Shame on Me

I can tell Vinnie doesn’t believe her. His anger slowly disappears and he smiles. “You’re bluffing. Giovanni, I think two bullets to the head will suffice.”


Giovanni starts to drag Melanie away again, but she starts screaming.

“BRIAN CRANDALL, KEVIN BROSKY, ERIC RITCHIE, DAVE KEENER, FRANK ROBERTS!”

Giovanni halts and stares nervously at Vinnie. “What the hell, boss?”

Vinnie laughs and shakes his head at Melanie. “A few notes on a piece of paper from a whore won’t stand up in a court of law. Nice try, Kitten. You have no solid proof that I had those men executed for outstanding IOUs.”

If I was smart, I would turn and run out of here right now as fast as I can. Screw Andy.

“You just gave us all the proof we need. Tell him, Paige.” Melanie nods her head in my direction with a confident smile.

Yep, should have run.

Vinnie whips his head around to me, and he’s no longer staring at me like he wants to bang me. This look is all about murder.

Dammit, Melanie!

I should have told Matt how I felt about him when we said good-bye. I wish I had called my mother and told her that I love her even though she’s a pain in my ass. Before I have time to react, Vinnie’s fist shoots out and connects with my cheek. The force of the blow sends me to the ground and I land hard on my elbow. Pain shoots up my arm and my cheek throbs like it’s on fire.

The sound of a gun discharging echoes through the church and I flinch from the noise.

“You touch my daughter one more time and I will blow out your kneecaps, you good-for-nothing!”

It looks like the Virgin Mary really is answering my prayers. Too bad seeing my mom again wasn’t the best one for her to start with.





CHAPTER 21




Looking up from my spot on the ground, I see my mother dressed in her Sunday best, her giant revolver held steady in her hand as she points it right at Vinnie after her warning shot into the ceiling.

Oh, my God, this is not happening right now.

“MOM! What are you doing? Get the hell out of here!”

My warning falls on deaf ears as she confidently walks farther into the church, her gun held high.

“It’s okay. I’ve got it all under control,” she tells me with a calm smile.

I glance over at Giovanni. He’s frantically moving his gun back and forth between me and my mother, not sure what the hell is going on.

Join the club.

“Are you insane?! You can’t take out a Mob boss by yourself!”

Vinnie laughs and slides his hands in the pockets of his suit and walks toward my mother. I push myself off of the ground quickly and try to stop him.

“Please. She doesn’t know any better. Leave my mother alone.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Paige. I think it’s sweet your mother came here to try and save the day. How are you doing today, Mrs. McCarty?” Vinnie asks her with a pleasant smile.

My mother raises her eyebrow at Vinnie and lowers the gun so it’s aimed between his legs. “It’s MISS McCarty, you old coot.”

A shot rings out and the sound is deafening in the large, empty church. Vinnie lets out an uncharacteristically high-pitched scream, clutches his thigh, and drops to the ground.

I stare in shock at Vinnie sobbing and writhing in pain on the floor, blood pouring out between his fingers.

“Oh, my God. You shot him,” I whisper in awe.

My mother blows imaginary smoke from the end of the gun barrel like they did in Wild West shows. “I was aiming for his manhood, though. I’m gonna need some more practice at the shooting range.”

Our attention moves away from Vinnie bleeding out on the floor to a commotion on the other side of the room. I forgot about Melanie and Giovanni. He must have lost his concentration when his boss got shot, and Melanie was able to get in a good punch to his face. His lip is bleeding and he’s cursing and shouting at Melanie as she kicks him repeatedly in the shins, her hands wrapped around his arm, struggling to keep his gun aimed at the ceiling.

I don’t like her, but I can’t just stand here and do nothing. I’m a private investigator, dammit!

Racing over to Melanie’s side, I jump on Giovanni’s back like a spider monkey. I grab onto chunks of his hair with both hands and pull as hard as I can. Giovanni immediately lets go of Melanie and instead of thanking me for helping her out, she turns and runs screaming out of the church.

Giovanni’s elbow connects with my ribs. The pain forces me to let go of his hair. His elbow jerks back again and hits the same spot, shoving me off of him roughly, and I fall to the ground and land right on my tailbone. The breath is knocked from my lungs, and Giovanni uses my momentary pause to catch my breath to pull his foot back and kick me right in the stomach.

I’m doubled over in pain when I hear a loud, banshee-like shout from behind him. I look up just in time to see my mother’s two friends Fran and Eunice hobble up to Giovanni and start beating the shit out of him with their purses.