as confused as I felt as he stared at the phone in my hand.

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