Epilogue
JAVIER
He pulls the trigger, the bullet flying from the chamber and crossing the room to meet its target.
Dead.
When I glance to my left, I watch as he slowly lowers his arm to his side. His gaze finds mine.
Murderer. Sinner.
I see nothing behind his eyes. No guilt. No remorse.
He’s different from when I first met him, but it doesn’t matter if he’s a priest or mafia boss. He’s Carlo, and that’s enough for me.
I spin around, aiming my gun at another man before squeezing the trigger.
It’s been six months since Carlo took over, and we’ve had minimal problems, but problems nonetheless. Some of the Bonetti Family still take issue with Carlo killing Sammy, justified or not. Aurelio’s done his best to keep them under control, but it’s not enough.
Carlo’s put up with threats, sabotage of his drug trafficking route, and more. He told Aurelio it was his job to fix things within his family, but we found out about a group of six Bonetti soldiers who were dead-set on ruining Carlo’s reign.
I told Carlo he could steer clear of the violence and let me handle it, but he refuses to be left behind while I fight his wars for him. His words, not mine. I’d fight any and all wars for him if it meant keeping him safe, but I guess he feels the same way about me.
We hear movement outside the old junk yard office, and Carlo gestures with his head for me to stand to the left of the door while he stays in perfect view.
When the door flies open, the man spots him immediately, but he doesn’t see me. I hold up my gun and send a bullet into the back of his head. As he falls, another man rushes in, but Carlo’s already firing, hitting him twice in the chest before he can lift his arm to aim at me.
“That’s four,” Carlo says.
“Two more somewhere around here.”
“The junk yard is huge. If they’re smart and they’ve already heard the shots, they’d be leaving.” Carlo looks at his watch. “We need to find them fast. It’s already seven-forty.”
“They’re not that smart. They formed this rogue team that’s going against their own boss’s wishes. Dante said they get high in an old rail car out here. We just gotta find it.”
Carlo sighs. “Let’s go.”
Outside, the sun is already setting, casting shadows everywhere. We maneuver through a maze of rusted and broken cars, heading toward a tree line along the back that has several old shipping freights.
We quietly walk past them, stopping when we hear voices inside.
Carlo looks around, picking up a brick. “You ready?”
“Always,” I say with a smirk.
The brick flies through the air, smacking into the next car over, the sound echoing through the yard.
“What the fuck?”
“What was that?”
Confused voices followed by the scurrying of feet come from inside the car. They slide open the door, emerging with scowls on their faces and guns in hand. Fortunately for us, they appear to be high, therefore their reaction time is slow.
Two quick shots drop them to the ground, but they’re still alive. I walk a little closer and finish them off.
Carlo tucks his gun into his pants and sighs. “I’ll let Aurelio know.”
“Aurelio should’ve got them himself, but—” I hold up my hands.
“He’ll owe me. I like when people owe me favors.”
I step up to him and put my hand around his lower back. “You owe me something.”
He leans in and kisses my cheek. “I do, indeed. That’s why we need to leave now. Do I have blood on me?” he asks, looking down at his button up.
I check him out. “I don’t see anything, but it’s also getting dark. I might have something on me from the guy in the office. I was a little close.”
He wipes a spot off my forehead with his thumb. “I have wipes in the car. And another shirt if you need one.”
“We’ll see.”
We walk through the junk yard, heading back to the car. He pulls his phone from his pocket and calls his underboss.
“Hey, yeah, it’s done. Call Aurelio and set up a meeting for him and I to have a conversation. Oh, and Dante? Get in touch with Khalid King, will you? It’s time for us to talk. Yeah. Okay.”
He ends the call and puts the phone away as we get to the car. I unlock it and climb into the driver’s side before I start talking.
“King? The Kinmore Family?”
I nod. “They’re a different kind of mafia family. I like their diversity.”
“Well, yeah, but they don’t really seem to like the Italians.”
“That’s because Italians have always stuck to a code that goes against everything the Kinmore family is about. They have a Black boss, Hispanic underboss, and even more variety within their ranks. Rumor has it, a couple of them are queer.”
“Who told you this rumor?”
“I sent someone out there to check in on things. He saw one of the capos with a man in a club.”
“Huh. And what’s the point of this meeting?”
“I want to extend an olive branch. Maybe we can work together. We’re doing things differently here, and perhaps they’ll be more willing to talk to me now.” He goes quiet for a while. “They have a sex club out there. We could go visit it.”
“Ah, now I’m interested.”
He chuckles. “Of course you are. They also have a casino. I’m thinking we could do something like that in Boston. Anyway, just a meeting to see how to expand our legal businesses while being able to utilize them for cleaning money.”
“Gotcha.”
He looks at his watch again. “Hurry. We’re gonna be late.”
I press down on the gas, taking us toward the city.