Road to Respect ~ Sopranos

Chapter 13

Joseph

Joey stood in front of the fridge with a trash bag, throwing away any food or drinks that aren't good for Adriana since she's pregnant. He didn't have to throw too much stuff out, but it was still enough to fill the bag.

"Hey, what are you doin'?" Joey turned and saw Adriana leaning against the counter, wearing one of his sweaters.

"I'm getting rid of all the shit you can't eat." Joey said. "Where's your smokes?"

Adriana reached into the drawer and pulled out a packet of cigarettes and tossed it to him which he immediately threw in the bag. "Hey!"

"Smoking's bad for the kid. If you get irritable you can beat the shit out of me." Joey said. "Also, only one cup of coffee a day until they come out. No drugs either."

Adriana's eyes widened. "I've never seen you like this. So... fatherly."

Joey rolled his eyes and tied the bag up. "Get used to it, beautiful." He walked over and kissed her on the lips. "Are you still looking for houses?"

"I found a few listings." Adriana wrapped her arms around his neck. "When will you be back?"

"Maybe tonight." Joey said. He kissed her again and slapped her ass lightly before walking towards the front door. He walked towards the street and put the trash bag away when Chris finally pulled up. Joey sighed and entered his car. "You have the address?" Chris nodded without a word and started to drive.

About halfway to the address, Chris finally spoke. "Why me?"

Joey turned to him. "An apology for what I said the other day. I shouldn't have spoken about your father."

Chris shook his head. "I get enough shit from the other guys, last thing I need is your scrawny ass stealing my car and disrespecting me."

"You're forgetting that I let you go the other day, Chris." Joey said. "You beat the shit out of me, a made guy. I could have your tongue in a box in an hour if I say the fucking word." Chris tightened his grip on the steering wheel and Joey sighed. "I get you don't like me, I don't like you either, and we don't have to like each other. And the thing about respect. How the fuck can I respect you when you can't even respect that Adriana and I are together?" Chris didn't answer. "Right."

They made it to the apartment Silvio told them about. From what he said, the man who lived there roughed up one of the girls in the VIP section and ran off before they could catch them. Joey didn't know how Sil got the address, and he didn't want to know.

"Ok." Chris pulled out a gun and Joey pushed it back down. "What?"

"We're just gonna give him a beating, not kill him." Joey left the car and walked towards the front door. "Check if there's a back door, once I yell you break it down." Chris nodded and ran around the back. Joey waited a few seconds before pounding on the door, and when it opened, he was greeted with a shotgun right to the face.

"Who the fuck are you?" The man holding the shotgun asked.

Joey tilted his head to the side to look the man in the face and instantly regretted it. Now he understood why the man was paying for sex. The man, named Chuck Boren, was a cross between a bulldog and a tree, his face looked very doggish, and his deep wrinkles made his old leather skin look like tree bark.

"Hello, my name is Isiac. I was here to ask if you accepted Jesus into your heart, but I can clearly see you have not." Joey said with a sweet smile.

The man scoffed and lowered the shotgun, immediately earning a jab to the throat from Joey. That caused the man to fall back and clutch his throat with his free hand, while the hand holding the gun pulled the trigger, blowing a hole into the wall next to Joey's feet.