Free Love and Fear by Reed Farrel Coleman Page B

couldn’t do it to Joey without doing it to you too. It was the only way.”
    Tony took her hand and kissed it. “To do what?”
    It was Gulliver who answered. “To let Bella escape.”
    “Escape?” Tony asked. “Escape what?”
    “This life, Tony,” Maria said, tears rolling down her cheeks. “Bella isn’t like her sisters. You know that. The other girls, they fit in. They enjoy being Joey’s little girls. But Bella was never cut out to be a mob princess. This world isn’t her world. The danger. The violence. The ugliness of what this life is all about. Toni and Krystal can ignore where their money comes from. Not Bella. This life would kill her. It was killing her. And I couldn’t have that. Bella has a gift, and I wouldn’t see that crushed.”
    Gulliver smiled. “It was you who wanted her to go to FIT and to have a separate apartment. Smart. It created confusion. It gave you more time. You arranged for her to go missing.”
    Tony asked, “Where did she go?”
    “First she was in California,” Maria answered.
    Tony blinked. “What do you mean?”
    Gulliver said, “She means Bella’s not there anymore. She’s gone. Maria doesn’t know where. That’s the idea, Tony. It’s like witness protection. If Maria doesn’t know where Bella is, it’s that much harder to find her. You can’t tell what you don’t know.”
    Tony looked like he might explode.
    Gulliver looked directly into Maria’s eyes. “This is an amazing sacrifice you’ve made.”
    “What’s he talking about, Maria?” Tony asked.
    “To give Bella the life she deserves, Maria has let Bella go. She might never see her again. Hard for a mother to do that, Tony. Very hard. You had an offshore numbered bank account set up for her, Maria?”
    Maria nodded. “I don’t know the number, so I can’t be used to trace her.”
    Tony shook his head. “None of this shit matters. He’ll find her. You don’t know Joey like I know Joey. Not even you know him like I do, Maria. He’ll find her.”
    A voice came from the hallway leading to the back room. “That’s right, Tony. I’ll find her.”
    And out of the shadows stepped the man himself, Joey Vespucci. Flanking him were two of his guys. Gulliver had seen them before. Both were younger and bigger than Tony. And Gulliver didn’t doubt that either one would love to replace Tony as Joey’s right hand. All three men approached the booth where Gulliver, Maria and Tony sat.
    “You are the best,” Vespucci said to Gulliver. “You didn’t find Bella. Not exactly. But this is close enough. I’ll take it from here, little man. You should leave now, or go downstairs and stay with your pal. But whatever you do, get out of this room. And don’t worry—I won’t lay a hand on my wife. Even if she is just a beautiful whore who slept with my best friend, she’s still the mother of my girls.”
    Tony opened his mouth to speak. Joey didn’t let him.
    “Don’t bother to deny it, Tony. I know the two of you had a thing back in the day. And I know it didn’t last long. Everybody has their slip-ups. But now, if I don’t do something about it I’ll look weak. And a man like me can’t afford to look weak. You know that. I’ll see to you. Then I’ll find my daughter, and that will be that.”
    Gulliver sensed Tony wasn’t just going to sit there and take it. He was right.
    “She’s not your daughter!” Tony shouted.
    Maria gasped. Vespucci’s eyes got big. It was clear he’d known about the affair but not about Bella. His face twisted into an ugly red mask. He had promised he wouldn’t touch Maria, but this news was obviously too much for him to take. He slapped his wife across the face, splitting her lip.
    “Whore!” he screamed at her. “How could you have lived with me and slept in my bed all these years and kept this from me? Whore!”
    He raised his hand to slap her again.
    But before Vespucci could bring his hand down on his wife’s face a second time, Tony pulled his piece. He