Another part of me-possibly my heart-overrides my brain and propels me forward until I stand in front of him.
His eyes sear mine, holding them captive.
"As for my family being involved in the Cosa Nostra, that's true. My father's great grandparents came over from Sicily in the late eighteen hundreds looking for work. But it wasn't easy for Italians in New York at that time. No one wanted to hire them. We were looked down upon, like dogs. So the family banded together and found alternative ways to protect their own and prosper. It started out with gambling and liquor and evolved from there. For a long time, the Valentini famiglia ruled New York. When Chicago began to grow, we sensed opportunity and expanded. My father's side of the family has been here ever since. During the 'tw
