Chapter One #3
Seb’s words reach me slowly, as if my brain is giving me more time to savor them. My palms start itching at the prospect of finally having an Enzino in my grasp. Doesn’t matter which one. The whole family is rotten to the core.
Seb looks straight at me with a commanding gaze. “You’ll take him to one of the safe houses.”
“Can’t I just kill him?” After a deep interrogation—as deep as my knives can reach.
“I need leverage with Coretti.” Seb wipes all my gory fantasies away with a few words.
Fuck!
“Isn’t it risky to let Coretti know we have his future son-in-law?” I try again, flexing my fists. “Especially now.” I point at Carlo and Jo loading the black plastic bag containing the dead body into Marco’s car.
“I won’t tell him we have Arturo; we will make it look like he ran away.
The rumor will spread like wildfire—I’ll make sure of it—and the marriage will be put on hold.
Coretti will be displeased with Enzino, and that’s when he’ll want to talk to me.
” Seb’s machinations always go his way in the end, but the journey to get there is usually studded with a few unpredictable thorns.
“So, I can’t kill the brat. But I can hurt him,” I state, feeling a shiver of pleasure running down my back.
“Not too much. Fly is quite attached to Arturo,” Seb reminds me. They became friends when Fly moved to New York to find his brother.
“Fuck no! Hurt my Butterfly in any way, and it will be Chicago all over again,” Marco uses a threatening tone.
The bloodbath with the Irish? I smirk. “I still have the bullet scar on my arm.”
“I have mine on my shoulder.” Marco smirks back at me. “Good bloody times.”
Seb doesn’t seem to share the happiness of the memory. “You ruined my green Armani suit that day over a spilled Guinness.”
“It was just a little splatter of blood.”
“And brain matter, if I recall correctly,” I add, making Seb close his eyes with what I can only describe as disgust.
“You forgot piss,” he states coldly, cracking his neck.
I can see the mirth in Marco’s eyes. “Seb, you have an aversion to any kind of…fluid near you. It’s pretty hard not to get dirty in our line of work.”
True. I once saw Seb stabbing a man’s hand after he’d spoken too close to him with his mouth full of food.
“And yet I manage just fine when I’m away from you two,” Seb counters.
“We are digressing here. Enzino’s youngest son has access to vital information. Don’t you want me to find out what he knows?”
“I do.” Seb nods slowly, seemingly pondering the fact.
“I don’t give a fuck about the Enzinos,” Marco declares. “But Fly does about this one. They are like besties or some shit.” He pulls on his jacket cuffs. “I promised him we won’t hurt Art.”
“I made a promise too, long before that, fucking years long on my father’s grave. And to keep it, I need to know where Mario hides. How can I make that brat tell me without hurting him?” I snarl, as resentment starts to creep in. I like Fly, but I won’t let him get in my way.
Seb raises his hand. “A little slapping around is fine, but no cutting things that won’t grow back, Luca. And no killing.”
“Che cazzo!” I swear. Why does this keep happening to me? This city should be painted with Enzino’s blood already.
Seb suddenly closes the distance between us. He’s as tall as me, but his body is built like a swimmer against my iron-pumped musculature. He squeezes my shoulder.
“Arturo has to stay alive right now, just until I deal with Coretti.”
“Fly…” Marco’s further nonsense is drowned out by my next words.
“We are close to the Japanese Mafia thanks to Fly’s brother, and you are also negotiating with the Russians. Why do we still need Coretti?”
“The docks. The Russians won’t close the deal if we don’t have control of the whole area. And after the marriage, we won’t, because Enzino won’t let the deal go through since it wasn’t his idea,” Seb clarifies with a hint of irritation.
Fucking fuck! How many times do I have to put the Leone family’s interests above my dead parents?
Seb’s phone breaks through the tense silence that settled between us. He moves a few steps away to answer.
Marco turns to open the back door of his BMW and grabs a bag. He then tosses it unceremoniously at me. I catch it against my chest and glare at him.
“What’s this?” I look inside.
“Fly, the person you don’t give a fuck about, made you a silk tie with a matching square pocket.”
They are lilac with a delicate gold pattern weaving through the smooth fabric.
I like to wear unconventional accessories with my dark suits, like vibrant, rich-colored socks or unusual neckwear, and while Marco teases me, Fly likes this side of me.
He told me it makes me look more approachable.
He is a seamster who sells custom-made male lingerie and accessories on the internet.
His online shop, Fly to Honey, is getting very popular, so much so that Seb is helping him with the financial aspect, while Marco opened an office and a warehouse for him.
Fly is a sweet soul, too fucking trusting. Why did he go and become friends with an Enzino? And why do I suddenly feel torn about hurting the brat?
I offhandedly close the bag and scratch the stubble on my cheek with brusque fingers.
“Stop looking at me like that, or I’ll poke your eyes out,” I tersely tell Marco.
He snorts while lighting a cigarette.
“Do I amuse you?” I hiss.
He sniffs almost haughtily. “I’ll tell Fly you liked the present. The last one you’ll ever receive from him if you make him cry…”
Is he for real? Marco is shorter than me but equally muscled. If I take him by surprise, the fucker won’t have time to grab his gold knuckles or his gun.
“You’re all about Italian shit, but you carry a Glock,” I try to divert the conversation. And succeed.
“Your Beretta is made in China,” he retorts.
No, it isn’t. “I can still fucking deck you with it.”
“Shit, you’re insufferable. Obnoxious motherfucker!”
“The rude-as-fuck misanthrope doesn’t disappoint.” I glower at him, before looking at Seb, who’s now talking to one of his men.
“Being around an asshole like you turned me this way,” he grunts. The banter is cut short by Seb joining us once again.
“Lieutenant Casper is going to keep the body’s discovery to himself for a couple of days while checking similar past cases.
That will give us time to find out what is going on.
Marco, take the body to Doc and let him examine it.
See if he can find some clues we didn’t.
” He turns to me. “Luca, ask around about the pendant you found on the ground, hopefully someone saw it before.” He hands it back to me.
I nod. “What about the youngest Enzino?”
“Do it tomorrow. Remember, make it look like he took off on his own. Do you need extra men since you are down one?” Seb asks.
Santo, the last member of my crew, is with Fly. Marco insisted on always having a man on his fiancé after he got kidnapped. So I gave him one of mine.
“No. Jeff and Vince are enough.” I’ll take care of the brat personally. No need for help.
“Luca, sometimes you can get more with the carrot than the stick.” Seb’s last words before he takes off don’t stay with me for long.
I can feel it. This is a pivotal moment with Arturo Enzino at the starting point. My vendetta has just begun.