25. Matti
Matti
M y mind blanks, and I freeze.
Aurelio ordered the hit on Mikey? That can’t be right.
The room falls into a tense silence as his blunt announcement hangs in the air. Aurelio seems to revel in our confusion, grinning wickedly as he takes slow, deliberate puffs of his cigar. The smoke curls lazily around him, an infuriating contrast to the storm brewing inside me.
Aurelio ordering the hit is a blow to both me and Vin.
For Vin, it’s an insult, a direct betrayal that one of his own men was taken out without his knowledge.
For me, it’s a trap. Aurelio sent me to confirm Mikey’s death, making me complicit. I didn’t plant the bomb or give the order, but no one will believe that—especially Siena.
The memory of Siena’s face when she arrived at the crash site flashes in my mind. Her voice in the shower at the Edge echoes in my ears: “Are you going to kill me like you killed my sister?”
Aurelio laughs, a harsh sound that grates through the thick silence and a rush of fury washes over me.
He used me as a pawn in the murder of Siena’s sister.
If Siena finds out he’s behind this, she’ll never believe I had no part in it.
She met me at the site of the crash. How could she think otherwise?
Vin is in the same position: his crew, the other families, they’ll all assume he knew. Or that he did it. And if it’s believed that Vin played a role in taking out one of his own guys, a made guy, it’ll put a target on his back, and on everyone connected to him.
I don’t like getting played. I don’t need to look at Vin to know that he’s thinking all the same things.
Vin speaks first, his voice rough and gravelly. “Why would you keep that from me? He was one of my guys.”
“Yes,” Aurelio sneers, his grin fading. “One of your guys. One of your guys who had very bad plans for me. He wanted to steal the Luminous job out from under my nose, using blackmail to make it happen.”
I steal a glance at Vin. This is news to me, and I’m positive he would have told me if he’d known about it. The look of barely contained rage on his face tells me that he didn’t know. Or he doesn’t believe it. I don’t know what to believe.
Aurelio leans forward, cracking his thick knuckles loudly. “Maybe you were in on it. Maybe it was really your idea, Vincenzo. And, of course, if it was your idea, your little flunky here would be in on it, too.” He gestures at me dismissively.
Vin snarls, “So why tell me now? If you’d lie to me about killing one of my guys, I’m sure there are plenty of other secrets you’re keeping from me.”
“Oh, yes, that is true, Vincenzo. Many secrets.” Aurelio laughs, a harsh, humorless sound. “But I tell you this because you have been jumping through my hoops for weeks. Both of you. You left Franco and his slut sister alone and did as I asked.”
The insult to Siena lands like a slap. I bristle, my fists clenching at my sides. Aurelio’s sharp gaze lands on me.
“But you, Matteo. You disobeyed. I gave clear orders: no witnesses at the law office. And what do you do? You spare a witness who should have been dead. Why? Does she have diamonds in her pussy? Maybe I should find out for myself.” He smirks cruelly.
He’s baiting me, seeing how far he can push before I snap. It’s a game he’s played before, but this time, he’s talking about Siena.
“She doesn’t have the flash drive,” I say through gritted teeth.
When Aurelio laughs in my face, I can barely stand still, let alone keep calm. Seething, I clench and unclench my fists, grinding my teeth, my head spinning with thoughts of how I’d like to disembowel this asshole.
Vin and Tommy move in closer to me, and I have to almost physically pull my attention back to the present. Aurelio is still talking.
“This is bad for business,” Aurelio is saying, shaking his cigar at me. “I thought you knew better than to let pussy get in the way of orders. Family first, yes? But it doesn’t matter anymore now. We can get back to the bigger matter, the Luminous job, no?”
Why doesn’t it matter anymore? What did he do to Siena?
My pulse pounds as smoldering rage works its way through me like a thick sludge.
Aurelio has done a thousand things to deserve the most brutal death imaginable, but I’ve always stayed out of it.
It’s Vin’s father, Vin’s call. But if he laid a finger on Siena, I’ll kill him myself, no matter what the consequences .
Aurelio’s attention shifts to Tommy, who has been silent, standing with his arms crossed next to Vin and me. His tone sharpens.
“Since these two are a disappointment to me and to the family, perhaps it is time for a change, Tommaso. Perhaps you should step to the head of the line for the Luminous job. This job is perfect for you. Especially you.” Aurelio’s eyes sparkle, and I glance at Tommy.
Whatever he’s about to say, it’s not going to be good for Tommy.
“We were forced to take on a… liability, thanks to the delays and the difficulties we’ve had in getting this job off the ground.
In order to convince the CEO to help us pull off the job, we had to move his daughter to… a separate location.”
“Fucking knew it,” Tommy whispers under his breath. His expression darkens as he steps closer to the desk. “Lorenzo Marino is the CEO of Luminous. He’s our guy. What problems could he cause that you had to take his daughter?”
“Yes! A son who pays attention.” Aurelio’s smile is sharp and mocking.
He side-eyes Vin before turning back to Tommy.
“The girl was leverage. But things took longer than expected. The men holding her, well, they weren’t exactly hospitable.
We have concerns her father will not comply if he sees her current state, so now we’re keeping her until the job is done. ”
Vin’s hand moves toward the gun at his back. My gut churns. Aurelio killed Mikey, he wants Franco and Siena dead, he’s fucking with me and Vin, and now he’s kidnapped and harmed an innocent girl?
And not just any girl. Tommy’s first love.
Tommy moves toward the desk slowly, his face white under his olive skin. He looks like I feel, like his heart was just cut out. “Pop, Giovanna Marino is not a part of this. How long have you had her?”
Behind him, I see Vin’s profile as he glares at his father, practically shaking with rage. Random harming of women does not sit well with him, with any of us. It’s not a sentiment that Aurelio shares. On the contrary, he views it as our weakness.
Aurelio shrugs. “A month? Two months? More, less. What does it matter?”
Tommy clenches his jaw tight and closes his eyes for a couple of beats longer than a blink. I’ve seen this a hundred times before. It’s how he centers himself. Right before he attacks.
Aurelio interrupts him with a loud grunt. “Ah, because you fucked her when you were children, you have feelings about this? That’s no reason to spare her. Business is business, Tommaso. Don’t disappoint me like your brother.”
Vin growls, his voice low and dangerous. “Where is Giovanna?”
I frown. Things are changing, and they are changing quickly.
Aurelio ignores Vin and turns to Tommy, raking his eyes over him in disgust. Tommy stands tall, staring straight ahead. Aurelio stops short with his reddened nose within an inch of the side of Tommy’s face.
“Maybe I’ve coddled you too much, let you avoid this side of the business, stay with your studies and your city hall and your meetings.
But if you’re going to be like this one here,” he jerks his head in my direction.
“And give me agita over a fucking woman, then I will do to your Giovanna what I did to his puttana . Take care of it myself.”
None of us move. None of us speak, each one of us planning how we will destroy this man.
Aurelio laughs cruelly, then glowers at us. “Get OUT.”