It felt good to be back in Miami.
Enrico loved to travel, but Miami would forever be his home. He had just come from Chicago; another successful drop and a weekend with Paul. He had seen him several times over the past few weeks, and on each occasion their time together grew sweeter. Paul’s embrace made him crave Joey’s cruelty in order to justify the affair. Fueled by his guilt and need for attention, each tryst gave Enrico reason to look forward to the next.
Enrico unlocked the door of his condo. He paused in the darkness. Sniffed. His stomach flipped and the butterflies fluttered, all against his will.
“Hello, Joey,” Enrico greeted. He couldn’t see him in the dark, but he could smell him. The place smelled like Courvoisier.
Joey clicked on the lamp. He was sitting on the couch, a bottle of Courvoisier in one hand and a .45 in the other.
“I gotta watch you too?” Joey slurred.
“You’re drunk,” Enrico stated, matter of factly.
“I had to get up the nerve.”
“For what?”
“To kill you,” Joey replied, holding the gun out, aimed at Enrico.
“You’re not going to kill me, Joey,” Enrico chuckled.
“Yeah? What makes you so sure?” Joey questioned.
“You would’ve packed a revolver.”
Joey smirked. “Yeah, well maybe I oughta kill you.”
“Why?”
Joey struggled to his feet, hit the Courvoisier and approached Enrico. “Because I can’t trust none of you,” Joey replied. His cold blue eyes cutting through Enrico. “Nobody can be trusted.”
“I’ve never given you a reason to say that about me, Joey,” Enrico remarked, because Joey’s gaze was beginning to become unnerving.
Joey stopped directly in front of Enrico.
“But you will.”
“You act as if you want me to.”
Joey caressed Enrico with the fingertips of the hand that held the gun.
“Who is he, eh? Who is he?” Joey questioned, smelling and kissing Enrico’s neck, running his tongue from his ear to his throat. “I can smell him all over you.”
Enrico closed his eyes and enjoyed the seduction.
“Nobody,” he whispered.
“Nobody as in nobody, or nobody as in he doesn’t matter?” Joey quipped, kissing Enrico, caressing his tongue with his own.
After the kiss, Enrico groaned, “Both.”
Joey dropped the Courvoisier, spilling the remnants on Enrico’s plush carpet. He used his free hand to grope Enrico's body lustfully.
“You gonna betray me, too? You gonna betray me like Te Amo?” Joey asked, pulling up Enrico’s skirt.
“Never,” he gasped. “Never.”
“Never say never.”
“I love you,” Enrico declared, covering Joey’s neck and face with kisses and licks.
He fumbled with Joey’s jeans, the heat of the moment building, until Joey dropped the gun, lifted Enrico off his feet and impaled him with his hard, pulsating dick, as Enrico wrapped his legs around Joey’s waist. Joey spread his cheeks and plowed into him deeper, making Enrico cry out his name, his screams shattering the thin Paul facade over his raw passion for Joey. They spent the night fucking passionately; sleep only coming when it couldn’t be denied. In the morning, Enrico asked, “How did she betray you?”
Joey smoothed Enrico’s hair.
“Forget about it. I was drunk.”
“You never get drunk enough to say what you don’t mean,” Enrico countered.
“It doesn’t matter; it’s just the nature of a woman.”
Enrico studied Joey’s face then asked.
“Do you think I would ever betray you?”
“I don’t think about it. Should I?”
“No.”
“Then you’ve answered your own question.”
Enrico’s guilt made him kiss Joey like he was apologizing. The nature of a woman; that’s what he would blame his betrayal on.
They parted in the underground garage. Joey went to New York, while Enrico would stay in Miami, awaiting another shipment. Neither knew that they were under surveillance.
“What do we have here? A secret lover?” one agent quipped as he and another agent watched the monitors in an unmarked van.
“I thought his lover was Paul.”
“I guess queers cheat, too.”
Laughter.
The agent looked at Joey again.
“Hey Dave, can you get me in closer?”
The camera zoomed in. The agent’s eyes got as big as plates.
“Holy shit! Do you know who that guy is?”
“You know him?”
“Who doesn’t? I worked O.C. long enough. Hell, half the country knows that face!”
The other agent got amped.
“Looks like this case just took on epic proportions.”
“We snag the queer tonight.”
“I’ll get the S.A.C. on the phone.”
That night, Enrico was leaving a phone booth where he had just set up the final points for the incoming flight. All of a sudden, three unmarked Crown Victorias skidded up and surrounded him.
“Out of the car!”
“Now! Now!”
“Move!”
It all happened so fast that Enrico didn’t know if he was being arrested or kidnapped. The agents wasted no time cuffing him and shoving him into the back seat of one of the unmarked cars. Then they all drove off. The agent in the passenger side turned halfway around in the seat.
“You’ve got until we reach the Federal building to either play ball or go away for a very long time.”
“I want to talk to my lawyer. I have nothing to say,” Enrico shot back calmly.
“Suit yourself, but listen to what we’ve got and see what you’re up against,” the agent retorted.
He started flipping through black and white surveillance photos.
“We have a baggage handler in Milwaukee, two plane mechanics in L.A., two warehousemen in New York, and a stewardess. Each one is ready and willing to name you the boss of an international smuggling ring. You want a lawyer? I say you call two, ‘cause you’re going to need ‘em!”
On each picture, Enrico recognized faces. Some were of people while they were talking to Enrico, one of the Feds’ favorite psychological ploys. Enrico saw that this wasn’t just a bust. He had been the focus of an investigation. The agent saw the look on his face and thought he had one on the hook.
“What if I agree to…cooperate?”
“Then we drop you off and no one knows you got pinched. But from that moment on, you work for us. You belong to us. You try and fuck us, we’ll fuckin’ fry you,” the agent threatened.
“Okay,” Enrico agreed. He needed to buy some time as well as warn Joey. At that point, he was ready to sacrifice everyone except himself and Joey.
The passenger nodded to the driver. The driver hung a right and they headed for an out-of-the-way motel. Once inside, they took the cuffs off Enrico, sat him at the small table in the room and sat a tape recorder in front of him.
“Now…tell us about Diamanti.”
Enrico looked at the little spinning wheel of the recorder, licked his lips and began to talk.
“Why are you having me followed?” Te Amo asked.
They were at the premiere for Marty’s newest movie. Te Amo hadn’t seen Joey for days. He wouldn’t accept her calls, he hadn’t been home or anywhere she could reach him. When she spoke to his bodyguard Mike, he was evasive. She couldn’t even get a straight answer out of Bianca when she confronted her.
“Bianca, never forget who you work for. You work for me, not Joey,” Te Amo warned her.
Bianca had simply smiled and walked away.
That’s when Te Amo noticed that she was being followed wherever she went. It was obvious. They didn’t even try to hide it. She didn’t recognize the faces. She figured they were freelance. Regardless, she didn’t like it, and she intended to confront Joey about it. She knew he’d be at the premiere because he was in the movie.
She spotted him in Marty’s living room, talking to a female director. By the way the woman reacted to her presence, Te Amo knew that Joey had fucked her. Te Amo cut off all conversation with the bluntness of her statement.
“Why are you having me followed?”
Joey looked at her coldly, as he turned to the director and said, in Italian, “I’ll talk to you later.”
The woman nodded and stepped off. He turned to Te Amo.
“You speak that way in front of strangers? Maybe instead, I should have you baby sat,” he spat, walking off.
Te Amo jumped in behind him.
“Fuck you, Joey! Answer my question.”
“I don’t know what you're talkin’ about.”
They went into Marty’s study and closed the door, shutting themselves off from the party.
“Joey, you’re making it very clear that something’s wrong,” Te Amo accused. “You don’t return my calls, you haven’t seen me in weeks, and you put a bunch of fuckin’ amateurs on to follow me? For what? What are you trying to tell me, Joey? Here I am! Say it to my face!” Te Amo vented, getting all her stress out in one rant. She was fuming because she felt rejected and didn’t understand why.
“You’re paranoid, okay? I don’t return your calls? You’re a big girl; you can figure it out. I’m bored witcha. Whatcha need, a bullhorn? Go home. Maybe I’ll write,” he replied coldly.
Every word felt like a slap in the face, but Te Amo didn’t let it show.
“I’m not one of your flunkies, Joey, or one of your floozies—female or otherwise,” she smirked. “Don’t forget, I’m a boss too. You think I’m calling you for you? I’m calling because you seem to have forgotten the facts of our agreement.”
“You wanna be a boss, be a boss,” Joey shrugged. “Matter of fact, why don’t you take over the whole operation, Coast to Coast? I’m getting out of the distribution business. So it’s yours…Boss.”
The two of them eyed each other down, neither being able to say what they truly wanted, because the stakes had gotten too high for emotions.
“You think that’s it? You think you can just use me, use my family, and then toss us the crumbs,” Te Amo gritted. “You’d better think again.”
“Whaddya want from me? I offer you a multimillion-dollar operation and you call it ‘crumbs’? I’d offer you my soul, but the devil’s got first dibs,” he cracked.
“You know what, Joey? You can go to hell,” Te Amo retorted, then walked out.
“I’m already in hell,” he yelled after her, “and it feels like home, you muthafucka!”
As soon as Enrico walked into the hotel room, he walked straight into Paul’s kiss and embrace.
“I came as soon as I could,” Paul told him. “Now, talk to me. What’s going on?”
“Like I said over the phone. I got busted, but Joey doesn’t know.”
“That’s all you said, though. And truthfully, I’m not sure if I understand.”
Enrico sighed.
“I’m sorry. I’ve been dealing with criminals for so long, I’ve forgotten how our world must look to honest, law-abiding people.”
“You make me sound like Opie,” Paul joked, making Enrico smile. For that he was thankful.
“The reason Joey doesn’t know I got arrested is because I made a deal on the spot to cooperate.”
“Oh, I see.”
“What else was I supposed to do? They have me over a barrel and they didn’t give me any time to make a decision.” Enrico tried to explain, but Paul took him by his arms and looked him in the eyes.
“Hey Celeste, you don’t have to justify anything to me. I’m here for you. Just walk me through it so I can understand.”
They sat down on the edge of the bed.
“My intention was to just get away with telling them as little as possible and then warning Joey that the operation was blown. But the first thing they asked about was Joey!” Enrico told him.
“Joey? Your guy, Joey?” Paul probed, a tinge of jealousy in his tone.
“Paul, I’m sorry.”
“No, no. It’s okay. Go on.”
Enrico took a deep breath, then replied, “I didn’t know what to do. I know they got more outta me than I know and now, I’m not sure what to do. I want to tell Joey, but do I tell him they asked about him? But then he’ll want to know why I didn’t just take the pinch. Then what can I say? He’ll know I said something and…I don’t know what he’ll do.”
Paul blew air, audibly.
“Wow. Umm, from what you’ve told me before, this X is a pretty big thing and this Joey is pretty…demented. I don’t know if telling him is a good idea.”
“But I’ve got to do something, Paul! I mean, they even want me to wear a wire,” Enrico confided.
“A wire? You mean a recording device?”
Enrico nodded.
“What did you tell them?”
“I said I had to think about it. They gave me a few days. I don’t know what to do!”
Paul hugged him to his chest.
“Whatever you decide, I’ll support you,” he vowed.
“Thank you, I needed to hear that,” Enrico replied. He kissed Paul, wrapping his arms around his neck and laying him down on the bed.
The final straw came a few days later. Enrico came back to his condo to find Maria and the girls topless and prancing around the pool, along with a few girls Enrico had never seen before. The scene irked him, but what sent him over the edge was walking into his own bedroom and finding Joey in bed with Bianca. She was riding him, reverse cowgirl style, gripping his ankles, facing the door and making fuck faces like a porn star.
“Oh, fuck Daddy, put your thumb in my ass while you beat this pussy,” Bianca moaned as she ground her hips into Joey, taking every inch of his big, hard dick.
Enrico was livid as he stood there, frozen. Neither even acknowledged his presence, even though it was obvious they could see him standing there.
“What the hell is going on?” Enrico raged. He felt totally disrespected. Not only was Joey fucking someone else, but in his bed with total disregard for his presence or emotions. He knew right then and there that Joey cared nothing about him.
“Join us,” Joey offered, but Enrico knew it was more of a taunt.
Bianca’s loud moans and squeals followed him up the hall as he headed back out front, fuming.
Twenty minutes later, Joey came out in his Speedo bathing suit, mingling as if nothing ever happened. Enrico kept imagining that Joey reeked of sex, until all he could smell was the scent of Joey’s cum all over everything. He was sick to his stomach.
Joey’s mobile phone rang. Enrico was closest, so he answered it.
“Yeah,” he said, answering the phone as Joey approached. Then he hung up and told Joey, “It was Sal. He said to tell you, ‘congratulations.’”
Joey smiled and caressed his cheek. “C‘mere and say hello to the next Don.” Joey pulled Enrico close and kissed him sensually, causing Enrico to tingle all over. He hated that Joey could do that to him so easily.
Joey smiled at him like he could read his mind, and he wore his smile like a taunt. “Everything is going according to plan,” Joey winked, then smacked Enrico on the ass and walked away.
Enrico watched him with a hate only love could muster. He had a plan, too—one Joey wasn’t planning for—and he contemplated it with a taunting smirk of his own. Enrico picked up the mobile phone and called Paul.
“I’m…I’m going to do it. I’m going to wear the wire.”
Joey couldn’t remember ever being this nervous. His stomach was doing flips, and he couldn’t get there fast enough. He was going to be a Made Man. He dreamt of this day since he was a little kid. Watching the older guys, watching his father and Vito, he idolized their every move. He had played out this day in his mind, over and over. The perhaps greatest thing missing from this fantasy come to life was his father officiating the ceremony. The thought made his heart hurt. But he knew, once he was Made, his father could no longer deny him. He would be a man of respect, worthy of his father’s respect.
The trip around Manhattan took two cars and three hours, just to make sure they weren’t tailed. An induction ceremony was highly secretive. They ended up at an apartment building in Little Italy. The two men accompanying him escorted Joey upstairs. When he entered the room, there were several guys sitting around the room, including Joe Provenzano and Sal Romano. No one spoke to Joey. Some nodded curtly; others didn’t even do that.
Finally, Sal stood up and approached Joey. He looked at him sternly, without a trace of humor.
“Do you know why you are here?” Sal asked.
“No,” Joey said, because he knew it was tradition not to know.
“You are going to be a part of this family. Do you have a problem with that?”
“No.”
Sal nodded then motioned for Joey’s hand. Joey gave him his hand. Sal pricked it with a very sharp dagger. He sprinkled the blood on the card of a Saint, then gave the card to Joey. Joey held it while he lit it then cupped the burning card in his hand.
“Repeat after me: if I should betray my friends,” Sal recited.
“If I should betray my friends,” Joey echoed.
“I and my soul will burn in hell like the Saint.”
“I and my soul will burn in hell like the Saint.”
The card stung his hand, but it was worth it. Joey dropped the smoldering ashes, as a wide grin spread across Sal’s face.
“Congratulations, kid. Welcome to the family.”
“Thanks, Uncle Sally,” Joey replied.
The solemnity of the moment over, everyone gathered around Joey, giving him hugs and kisses.
“I knew this day would come,” Joe Pro greeted, kissing Joey on both cheeks.
“It’s a beautiful day, eh?” Joey announced, smiling proudly.
He had come full circle, from hated homosexual pariah to the newest, celebrated member of one of the oldest traditions in Sicily. Not only was he a Made Man; he was Self-Made Man, and he was proud enough to bask in his own limelight.