the twelfth floor.
She'd wanted an apartment large enough to accommodate
grandchildren—that's if Vincent ever decided to procreate. The
girl he'd married, Jenna, was hardly her favorite. Jenna was a
pretty-baby blond with a spectacular body and absolutely no brains.
Jenna was not smart enough for Vincent.
Unfortunately he'd married looks instead of brains. Wasn't that
the problem with most men?
She felt bad about dumping Dean tonight; he'd obviously expected
more than just her company over dinner. The problem was that she had
too much on her mind and wasn't in the mood to listen to Dean's
never-ending declarations of love.
She got out of the elevator and put the key into the door of her
apartment, stepping inside the cool marble foyer. As she reached for
the light switch, someone grabbed her from behind.
Fear coursed through her veins.
She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out.
Michael-1962
The day after his sixteenth birthday, Michael dropped out of
school and to the envy of his friends began working full time at the
store.
"How come you get all the luck?" Max demanded.
" 'Cause he's a pretty boy," Charlie snickered. "An' his grandma
lets him do anythin' he wants."
"Screw both of you," Michael countered. "I'm a workin' man now, so
you losers better watch it."
"Yeah, yeah," Max and Charlie said in mocking unison. "We're
scared.'"
The three of them were best friends; they'd grown up together.
Charlie, the son of a cop, was big and burly, with a solid Irish face
and Elvis sideburns. Max was shorter and wiry looking, with crooked
front teeth, a friendly smile, and floppy brown hair. Michael was
simply dead-on handsome.
When Vinny found out his son had dropped out of school, he was
angry, but since he'd also left school at an early age, there was
nothing much he could do about it, especially as Grandma Lani
welcomed the full time help. As she got older she was gradually
slowing down, and having her grandson in the store was a big
asset.
By the time Michael was seventeen he was almost totally in charge.
He was smart and savvy, knew what he was doing, and the customers
liked him—especially when he let them run up tabs and helped
them out when things were tough.
Before long he figured out a way to make extra money because
business was not booming, and he soon realized he had to do something . So after a while he began making side deals that
Lani knew nothing about. For instance, she'd always refused to sell
cigarettes in the store, which he thought was plain stupid. "This is
the sixties, Grams," he'd informed her on countless occasions.
"People smoke, you gotta sell 'em what they want."
Eventually she'd agreed, and he'd cut a deal with an acquaintance
who was able to deliver cartons of cigarettes that happened to have
fallen off the back of a truck. He bought the cigarettes for cash,
then sold them in the shop at the going price, making a healthy
profit, which he put back into the business. Another acquaintance
supplied him with jars of coffee, and sometimes he'd score a whole
truck-load of canned goods that had never quite made it to their
intended destination.
Grandma Lani didn't notice what was going on, and since he was now
in charge of the books, it made things easy. Her arthritis was so bad
that she could barely use her hands, plus she was becoming vague and
distracted. She was still smart enough to appreciate her grandson's
active interest in the store, because Vinny certainly didn't give a
damn.
Michael didn't consider what he was doing illegal; it was merely
good business. Still, he made sure not to confide in Max or Charlie,
because he was well aware that neither of them would approve. They
came from families who carqd about what they were up
to.
He got a kick out of being in charge, and since he looked much
older than his age, nobody questioned his authority.
His sex life was also going well. Shortly after dropping out of
school, he'd broken up with Tina. She'd found out about Polly
She'd wanted an apartment large enough to accommodate
grandchildren—that's if Vincent ever decided to procreate. The
girl he'd married, Jenna, was hardly her favorite. Jenna was a
pretty-baby blond with a spectacular body and absolutely no brains.
Jenna was not smart enough for Vincent.
Unfortunately he'd married looks instead of brains. Wasn't that
the problem with most men?
She felt bad about dumping Dean tonight; he'd obviously expected
more than just her company over dinner. The problem was that she had
too much on her mind and wasn't in the mood to listen to Dean's
never-ending declarations of love.
She got out of the elevator and put the key into the door of her
apartment, stepping inside the cool marble foyer. As she reached for
the light switch, someone grabbed her from behind.
Fear coursed through her veins.
She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out.
Michael-1962
The day after his sixteenth birthday, Michael dropped out of
school and to the envy of his friends began working full time at the
store.
"How come you get all the luck?" Max demanded.
" 'Cause he's a pretty boy," Charlie snickered. "An' his grandma
lets him do anythin' he wants."
"Screw both of you," Michael countered. "I'm a workin' man now, so
you losers better watch it."
"Yeah, yeah," Max and Charlie said in mocking unison. "We're
scared.'"
The three of them were best friends; they'd grown up together.
Charlie, the son of a cop, was big and burly, with a solid Irish face
and Elvis sideburns. Max was shorter and wiry looking, with crooked
front teeth, a friendly smile, and floppy brown hair. Michael was
simply dead-on handsome.
When Vinny found out his son had dropped out of school, he was
angry, but since he'd also left school at an early age, there was
nothing much he could do about it, especially as Grandma Lani
welcomed the full time help. As she got older she was gradually
slowing down, and having her grandson in the store was a big
asset.
By the time Michael was seventeen he was almost totally in charge.
He was smart and savvy, knew what he was doing, and the customers
liked him—especially when he let them run up tabs and helped
them out when things were tough.
Before long he figured out a way to make extra money because
business was not booming, and he soon realized he had to do something . So after a while he began making side deals that
Lani knew nothing about. For instance, she'd always refused to sell
cigarettes in the store, which he thought was plain stupid. "This is
the sixties, Grams," he'd informed her on countless occasions.
"People smoke, you gotta sell 'em what they want."
Eventually she'd agreed, and he'd cut a deal with an acquaintance
who was able to deliver cartons of cigarettes that happened to have
fallen off the back of a truck. He bought the cigarettes for cash,
then sold them in the shop at the going price, making a healthy
profit, which he put back into the business. Another acquaintance
supplied him with jars of coffee, and sometimes he'd score a whole
truck-load of canned goods that had never quite made it to their
intended destination.
Grandma Lani didn't notice what was going on, and since he was now
in charge of the books, it made things easy. Her arthritis was so bad
that she could barely use her hands, plus she was becoming vague and
distracted. She was still smart enough to appreciate her grandson's
active interest in the store, because Vinny certainly didn't give a
damn.
Michael didn't consider what he was doing illegal; it was merely
good business. Still, he made sure not to confide in Max or Charlie,
because he was well aware that neither of them would approve. They
came from families who carqd about what they were up
to.
He got a kick out of being in charge, and since he looked much
older than his age, nobody questioned his authority.
His sex life was also going well. Shortly after dropping out of
school, he'd broken up with Tina. She'd found out about Polly
Similar Books
