Miles Away (Carrion #1)(45)
“So who, then?” Landon asked as he prepared to take a swig of his drink.
Dustin laughed slyly as he looked at Landon.
“You?” Landon asked in surprise.
“Fuck that. I’m good where I’m at. Besides, the old man finds me too mouthy,” Dustin explained just before downing his Irish Car Bomb, chugging the stout and whiskey combination before the Bailey’s cream could curdle in his throat.
“Then who? A cousin? One of Uncle Sonny’s kids?” Landon asked.
“Think about it, kid,” Knox begged. “The old man is not stupid and he always has an agenda. Who is the one of us who has the most to lose?”
Knox’s knuckles tapped against the wood of the table as he stared at Landon. Slowly, a look of recognition took over Landon’s face.
“No…” Landon said in an exasperated voice.
“Now we’re on the same page,” Dustin said calmly, giving his brother an apologetic stare.
Knox patted his youngest brother on the knee as he rose to get another drink. Landon followed Knox’s shadow across the room as the reality of the situation set in.
In a voice barely more than a whisper, Landon said in a hollow tone, “Miles.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
A FRYING PAN SIZZLED in the kitchen of Juan Alves’s house as Miles Capadonno dropped another handful of raw chicken into the pan of simmering oil. With the stereo playing Bruce Springsteen’s Essential album, Miles swayed along with the beat as he prepared dinner. The sound of Letty and Juan’s spat had been drowned out by the music and Miles was happy for that, because no kid should have to listen to his mother’s distressed cries. Miles hoped that Letty and Juan would come to a happy conclusion. The way he saw it, no matter what Juan’s opinion was, Miles was in Letty’s life now. There would be no getting rid of him, unless he hired the Capadonnos himself, and let’s face it, Juan and Michael Capadonno were not exactly BFFs.
G sat happily in his booster seat at the kitchen table, nibbling on a manila wafer Miles found in Juan’s pantry. Beating his hands along with the tempo of the song, “Blinded by the Light,” G seemed to share Miles’s passion for the Boss’s music.
“Tell you what kid, you’ve got style. I like that...” Miles said with a laugh as G squealed along to the music.
Grabbing a spoon off of a hook on the wall, Miles stirred the chicken, and proceeded to pour a bag of brown rice into a pan.
“It won’t be as good as your momma’s cookin’ but it’ll be all right,” Miles said to G.
G seemed to agree with Miles’s statement as he covered his face with one of his tiny hands.
“I know, man. I know,” Miles said with a smile.
“What’s goin’ on out here?” Letty asked with a smile as she emerged in the kitchen with a tear-streaked face. Juan followed behind her with an embarrassed look upon his face.
“G and I are attempting to cook dinner...” Miles said with a laugh as he scooped some of the chicken from the pan. Though he was no Emeril Lagasse, Miles’s chicken was perfectly fried to a golden crisp.
Letty crossed the kitchen floor and placed her hands on Miles’s back, giving him a gentle kiss between his shoulder blades. Grabbing a tissue from the box on the counter top, Letty wiped her face and gave Miles a sheepish smile. Juan, catching Miles’s attention, cleared his throat. Peering over his shoulder at Juan, Miles nodded his head respectfully at Juan. Miles noticed Letty’s father was holding a large army-green metal box that was secured with a combination lock. Lifting an eyebrow, Miles gave Juan a knowing smile. Moving aside to allow Letty take over the cooking of the meal, Miles leaned against the kitchen counter, keeping Juan in his sight. As Juan placed the metal box on the kitchen table, he finally spoke.
“I did what I thought I needed to in order to keep my daughter safe,” Juan explained, giving Miles an apologetic look.
Nodding at Juan, Miles understood why he did what he did. He tried to put himself in the man’s shoes. His only daughter at age seventeen was involved with a member of the Capadonno family. Miles shrugged.
“If it were my daughter, I probably would have done the same.”
“I’m still not cool with this,” Juan said as he pointed to Miles and Letty. “But Letty has made it clear that, in her words, ‘She is a grown-ass woman and she isn’t about to let me dictate who she can and cannot see.’ Don’t hurt my baby and we won’t have a problem, son…”
Juan had a serious look upon his face as he stared up at Miles. There was a foot of difference between the men. As Miles stared down at Juan, he didn’t feel as if he was a bigger man than Juan. The two were on equal footing.
“I’d never dream of it, Mr. Alves.”
“Just call him One,” Letty laughed. “G does.”
“Funny…” Juan said as he gave his daughter a wink. “Hey son…” Juan said to Miles, bringing him back into the conversation.
“Yeah, boss…”
“That boy right there,” Juan said as he nodded towards G. “He’s our whole world. Don’t you let nothing happen to him.”
Miles glanced over at G as a heavy feeling weighed in his heart. Giving Letty an emotional glance, Miles replied, “I would go to the ends of the earth for your daughter, and that extends to G, and everyone else she loves. You have my word, Mr. Alves.”