CHAPTER TWELVE
“I don’t care who is helping these people. I said get the land, get the evidence and burn the entire fucking state if necessary,” said Santori. “And where is my damn nephew?”
“We don’t know, sir. Someone said they saw him near New Orleans but we can’t be sure,” said the man standing in front of him. Santori froze, throwing his glass of whiskey against the wall. The men were so used to his temper tantrums they barely moved.
“New Orleans. Do you know who is in New Orleans? Do you have any idea who he was speaking to?”
“No, sir. No one knows.”
“I have a pretty good idea and it is not going to go well for me if we don’t find him. I suspect an old enemy is in that area. They have been for years. I’ve just never been able to find them.”
“Do you really want to?” asked another man in the room.
He was seated in a high-back leather chair puffing on a cigar, sipping whiskey as well. Santori’s men stared at the man, wondering where he could get such audacity.
“Come now, Felix. You and I both know you don’t want to find these men. You’re more terrified that they will find you, or now, your nephew.”
“Shut up Julio.”
“Come now, brother. Don’t be so rude. I’m just trying to help. After all, I’ve been helping you for years.” Felix leaned over his desk, his fists shoved into the wooden top. His face was red, sweat beading at his forehead.
“Need I remind you, brother, that I have employed your worthless son for more than twenty years and now he’s run off with secrets we can’t afford to allow him to share. I kept you secret. He knows nothing about you. But he knows all of my secrets. I will kill him. Nephew or not.”
“I understand,” nodded Julio. “I have no emotional attachment to him. He’s always been weak. I suppose we can thank your sister for that. Coddling him, always trying to make him soft.”
“Shut up. Petra was a good woman. She didn’t have to die. If she’d only been loyal that would have saved her.”
“Yes, but she couldn’t even be loyal to her own brother.
Such a shame,” he said clucking his tongue to the roof of his mouth.
Julio was much smarter than his brother.
The proof of that was the fact everyone knew who Felix Santori was.
No one knew anything about Julio Santori.
Nothing. To them, he was the dead father of Nic.
He’d hidden in the shadows for decades, directing his brother’s men, the business, and negotiating deals behind the scenes. If you asked anyone to describe him, they would have difficulty doing so.
Julio was a ghost. Sliding in and out of the game without being seen. It annoyed Felix. He took all the risks and Julio shared the rewards. But it was something they’d been doing since they were children. Julio would cause a scene in the candy store while Felix stole the candy.
Julio would bump into the pretty lady and cry, while Felix stole her purse or her husband’s wallet. They were a good team but one in which only one took the major risks.
Just the way Julio liked it.
“I did warn you to not leave the containers full for so long,” said Julio. “I warned you to allow them to leave. They wouldn’t have said anything. Their freedom was worth too much to them.”
“They were weak and stupid. Besides, we got our money. Who cares what happened to them afterwards,” said Felix shrugging his shoulders.
“Their families cared. Their families notified the authorities on both sides of the border, which is what has us in this mess,” said Julio calmly.
“No! Your stupid son is who has us in this mess. He suddenly developed a conscience. Now, we are stuck trying to fix his mistakes and it’s costing us a fortune.”
Julio laughed, shaking his head as the Santori’s men just stood against the wall not looking their way.
“What are you laughing at?”
“You,” he smiled at his brother. “Even if they found the evidence they wouldn’t know it was us. They couldn’t know unless Nic gets to the authorities before we kill him.”
“You don’t get it, do you? He’s already gotten to someone. Not the authorities but someone much worse. I can feel it in my bones. And when they come for me, I will point them in your direction, brother. I will not die alone.”