27. Adriano
Adriano
O bsession isn’t a choice.
It’s compulsion. It’s control. Obsession means thinking about Lucy all the time, even when I should be focused on something else. Obsession is death in my business. Obsession is weakness.
But that’s the thing. It doesn’t go away, not when you want it to, not when you desperately need the brain space to deal with other, more important problems. That’s the nature of obsession. Otherwise, it’s something else.
She’s all I can think about. Every day it’s my wife.
Her soft snores when I wake in the morning and her lips when I go to bed at night.
Every inch of her in the hours between. I want to lose myself in dreams of her taste, her moans, the smell of her hair, the sound of her laughter.
I could watch her all day long and study her little habits.
The way she touches her lower lip when she’s thinking.
The lines between her eyes when she’s frustrated.
Her pink skin, the curve of her shoulders.
I should focus on business. Instead, she’s in me now.
Which makes all this so much worse. I need to pay attention to Vittorio’s quiet rage on the ride over to the meeting in Frank’s deli. Luca’s driving, and the mood in the armored SUV is tense.
We’re fighting a fucking war, and all I can do is think about my wife.
For as good as things are between me and Lucy, everything else is fucking shit.
“Another shooting,” Vittorio says, looking like he’s about to punch through the thick, bullet-proof glass. “Another dead soldier. Another fucking family missing a son and a father. And these coward fucking Ghost Wolf bastards keep disappearing into the night.”
“We’ll catch them,” I tell him, but I know he won’t listen. I’ve been counseling patience, but Vittorio’s a man of action. He wants to rip and kill and burn. The man isn’t a hunter. He’s a demolition crew. “Gray Wolf can’t stay hidden forever. Someone will talk.”
“They’re talking, all right. They’re just saying how we’ve gone soft. Half the city’s elite are turning against us. Too much death, they’re saying. Not enough profit.”
“I met with our Canadian friends. More products are on the way. Just be patient. We’ll starve Gray Wolf out, and when Demir shows his filthy head, I’ll slice his neck from ear to ear.”
“And if you don’t? Right now, we’re protected. We have enough political cover to keep drug sales flowing. But as soon as the whole city’s against us, we’re going to be on our own. That means increased police scrutiny. That means working small-time corners and losing more men to drug raids.”
I nod to myself. I share all of his concerns, and I’m as frustrated as he is. Only I know that rushing off and trying to burn Gray Wolf out isn’t going to help anything.
The problem is they have no solid home base.
Those we know about are all protected by their rich clients.
The wealthy elite in Philadelphia are deeply invested in art and antiques, and that means they have deep ties with Demir.
That bastard’s using his influence against us, and though the tide’s turning very slowly, it’s most definitely turning.
“We make them money. We give them protection. Sooner or later, they’ll realize this city is stronger with us in it, and then Demir will face a reckoning.” At least, that’s my strategy. Hang on, make this war expensive and difficult, and counter his propaganda the best we can.
“You know what I want to do.” Vittorio’s face is hard. His eyes spell fire and death.
“You’ll get your chance to kill them soon.
” Luca pulls up to Frank’s deli. It’s a small place deep in South Philly.
All the advertisements are from fifty years ago, and it has a rabidly loyal customer base.
From what I understand, it’s not even entirely a front for his drug money.
The place turns a profit making old-school sandwiches.
I head inside, flanked by Luca and another young guard. Vittorio comes behind, watching our back, but this is deep in our own territory. I’m not worried about Gray Wolf attacks here. Half the men lurking around on corners are on my payroll and loyal to my Famiglia.
“Don Marino.” The deli’s manager is an ancient old Italian man.
He greets me warmly, offers me food, and makes a big deal about my presence.
I smile and ask how his family’s doing and speak with a few of the other customers from the neighborhood until Frank shows his face and respectfully beckons us into the back.
I hesitate as I step around the counter. I’m not sure why, but a strange prickle runs down my spine. Frowning, I look around, trying to figure it out. And there, in the corner, I notice that the camera system isn’t working. I point it out, and the old owner just shrugs.
“Died yesterday. Got to get it fixed.”
“I’ll send someone,” I tell him and follow Luca and my young guard into the back.
Vittorio’s already there pouring himself some wine as Frank tries to get him to take a cigar.
There are other men lurking around the edges of the room.
I don’t recognize all of them, which is curious.
Frank’s a man of habit, and he rarely brings new faces to a war meeting like this.
The table’s set up with a small meat and cheese spread.
“Please, let me get you something,” Frank says, practically pushing a glass of wine into my hands. “We can make you lunch too if you’re hungry. Anything you need, Don Marino.”
I frown at him. Frank’s not usually this pushy. “I’m fine. Let’s skip this and talk. I have other meetings.”
“Right, right, of course.” Frank looks toward the door and back to me. “But are you sure you don’t want something to drink?”
“I told you I’m fine.” I follow his gaze. One of the men I don’t know has taken up a position beside the closed door. “There are some new faces in here.”
“Don’t mind them,” Frank says quickly. Too quickly, if I’m honest. “Just a few trusted men. With what’s happening, I thought we should make sure this meeting was safe.”
“It’s safe enough,” Vittorio says, looking more relaxed now that he’s got alcohol in his hand. “You’re too paranoid, you old bastard.”
“And you’re too cocky, you young shit.” Frank grins at Vittorio.
I glance over at where Luca’s waiting. He seems as tense as I am. His hands aren’t overtly on his gun, but they’re lingering casually at his waistband where I know he likes to hide one of his pistols.
Something’s off. I don’t know what it is, but this feels all wrong. I grew up in the Famiglia, and I learned a long time ago to trust my instincts. There’s a voice in my head screaming to get out of this room. There are the broken cameras, the men I don’t know, Frank’s obvious discomfort.
Maybe I would have noticed sooner if I weren’t so caught up thinking about Lucy. I could have avoided coming back here in the first place. This is exactly why it’s so dangerous to let myself get distracted by my wife.
Every day is a life-or-death struggle.
It’s a fight I plan on winning.
I take out my phone and pretend to get a text.
“Luca, change of plans. Get the door.” I nod at him with my chin. He heads over, and Frank’s man doesn’t move. He keeps blocking the way.
That gives it away. When the Don speaks, a loyal man bends over backward to obey. But these bastards aren’t moving.
“What’s wrong?” Frank asks, spreading his hands. His smarmy grin is so fake it’s insulting.
“Message from Marco. Something urgent just came up.” I stare at him, grim and serious. “We’ll speak another time.”
“I didn’t hear anything.” Frank suddenly seems calmer. He stares at me, and his lips curl. “Not from Marco, anyway.”
“We’re leaving.” I stare at the man guarding the door. “Step aside.”
“But there are other rumors,” Frank says, ignoring my command. The guard doesn’t move a muscle. “You’ve heard them too, right?”
“The fuck are you talking about?” Vittorio asks, squinting at Frank. “Why the fuck isn’t your guy moving?”
“I had high hopes for you, Adriano. You did remarkably well while your father was sick, but you made one simple mistake. You chose your wife over your Famiglia.”
“You’re making a mistake,” I say, watching Frank carefully. I shove my phone back into my pocket. As I bring my hand back out, I quickly reach into my jacket for my gun.
No hesitation. No opportunity for argument.
All hell breaks loose as I drop to my knee and shoot the guard standing at the door in the face.
His skull shatters like an egg. Blood splatters across the wall. Frank’s men start screaming as they draw weapons.
No time to think. I throw myself sideways to the floor, pulling the trigger.
One man goes down in a haze of blood and guts.
Luca’s shooting, and Vittorio’s firing too, and I have no clue where Frank is.
None of that matters. Frank’s men have submachine guns, and they’re spraying the room wildly with bullets, panicking after having lost the element of surprise.
Nobody expected me to take the first shot, and that’s the only reason we’re still alive.
I shimmy on my side and kill another guard as the young soldier who came in with me gets his skull blown in half.
He’s still fighting, though, screaming as his blood splatters across the wall behind him, more bullets thudding into his torso.
He looks like a piece of wet, ripped paper when he finally crumples to the floor, and I’m still shooting.
Another guard dead, and another. I shove up to my knees and feel something hot and agonizing rip into my side.
“Fuck,” I grunt, twisting sideways. I nearly get a hole punched in my forehead, but Luca saves my life. He kicks me over and starts firing like a maniac, killing another two guards in the process.
Then there’s stillness.
“You fucking cock-sucking, dick smear pricks,” Vittorio says, kicking one poor bastard. He’s still partially alive as Vittorio makes him suffer.
“Enough,” I grunt, pushing Luca aside so I can survey the wreckage.
Eight corpses. One of my guys, seven of Frank’s. The side door is open, and the old man is nowhere to be seen.
“Traitor fuck,” Vittorio says, putting a bullet in a guard’s skull. He’s covered in blood, breathing hard, and grinning like he’s having the time of his life.
“Find Frank. Bring him to me.” I grimace, holding the wound in my side.
“You need a doctor,” Luca says.
“Clear the whole fucking place. Kill everyone.”
“But, Adriano—” Luca hesitates, and I know what he’s thinking.
“Frank told them. You think he wouldn’t have warned all his people about what was going to happen back here? Frank thought I was weak, and he took his shot. Now we have to send a message.” I shove Luca away and point toward the front of the deli. “Take care of it.”
Luca nods grimly and strides off. There are shouts and a few cracks of gunfire as I limp over to Vittorio.
“Find me Frank,” I order him, staring hard. “I want him alive.”
“But not too alive.” Vittorio kicks a guard’s corpse lightly. “Fucker tried to kill me too.”
“That’s the only reason I’m trusting you right now. We have rats in our house, and we need to flush them out. If you catch a whiff, you don’t wait. You just pull the trigger. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, Don Marino.” Vittorio starts whistling as he turns away and heads to the side door. “This is going to be fun.”
Luca returns, gun still drawn. He’s got fresh blood staining his shirt. “Place is clear.”
“Get me back to the mansion.”
“You need a hospital.”
“Call the doctor. Tell him to meet us there.”
Luca hesitates, looking at my wound. “I don’t know. It could be bad.”
“Obey your Don.” I walk to him, clutching at myself. Every step is agonizing, but I’m still running on adrenaline and rage.
Frank tried to kill me.
I’ve known him all my life. He was one of my father’s top lieutenants and most trusted Capos. Frank taught me how to throw a curveball when I was eleven. He was there for all my most important milestones. My father trusted Frank with his life, and the old bastard tried to kill me.
He was right. I’ve been too soft.
There will not be any leniency for those who turned their backs on me.
This whole city is going to burn to the ground when I’m done getting my revenge.