After the biology lesson ended, Mac showed Marley a couple of pictures on her phone.
"Unfortunately, I forgot to take a pic of Noelle, but here's Jackson and Madison," Mac said, displaying a sneaky shot of Madison and a selfie with Jackson. Marley widened her eyes and nearly dropped her jaw.
"Jackson is Jackson Adler? Quarterback Jackson?" she exclaimed, drawing the attention of a few nearby students.
"And Madison, she looks just like you."
They were still sitting in the classroom, waiting for the next period to start. Another group of girls, the type considered popular because they wore a lot of designer clothes and were pretty, were also in the room.
"What the hell?! Jackson just broke up with me?! Over a text message?!" one of the girls suddenly exclaimed. Mac and Marley turned to see a medium-height, blonde girl in a cheerleader outfit clutching her cell phone as if someone might take it from her. It seemed she had just shouted about Jackson.
"There must be a misunderstanding, Christina, you two are going to get married one day!" another cheerleader exclaimed. Mac and Marley exchanged a look before grinning.
"Obviously not, imagine being dumped over message," Mac chuckled to Marley. Unfortunately, Christina overheard and turned to them, furious.
"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!" she screamed, charging at them in a rage, tears streaming down her face. Mac stood up, ready for anything. Christina raised her arm to hit Mac, but Mac's reflexes were quicker. She twisted Christina's hand until she screamed in pain and let go as soon as Christina calmed down.
"Psycho!" Christina shouted and stormed out, followed by her whole gang.
"Dude! What just happened?" Marley asked, raising her eyebrows. Mac shook her head and sat back down.
"I have no idea."
*
Days later, the DeCavalcante gang's inner circle, minus Capo, gathered in the garden by the pool. Despite the winter cold and darkness, they discussed their next move.
"Bonnano has gotten away with too much. They've been infiltrating politicians for too long now, and we can't have any more of that," Madison said, frustrated, throwing her hands in the air.
"What do you suggest?" Carlos asked, leaning back in his chair.
"We know which politicians are most susceptible to bribery, so I think we can give them a choice. If they don't accept our bribes, they can, well, mysteriously disappear," Madison suggested with a shrug.
"Aaah, not a bad idea," Massimo replied. "Carlos, can't you find out where they live?" he asked. Carlos nodded and quickly found the addresses of two politicians on his phone.
"Do we execute our plan now, today?" Noelle suggested. "We go three and three to each address?"
"Sure, why not?" Madison agreed, finishing her drink. Everyone else emptied their glasses and grouped up.
As always, the driver parked a short distance away. Noelle, Carlos, and Derek headed towards a large, gray house where politician Sam lived. Next to it was an old brick apartment block, which was not convenient, as the risk of being seen increased. Just then, Mac appeared with two grocery bags in her hands, smiling brightly. That was when Noelle recognized the building; Mac lived there.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, approaching them. Noelle's mind raced for a cover story, but she struggled to think straight.
"We're just going for a walk," Derek said, smiling.
"It's a big backpack for just a walk," Mac noted, eyeing Derek's bag filled with rope, duct tape, and chains. They forced weak smiles.
"You guys enjoy yourselves then," Mac smiled and entered the building. Noelle exhaled, not realizing she had been holding her breath. She and Derek approached Sam's front door. Derek knocked, and Sam soon appeared.
"No, I'm not buying anything," Sam said, annoyed, trying to close the door. Noelle blocked it with her foot, and Derek forced it open.
*
"Laurent, can you hang up the glasses for me?" Mac asked Noelle, who was passing by. Mac had a tray of clean glasses meant to hang from the ceiling but couldn't reach it.
"Of course, little Grey," Noelle winked, causing Mac to roll her eyes. Most people called her "little Grey" to avoid confusion with Madison.
"I'll just borrow a glass," Jackson said, reaching between the girls to grab a glass for a customer. His good cologne lingered, but Noelle found his timing annoying.
"Thank you," Mac said when the tray was empty. With no customers at the register, Mac decided to ask Noelle about her future plans.
"I want to make a difference in society and people's lives," Noelle started. Just as Mac was about to respond, a familiar voice called her name.
"Mac?"
Mac turned and looked straight into the jade green eyes of her ex, Charlotte. Charlotte stood with two boys at the register, about to order. She wore black denim pants and a green top matching her eyes. Her black hair was a bit shorter or maybe just curled differently.
"Charlie? What-what are you doing here?" Mac stuttered, walking towards them.
"I was going to ask you the same thing. Did you move here too?" Charlotte asked, looking Mac up and down.
"Hey, can I help the rest of you?" Noelle cleared her throat, ready to take their order.
"Uh, yeah... just a few months ago... I had no idea you moved to Forest Hills," Mac confessed. Maybe they wouldn't have broken up if Mac had known. They had ended their relationship six months ago when Charlotte got accepted to a school elsewhere. Seeing her again stirred mixed feelings in Mac, especially since she thought she'd never see her again.
"Charlie, what do you want?" one of the guys asked. Pizza with pineapple, Mac thought.
"Pizza, doesn't matter which, but with pineapple," Charlotte replied, turning her gaze back to Mac. She felt Noelle's eyes on her but tried to ignore it.
"We have to catch up one day. Are you free tomorrow?" Charlotte smiled and bit her lip.
"I'm working tomorrow after school, so unfortunately, I'm not free. But yes, we have to catch up," Mac smiled back, unsure if she meant it.
"You're not working tomorrow, little Grey," Noelle said after Charlotte and her friends sat down to wait for their food. They were taking it to go, for which Mac was thankful.
"I know, but I need to process that my ex and I actually live in the same town. You probably don't want to hear about it anyway," Mac said, feeling shy around Noelle.
"Anything more now, Laurent?" Jackson asked, having finished in the restaurant.
"No, you can take your sales report and go. It's 9:45 p.m., so you're done anyway," Noelle said, then looked back at Mac. "Actually, I'd like to hear about it. We can go out to eat somewhere tomorrow, and you can tell me all about it?" Noelle smirked and winked. Chills ran down Mac's spine as a smile spread across her face. Noelle put her hand on Mac's shoulder and squeezed gently before heading to her office to do some paperwork.
YOU ARE READING
Mafia by Blood (wlw)
RomanceForest Hills is a seemingly ordinary town. Tired of her father's alcoholism and with a desire to meet her older sister she didn't know she had, seventeen-year-old Mac decides to move back to her hometown. She even applied to the same restaurant whe...
