Rescue the Barista

against me.
The doorbell tinkles. Jingles.
Vito doesn’t take his eyes from me as he yells, “The shop is shut.”
When the little bell rings, Vito shouts, without turning. “The shop is shut.”

Chapter 13 Angelo
Fighting back the rage burns my gut.
When I see Vito has Jamie backed against the kitchen door, I’m about ready to let rip and tear the fucker’s head off.
I cross the floor in two strides. “Not to me, asshole.” Vito’s head turns. His grin spreads from one ear to the other.
His eyes bulge as Jamie kicks him hard in the nuts.
Damn, I don’t blame her, but it’s going to complicate things. Worth it, though, to see his eyes go wide and his mouth stretch in an ‘O’ as his knees cave together.
With surprising speed for his bulk, Vito’s hand shoots out and grabs Jamie by the throat. Now, he really shouldn’t have done that.
By reflex, I swing both arms in a two fisted swipe – first I knock the side of Vito’s head, then follow through and swing back to slam into his kidney.
He twists and bends to the side, howling. His eyes blaze with rage.
His hand is still around Jamie’s throat. I’m starting to see red.
I swing my left fist fast, drive it hard into the side of his liver. My arm buries deep in his rolls of flesh.
The contact’s good, but the blow is not as effective as I want. With his hand still on Jamie’s throat, the asshole reaches for the back of his belt. I kick hard with the side of my foot, at the back of his knee. As he topples back, he pulls a table full of cups and saucers down with him but letting go of Jamie at last.
I put a foot on his chest and stand over him. “Stay down,” I yell, raging. I want to smash him into pieces. “Do not make this worse, Vito.”
I look up at Jamie. She rubs her throat but she tells me she’s fine.
Vito is grinning. Even while he groans and rubs his side, “You just started a two-family war, fuckwad,” he growls, “I hope she’s worth it to you, Angelo.”
Nico stands quietly behind me. Speaks in a soft voice. Only I can hear.
“Boss, I know you’ve got family limits. Let me fix this.”
I draw my Colt and aim it square in Vito’s face. He threatened Jamie and I want to just blow him away. Nico leans close to speak. I hold up my hand to stop him.
I need a moment. I have to focus to get a hold of myself. Stop myself from blowing Vito’s head off.
I take a few breaths. Okay.
I lean my ear to Nico. I’ve always trusted him. These are going to be life-and-death choices though. Whatever happens now, there’s going to be trouble and it’s going to be bad. I think I know what Nico wants. I wonder if he’ll do it on my terms.
I speak quietly. Nobody is going to hear this. “I think I know what you want.” Nico’s eyes are firm. He nods. “You want the whole crew. You want to take over.”
“Boss, I’ve had the feeling you want to get away from it. Go buy a boat or something. Am I wrong? I wouldn’t step forward otherwise, Boss. No lie, I’d sooner have you in charge than me. Just saying, if you do want out, this could be an easy moment to move.”
“You’re not wrong, Nico. It has to be the right way, though.”
“I can take Vito back to his family. I can make it right. He’ll be okay. Laszlo will understand.”
“No blowback?”
“What the fuck are you two girls gabbling about?” Vito starts up underneath me.
“Vito, do not underestimate how much I would love to make fucking big holes in your face right now. Don’t give me even more reason.”
Nico says, “I can do it, boss. I guarantee.”
“Thanks, Nico. I’ll handle it, though.” I push the Colt in Vito’s face.


Chapter 14 Angelo
Next morning, I’m back at the counter of Jamie’s Rise and Grind.
The usual scattering of nerdy kids are folded around their laptops. I bet most of them nurse a cappuccino or a latte all morning. The young moms are fewer than I remember seeing. Maybe it’s the time of day.
Jamie is a welcome and cheering sight behind the counter. I tell her, “There’s something I urgently need to know from you.” I pull out the loyalty card. “Is this still good here?”
“Yours? Always.” Her smile perks me up more than any amount of coffee ever will. “What can I make for you?”
“Babies?”
She frowns. “I think we covered that in an earlier meeting.”
“Things have changed.”
She gets her two helpers to cover for her, so she and I can ease into the armchairs by the table in the far corner.
She says, “I don’t know if I should ask…”
“About Vito?”
She nods.
“His uncle Julius has him back, deep in the folds of his own family. Julius is very unhappy. I explained to him it was that or I’d keep him, but in a deep freeze. Julius knew he was beat and took the motherfucker in. So he’s off my family’s books and he can make headaches for someone else.” I sipped my espresso. “I have other news, though. News I hope will interest you greatly.”
“Oh? What’s that?”
“Nico will be coming to collect the last few installments of your debt. I passed the reins of the firm, all control, all the businesses, everything over to him.”
Her cup of mocha stopped halfway to her lips. “You mean–”
“I’m out of the mobstering business. Clean break, ties cut. All done. Now and for good. I sit before you, a formerly wise guy.”
“I thought that was never allowed.”
“Not many people really