Page 2 of Caged Bliss

“Are you sure about this? I can come with you.” Elena moves like she’s going to follow, but I stop her.

“I need some time to myself, alright, big sis? Just give me ten minutes and I’ll be right back.” Then I close the door in her face.

Paulie’s house has seen better days. The landscaping’s going wild and there’s green mold growing up the siding. The windows look black from dirt and the shutters are all falling off. But despite everything, it’s the same old house Paulie bought with the money from one of our first scores. Maybe not everything changes.

I knock on his door and wait. I like the way the gun feels against my hip. It’s barely covered by my suit jacket, but that’s good enough. I’m thinking back to the last time I saw Paulie, the night when everything went wrong, and I have a smile on my face when the door opens and he stares at me like he’s looking at a ghost.

Paulie put on weight. He’s older and it shows. There’s a streak of gray in his black hair, cut short right now and slicked to the side. His beard is patchy and barely covers his double chin. He’s got new tattoos, mostly ugly fucking things, the sort of shit I never would’ve let him get if he still worked for me, and he’s wearing baggy jeans and a flannel shirt.

“Angelo,” he says and takes a step back. He looks like he’s staring into the open maw of a hungry monster.

I let myself inside. “Been a while, Paulie.” I yank the door closed behind me. Paulie stammers as he shuffles into his living room.

It’s messy, but not too bad. A few empty beer cans cover the coffee table. The couch is white and it’s seen better days. Fucking Paulie always liked white furniture. I smell something cooking in the kitchen and Paulie’s staring at me like he never thought this day would come.

“You alone in here?” I ask him.

He shakes his head. “My girl’s in the kitchen. Lucinda. Lucy, I mean, uh?—”

“Bring her in. I want to meet her.” I show my teeth. “Now, Paulie.”

He turns and jumps toward the kitchen. I glance down the hallway and listen at the steps, but I don’t see or hear anyone else. There’s some furious whispering then Paulie reappears with a pretty girl, a little heavy but with a good face and dark hair, just how he used to like them. She’s chewing gum and frowning at me.

“Say hi to Angelo Bianco,” Paulie hisses and shoves her. “Don’t be fucking rude.”

“Hey,” she says and looks back at her man. “Can I go now? Dinner’s gonna fucking burn.”

“Go ahead,” I say, and she walks off, rolling her eyes. “Take a seat, Paulie.” I point at the couch. He hesitates, but he listens like he always used to. Good old reliable Paulie. “How are things on the outside? You never visited me when I was doing my time.”

“You never called. I didn’t know—” Paulie clears his throat. “I should have. I’m sorry I didn’t, boss.”

“You still in touch with the other guys?”

He shrugs and looks away. “I talk to Vito sometimes. Tommy’s got his own thing going at the old club. I dunno about Roc, you know how he was, kept to himself.” Paulie clears his throat a second time. “You looking to get the old guys back together?” There’s a pathetic hopeful note in his voice.

“No, Paulie. I’m not.” I walk over and sit on the coffee table directly in front of him. We’re inches apart. Our knees are touching. He looks extremely uncomfortable as I put my hands on his legs and hold him there, not letting him inch away like he wants to, staring straight into his face. I lean in closer, erasing his personal space. “I got questions and I need answers.”

He blinks rapidly. A bead of sweat rolls down his forehead and I can tell he wants to wipe it away. “Uh, yeah, Angelo, whatever you need. I’m not all that connected these days though. I married Lucy and we’ve been trying to have a baby and all that shit, and you know, when you went down, I was sidelined.”

“I’ve been thinking about that night a lot. You know what you have a lot of in prison? Fucking time. And I put that time to good use.” I reach back with my right hand and draw the revolver. Paulie’s eyes go wide as I shove it between his legs, right up against his dick. “Now you’re going to tell me some shit or I swear to fucking Christ I will make sure you and Lucy never have that fucking baby.”

Paulie nods rapidly. Fear colors every inch of him. I like the way he’s cringing back. He knows me better than almost anyone in the world, and he knows that when I say I’m doing something, I’m going to do it.

“Yeah, bro, yeah, I fucking swear, what happened to you, I had no clue that shit was coming, bro. I’m serious, it was fucked, it was?—”

“Who knew where the shipment would be?”

“Tommy. Maybe Roc. I don’t know. I knew something was coming but not where. Vito definitely had no clue. Come on, Angelo, you didn’t give me fucking anything back then. I just did what I was told.”

He’s not lying about that. Paulie was reliable, but he’s not the brightest guy in the world. Of everyone on my list, he’s the least likely to have stabbed me in the back.

“After I went down, who benefited the most? Who’s spending big right now?”

“Tommy,” Paulie says right away. “He’s been running Club Cage. Vito and Roc still work for the Famiglia doing fucking grunt shit, you know how that goes. I’ve been doing my own thing. I swear, Angelo, I didn’t know those fucking Serbian pricks were coming, and the cops?—”

“Shut the fuck up, Paulie. Last question. Did you see anyone on their phone that night?”

Paulie’s face twists like he barely understands the question. He shakes his head. “I don’t know. Roc maybe. Fuck, man, it was five years ago?—”

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