WOLFE #2
Luigi rose to his feet so we could be eye level, even though he was almost a foot shorter than me because his spine had started to compress in the aging process. “I would love to see you pull that off.”
“Would you like me to show you?” I cocked my head to the side, that deranged smile coming on to my lips because the glee was killing me. The adrenaline pounded in my heart. The sweet taste of revenge had already soaked into my tongue.
There was a slight hesitation in his stare, like he feared that he’d missed something.
Oh, he’d missed a lot of things.
“How’s your son doing?”
The hesitation vanished when he felt the threat of my question.
“Just had a baby boy, didn’t he?” I asked. “Settled down outside of Palermo? Think I saw him and his wife pushing a stroller by the beach the other day…”
I pressed Luigi’s buttons just like I wanted because he said, “Shoot him.”
Within a split second, the henchman pulled the trigger. But the barrel clicked because it was empty.
Completely empty of bullets.
He squeezed the trigger a couple more times, like the gun had somehow jammed.
I continued to grin at Luigi, the mirth and satisfaction from this victory so fucking sweet.
Another soldier pulled out his gun and fired.
My eyes didn’t stray from Luigi’s, and I listened to the barrel click.
I wished I could see Don Mancini’s reaction behind me.
I stepped back from Luigi and opened my arms before I beckoned all of his men to rain down their fire. “Come on, bring it.” They all started to shoot their rifles and their handguns, but not a single bullet was fired. I laughed, loudly and maniacally, because it was fucking hilarious.
Luigi finally pulled out his pistol from the back of his trousers and aimed it between my eyes before he squeezed the trigger. “What the fuck?” He slammed the gun down, where it bounced and then slid to the floor.
My laughs subsided to chuckles as I reached for my knife and pulled out the blade. “It’s been a while since I had a good laugh, so thank you for that.” I flicked the knife into the air, and it spun before I caught it by the hilt again. “Luigi, take a seat.”
The energy in the room changed, confusion and chaos turning into some kind of horror show. A warehouse full of men who were unarmed, an audience to a circus they didn’t sign up for.
And I was the fucking ringleader.
Luigi continued to stand there, all the arrogance sucked out of his face just the way his youth had been. His breaths were more noticeable than they’d been before, and his eyes didn’t have that heartless contrition they’d possessed a moment ago.
“I said, take a seat.”
“I’m a man,” he said with a clipped voice. “I’ll die on my own two feet.”
“Your death is undetermined—at the moment.” I walked up to the table then stabbed my knife into the surface, impaling it deep in the wood, daring him or one of his cronies to take it.
“The boss will make his decision soon enough.” Then I yelled, yelled loudly enough to make every man in front of me flinch. “Now sit the fuck down!”
Luigi took in an involuntary breath before he returned to his seat, almost slipping off it because his gait was so uneven.
“Call your son.”
“What—what?” His eyes moved up to me, and within seconds, his tanned skin faded to the color of sand.
“Call. Your. Son.”
The horror of his reality became apparent in his terrified eyes. He’d foolishly assumed this meeting was a victory lap, but it was actually a funeral march.
When he didn’t reach for his phone, I slammed my hand on the table again and made it bounce. “I won’t ask you again.”
He fumbled as he reached for his phone in his pocket.
He took it out and dropped it on the floor, and one of his cronies grabbed it for him before setting it on the table.
Now Luigi was a mess, his hands shaking so much that he could barely unlock his screen.
Couldn’t remember his son’s number by heart, so he looked in his contact list, his hands trembling so much, he dropped the phone more than once.
“Hurry up, old man.” I snatched the knife from the table then sauntered toward Don Mancini and Elio.
Don Mancini’s stare was as rigid as his body, like he was near a wild lion and he was trying to remain absolutely still to avoid my wrath.
I grinned. “Isn’t this fun?”
Don Mancini didn’t say a word.
“Should turn on some music in here,” I said as I turned back to Luigi while his sweaty fingers continued to press the screen. “Kinda feel like dancing.” I stopped and did a little shake of my hips before I spun the knife again.
Luigi finally made the call. “I’m—I’m calling.” He put the phone to his ear.
I snatched the phone from his hand and set it on the table.
Then I heard the sound of a ring, but not from the phone on the table. It came from inside the warehouse, quiet and distant.
I cupped one hand to my ear as I craned my neck. “Anyone hear that?”
It rang again, coming from the crates against the wall.
“Huh, looks like it’s coming from over here.
” I walked over to the boxes, to the one with the red mark on the side that my guy had put there last night.
“That’s strange…” I turned around and leaned against the crate as the phone inside the wooden box continued to ring.
“Why would Dante’s phone be in here?” I rubbed my fingers across my chin as I feigned thoughtfulness. “Any ideas, Luigi Lombardi?”
Luigi was a mess now, hyperventilating when the realization hit him, listening to his son’s phone ring from a coffin. “No…no.”
Don Mancini’s eyes widened as he looked at me, his expression a mix of horror and terror…and maybe respect?
Leo flat-out smirked.
Luigi left his chair and rushed to the crate that I leaned against. “No.” He tried to pull it apart with his hands, but it was nailed shut.