Chapter 34 Cesare
Leaving Rafael felt like closing the chapter on a book that needed to be put away. I knew I couldn’t go back to him. Wouldn’t. Both. He should be in a grave, but I still couldn’t pull the trigger. What did that say about me? I’d left him with a few short words.
“Leave town. If I catch you here again, I won’t let you live.”
The look in his hazel eyes told me everything I needed to know. No matter what I said, he was going to force my hand.
Idiot.
It was the only mercy I knew how to give him. At the end of the day, he had betrayed me. I couldn’t keep him around whenever I wanted a stroll down memory lane. There were consequences to actions. His was that I needed him out of my city so I didn’t have to slit his throat.
I tossed the cigarette out the window as my phone started going off.
Pietro: This shit has to be taken care of. Now.
Pietro: What's our next move?
Where there was one, there were plenty more messages flooding in. I switched over to my other cousin and ground my molars.
Santiago: There was an explosion at the spare warehouse.
Santiago: I don't know how they found out about it.
I punched the steering wheel. Goddamn it, how did Benito even find out about it? No one but a select few knew the location.
Brown skin, soft hazel eyes, pretty lips, and a lean body came to mind. Rafael. Picturing him had heat creeping along my spine. My body’s reaction was visceral in the way my first instinct was to seek him out. The warmth was quickly replaced with disgust.
He shouldn't have known about it, but who's to say what he found out.
My fingers tightened around my phone to the point the metal creaked.
It was a mistake that I had no one to blame but myself for.
I'd gotten sloppy in my old age. Trusting a fucking whore.
It was laughable. My old man would have had a time laughing at me.
Rocky: Shit is chaotic here. Can’t salvage a damn thing.
Fuck.
Cesare: Okay, I'm handling it.
Rocky: Need me to meet you?
Cesare: No.
I needed to do this on my own. These were my boys, and if anyone was going to put them in their place, it was going to be me.
My phone continued to ding and ring with notifications. I couldn't keep running around trying to solve problems. I needed to take care of the source.
It was a good thing I'd already dismissed Andrew; this was going to be a family reunion no outsiders needed to be a part of. I checked my gun and looked ahead of me through the windshield of my car. Benito’s place was right there, heavily guarded like I taught him.
I couldn't go in, but he wasn't going to stay locked away either.
Time seemed to tick by. My phone wasn't getting quieter, and I had half a mind to turn the damn thing off. They were such noisy fucking things. My body was coiled tight as I waited for one of my sons to make an appearance.
Giancarlo sauntered out of the building first with Benito coming up behind him. They stood there for a few minutes before Paolo and Enzo waltzed out.
What are you four planning now?
There was no sign of Blake, but I knew he'd chosen his brothers’ side. It bothered me on some level I wasn't ready to look into, but it also made me proud. He should back up his family. It's what we did.
Benito and Gin got in one car with Enzo and Paolo getting in another.
I waited a few minutes, expecting to see Blake come out, but nothing happened. “Where’s he at?”
The thought to message him crossed my mind, but what was the point? Right now we were beyond talking. Action was where it was at.
They were up to something. I didn’t know what, but I was going to find out.
Throwing my car into drive, I peeled out of my hiding spot and slid behind them, easing into traffic.
The further we drove, the more our scenery shifted.
The city was long behind us, and my stomach pitched low.
Benito and Gin turned left and Enzo and Paolo made a right.
I watched them split and went after Benito.
Cut the head off the snake, that was the goal.
The rest of them would fall without him pulling the strings the way I had taught him.
They drove for what felt like ages, every turn and change felt deliberate. I stayed three to four cars behind them with endless questions circling my head.
These were my flesh and blood and yet I had no idea what they were doing.
Benito turned into a long driveaway that eased into woods.
I circled around and waited for a few minutes before turning off my lights and following behind them at a slower pace.
Twigs and gravel crunch under the weight of the tires.
I eased the car to the side the moment I caught sight of a small cabin. I parked and slipped out.
The car Benito and Gin had been in was parked out front. Gun in hand, I crept closer, keeping low as I moved in. Their foot prints were visible in the mud leading up to the front door.
What the fuck were they doing here in the middle of nowhere?
The lights in the cabin were on and there was a distinct shadow in the corner of the front room. With the curtains drawn, I couldn't make out which of my sons it was.
I lightly jogged around, making sure to avoid as many leaves and twigs as possible. There was no noise coming from the cabin, even as I grew closer. I made my way to the back, finally finding a window not covered completely by drapes.
It was time for that confrontation, the moment we all needed to face where they could decide to back down or be put down.
My heart stuck in my throat as I approached the back steps.
Carefully, one foot at a time, I moved up them.
A creak filled the air, and I stopped. Time moved at a snail pace, ticking by slowly as I held my breath and waited.
When nothing moved, I started going again.
My hand rested on the knob, my breathing even and calm.
On three. One, two—
“Three, old man.” A click filled the air, the sound of a safety being thumbed off. “Told you. He always counts to three first.” He laughed. “Drop the gun. Hands up, and back up toward us slowly. Come on, you old bitch. Move!”
I grunted. “That any way to talk to your father, Giancarlo?”
“Oh, now the fucker knows my name. Knows all about me, and how I should talk to him. Crazy considerin’ you’re still holding a gun, and I’m about to blow a hole in ya.”
“Gin,” Benito said, his voice even.
“No, no, let me do it,” he said. I could hear the smile on his face, but there wasn’t a drop of humor in it. “Let me send this gray pubed fuck to hell so we can finally all sleep a lil more peacefully, huh? Not have to worry about our own blood stabbin’ us in the back.”
“This coming from the fools who hired a whore to betray and rat on me?” I asked, glancing over my shoulder. “Rich.”
“Throw the gun away,” Benito said calmly. “Now. Or I’m going to take the shot and not think twice.”
I heard the calmness in his voice. The absolute certainty that he would do just that. I slowly crouched down, put on the safety, and tossed my gun to the side. It landed in the dirt, the darkness around us obscuring its black shape.
“Now what?” I grumbled.
“Move,” Benito said. “Turn around and start walking.”
“Where?” I snapped.
“To wherever the hell we tell you to go!” Gin snapped. “Quit askin’ questions, this ain’t interview time. Let’s go.”
I kept my hands up as Gin put a gun in my back.
Benito walked beside me, his hands in his pockets as if he wasn’t worried in the slightest bit, but I could see the tension around his eyes, the set tautness of his jaw.
Those were his telltale signs, the little moments other people couldn’t see, but I could.
My chest filled with pride even if they were against me. I was always the villain in their story.
“So this was all a set up?” I asked. “Lure me out into the woods so you two morons could jump me?”
Gin snorted. “It was really easy. We just waited until someone said they saw you and then you being the nosey, overbearing fuck that you are, we knew you would follow us. You are the worst kinda helicopter parent…”
“Gin,” Benito said.
“Nah, don’t sugar coat shit for him. I've been waiting for this my whole life.”
I grunted. “You always were insane,” I said.
“Who made me that way?”
“Your mother,” I answered.
The gun smacked into the back of my head. I stumbled, my knees hitting dirt. For a minute, I heard a loud, high-pitched whine before I shook my head.
“What did I say?” Benito growled. “You wait until we get there.”
“He talked about my mom.”
“Yes, because he’s trying to rile you up,” Benito said through gritted teeth. “Stop getting distracted.”
“Fine,” he snapped. “Fuck me, I guess!”
I staggered back up to my feet. A dry laugh emitted from my throat. "Always the emotional one. The other twin, he got shit done. Always wondered why Benito chose you to be his underboss."
"Shut the fuck up," Gin growled.
I shook my head, tilting it from side to side "What's the matter, can't handle some truth from your old man?"
Benito jerked his head forward, his dark gaze empty as he stared at me down. “Keep moving.”
That's right, be heartless. It's the only way to survive.
"And here I thought that whore you sleep with made you soft,” I muttered.
"Shouldn't have said that, old man," Gin warned.
Benito's fist slammed into my face, and my head whipped to the side.
Fucker. I swung back, connecting with his nose.
The gush of blood was a short-lived victory.
My oldest was like an animal. His eyes were crazed as he tackled me down.
His blows were heavy, and it was taking more than I'd ever admit to swing back.
"Shit, Benito."
I worked my leg free and kicked him off me. Gin was there before I could get back up, gun aimed in the middle of my forehead.
"Give me a fucking reason. Shit, you don't even have to. I've been wanting to do this for a long time."
I spat the blood that had collected in my mouth to the side. My breathing was labored as my heart pounded erratically in my rib cage.
"Benito, you good?" Gin asked.
He was up and wiping his face before he shoved his fingers through his dark strands. His gaze only held my death in them. "Yeah."
"Good."
The moment I got a chance, I'd attack again.
"Get up." Benito's voice had an edge to it I hadn't heard before. "We have a long way to go."
I pushed off the ground, rolling my shoulders the moment I was up.
Giancarlo moved behind me once more, and Benito was in step with me.
I dragged my feet along the floor as I walked toward their destination.
For a moment, it was silent, just the crunch of leaves and the snap of sticks filling the air.
The violence had only made them thicker with tension.
“What are you going to do, Benito?” I asked, breaking the silence. “Hmm? We both know when I get back, you’ll pay for this.”
“Trust me,” he said. “I know. It’s who you are as a person.” He was quiet for a moment. “That’s why you have to go.”
I stiffened. “You going to kill me?” I asked.
“Keep walking,” Gin ordered.
I stumbled forward as Gin shoved the gun into my spine.
They were finally going to do it. “So you send a whore after me to fix your problems? How much did he tell you? Did he tell you where we were the night you had my car shot up with us in it? Did you forget you left your rat in my front seat? Or was he not supposed to be there?”
“Rafael?” Gin snorted. “That useless fuckin’ wh—”
I turned and my fist connected with his face. Gin stumbled, his eyes wide. He touched his jaw, worked it as if testing out if it was broken, and then he smiled at me.
“Oh, I’m gonna—”
“Do nothing,” Benito snapped, intervening. “You know he's provoking us on purpose."
"Oh, so you can get your licks in but I can't?"
"Gin, if you can’t keep it together, I’m going to tell you to fuck off.” Benito shoved me back around and forward.
"Well?" I asked.
"What the fuck do you care? I heard he's still alive. Which one of us is really soft for a whore?" Benito asked.
I never wanted to kill one of my kids before. No matter what they thought of me, the thought had never crossed my mind. But right now, I wanted to cut Benito's tongue out of his mouth and pound my fists into his face until he was unrecognizable.
"Walk," Gin growled, the nuzzle of the gun pressing firmly into my spine.
“Rafael was useless to us in the first place,” Benito said. “As for the second, I didn’t have your car shot up. If I waited all these years to kill you, trust me, it wouldn’t be by some anonymous assholes.”
Then they hadn't been at fault. Then who the fuck shot at me?
"My warehouse?"
"Man, do you ever shut the fuck up? Barely talked to us when we were kids unless it was the lecture from hell and now all you're doing is talkin’." Gin groaned. "It sounds like you ain't as good as you thought you were. We didn't do shit to any warehouse."
This made no sense. Rafael's words came trickling back to me, and my stomach twisted. No, they had to be the ones. Nothing else made sense.
"I should kill you right now for the shit you pulled. Putting our kids in harm's way,” Benito growled.
"The fuck are you talking about?" I turned to look at Benito, faltering in my step. "I told your brother I had nothing to do with any of the kids getting hurt." I might not know them personally, but they were family. That meant something to me.
"You don't have to lie," Gin said. "Wasn't it you who taught us sometimes the only way to get a job done is to do what others could never do? Be the monster they run from or some stupid shit like that."
Scraping and low curses hit me as we came to a small clearing surrounded by trees. Benito put his hand up as we stopped. There was a huge mound of dirt, and as I stood there, more flew up in the air and was added to the growing pile.
"You fuckers done down there?" Gin called out.
"Fuck you. Your bitch ass took the easy job," Paolo shouted. "And someone was fucking late."
"I had to get the lighter fluid," Blake shot back.
He was here too. I ground down on my molars as I fought with the useless emotions surging up. Some part of me had thought he wouldn’t be able to do it. That he couldn’t hate me as much as the others did. I was wrong.
A shovel flew over the side and landed a few inches away from me. Gin moved the gun up to my skull and pressed it firmly into my flesh.
"Don't think about it."
He played stupid so well, but his intelligence rivaled Benito's at times. If it wasn't for Giancarlo's lack of control over his emotions, he'd have given Benito a challenge for the position of my heir.
Two more shovels followed before Enzo crawled out of the hole. He brushed mud off his suit and helped his brothers up and out.
"Get in," Benito said.