“Shut the fuck up,” Marco snarls. “Both of you, sit on the couch.”
“Please, take what you want.”
“Mom, come on.” I draw her to the side. She’s so small and thin. She’s shaking as we sit together and I do my best to be brave because that’s what she needs right now. “We’ll be okay. Just do as he says.”
“This is unacceptable. This is… it’s all wrong. I’m an old woman. Who is this man?!”
“God, you don’t know anything about your fucking daughter, do you?” Marco paces in front of us. My heart’s racing and I try to think of a way out. My phone’s in my back pocket so I doubt I could get it. Maybe I can rush him, but no, he’d overpower me and kill me in a heartbeat. But if I don’t do anything?
How desperate is he right now?
“Deanna? What’s he saying?”
“It’s okay, Mom.”
“I want my money. That’s all I want. It’s owed to me, fuckingowed, per our contract, and your god damn husband isn’t living up to his end.”
Mom grips my arm. “This is the man. He was here before, wasn’t he? Deanna, who is he? And why is he talking about ahusband?”
“Damn it, Marco, please stop this.”
Carbone’s eyes widen in surprise. A joyous smile spreads across his face. “My god. You didn’t tell them about Prime?”
“Stop it,” I say through my teeth. “Whatever financial problems there are, you can handle them with him, okay? I have nothing to do with it and neither do my parents.”
“Oh, fuck, this is too good.” He gestures at my mother with his gun. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your daughter is married to one of the most vicious, ruthless criminals I’ve ever met.”
Mom blinks at me. “Is he being serious?”
“We’ll talk about it later.”
“No, oh fuck no, we’ll talk about it now.” Marco waves the gun around. “She’s married! And she didn’t tell her own mother! What a nightmare you are, Deanna, you bitch. That’s right, lady, your daughter is fucking a glorified pimp every night, spreading her legs for him, moaning his name?—“
“Shut the fuck up, Marco!” I jump to my feet in a rage. “Don’t talk about Prime like that!”
He howls with laughter. “Look at how she defends her man!”
I seethe, fury taking me over, and I’ve never felt so powerless before. I step toward him, but the smile fades and the gunsteadies in my face. He gestures with it, backing me down, and I consider rushing him. Would he really shoot me? If he did that, he’d lose Prime’s support forever. He needs me, but accidents happen, and he doesn’t seem like he’s in the right state of mind to be careful.
I sink back down beside my mother, breathing deep to keep my head.
“Is it true, honey? Are you really married?”
I take her hands. They’re so thin and the skin is papery. I squeeze them between mine. “I’m sorry, Mom. I should’ve told you sooner. You know my boss? Mr. Spadaro?”
She looks confused. “The asshole? The one you always complained about?”
I flinch when Carbone laughs again, clearly loving this. I do my best to ignore him. “Me and Mr. Spadaro got married. His real name is Prime. It started out as an agreement… but Mom, I love him, and I know this is crazy and makes no sense and it looks like I’m in a lot of trouble, but I swear, he’s good to me. He’s goodforme.”
She looks stunned. For a second, Carbone’s forgotten. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“I was afraid of how you’d react and what it might do to Dad. I was going to tell you…”
“Oh, sweetie.”
“I’m sorry, Mom.”
“Are you happy? With him, I mean?”