His to Have

Chapter 30 Teo #2

I slid the phone into the inside of my blazer, taking a seat and saying, “Let’s get down to business.”

Later that evening, I walked into Torino’s with a decision that would end the Vitale name and restore the balance our world depended on.

The old casino was managed by a mutual acquaintance of faction members.

The borough was a territory that was not controlled by any single family.

It was by design. But everyone knew that anything could happen.

It was all a part of the delicate balance we tried to maintain.

Because balance was everything in our world.

The alliances, petty rivalries, and unspoken rules governed everything we did.

Without them, we’d have anarchy, which was exactly what I was trying to prevent.

Tonight wasn’t just about how the Vitale family put my wife in danger, though it played a major role in how I approached Gianni.

But it was also about the price of his failure.

The Donatellis and the Reeds had paid the price of his lack of control, and now it was his turn to pay.

The only suitable answer for his role in this war was the end of his bloodline.

That would make sure everyone understood how family, money, and power survived in our world.

That thought stayed with me as I pushed deeper into the small casino that was barely crawling with people.

Most of the tables sat empty, chairs tucked neatly underneath long rows of slot machines.

The scattered few were young men who seemed more focused on the cute cocktail waitresses prancing around the floor than on the games themselves.

Once I reached the tall black door tucked in the back of the building, I instructed the two men rolling with me to blend in with the rest of the gamblers.

That way if shit went sideways, they were already in a position to react quickly.

Stepping through the door, I found Gianni swirling the last remnants of something dark in a crystal glass. His eyes were downcast, lost in his thoughts as he raised the tumbler to his lips to finish off the final swallow of his brown liquor.

When his eyes finally lifted and met mine, his lips flattened into something like a grimace.

“Ah, my guest.” The sarcasm rolled off his tongue in that unmistakable Northern accent. He motioned for the slender waitress standing near the private bar. “Sweetheart, be a dear. Bring a round of your finest whiskey.”

She smiled, nodding politely at the both of us. “Right away Mr. Vitale,” she mumbled before brushing past me with little to no eye contact.

By the time I was standing in front of him, I could see the toll recent events had taken on his normally relaxed features.

Gianni looked significantly older than his fifty-five years of age.

Stress lines and newly acquired wrinkles covered his face, and if I was to look more closely, I was sure I’d see the few new grey hairs that sprinkled through his hairline.

He looked… drained.

Like he’d aged ten years fighting a losing battle trying to keep his empire afloat.

“I assume this meeting isn’t a social call.” His weary eyes glared at me before scoffing and chuckling darkly when he saw the answer. “Figures.”

He laced his fingers together, resting them on the table, and tried to look composed. But he was anything but cool. Gianni knew how I got down. Especially behind my family. Yanna, Samuel, the ports were all Donatelli business… all family.

Unbuttoning my tailored jacket, I took a seat across from him. “You know why I’m here.” I gestured around the poorly lit backroom of Torino’s.

“Hmm... I have my suspicions.”

“Then you should know that this conversation is just a courtesy.”

“Right… a courtesy.” He scoffed, but his words lingered in the air for a bit before his lips curled into a smile that was anything but pleasant. “So you think you’re ready to sit at the table with the big boys, huh?” He leaned forward, his gaze darkening into something dangerous and distant.

“I remember when Marco called to tell me Rita was expecting. Un figlio.” He switched to Italian effortlessly.

“A son. We all celebrated, toasted to the future. Made plans for our children to lead our empires.” His smile turned cold.

“Never thought that little boy I watched take his first steps would grow up and fuck over my family.”

He shook his head slowly, amazed by the irony.

“Funny how fate works, isn’t it? The child we all welcomed into this world... now here to end my place in it. His eyes hardened. “So do what you came to do, Donatelli.”

But I wasn’t interested in giving him the easy way out. At least not yet. I wanted answers first.

“Where have you been, Gianni?”

This was my most pressing question. Outside of how he had allowed his daughter to flip his soldiers.

But at this point that didn’t matter to me.

Only where he’d been when his daughter kidnapped my wife.

How much did he actually know? And if he played even a single part in her being taken.

His answer would determine the amount of restraint I used when I ended his pathetic little life.

Would it be quick fast and private? Or… long, tortuous, and public? It was really up to him.

“You think I owe you an answer?” He laughed like I found any of this shit funny. “Last I checked, my last name was Vitale, and not Donatelli. You run your family, and I run mine.”

“But you ain’t been running shit. And that’s the problem. One minute you’re handing me leads on Orlando’s family. And the next you’re running and hiding and not providing for your people. Makes me wonder… did you know what your bitch of a daughter was up to?”

A flicker of irritation crossed Gianni’s face before it hardened into something cold. “Careful. That’s still my famiglia you’re disrespecting.” His growl was ominous but it didn’t faze me. In fact, his audacity only enraged me.

“Fuck your daughter.” My hand slammed flat on the table, damn near breaking it in two. “If I knew where you buried her conniving slut ass…I’d piss on her grave and make you watch. Don’t piss me off, Gianni.”

A large prominent vein formed at the center of his forehead.

It thumped violently indicating my words had landed, then hit their intended mark.

The muscle in his jaw ticked, and the space around his eyes tightened.

Before he could think of the consequences, the wood floors scraped beneath his chair, and his hand dipped toward his waistband.

“You watch your fuckin’ mouth, boy.” He aimed his chrome pistol at my face.

Instead of seeing fear in my eyes he was met with my own rage, in the form of my twin pistols.

One pressed against his temple and the other at his jugular.

He was fast, but I was faster. And my aim was tried and true.

I’d dot his ass right between the eyes, before he ever had time to think of pulling the trigger.

His breaths were heavy, chest heaving, as he fought to keep a tight grip on his gun.

“I suggest you sit your old ass down.” My eyes were like ice. “You sit here and disrespect me? After what your daughter did. After the lack of control you’ve had?”

My finger tightened around the trigger, only seconds away from squeezing and ending it all.

“Matter of fact, I should say fuck what the faction says.” I shoved the gun further into the base of his throat, making him swallow uncomfortably.

“Since you are determined to disrespect the Donatelli name. First you let your daughter run rampant. Then you let your shipment sit in my docks for days. Costing me money, like my dime don’t mean shit to you. It’s all good though.”

The corner of my mouth lifted into a smile that wasn’t intended to be pleasant. “I appreciate the work.”

”That’s my fuckin’ product—”

“Nah. That’s all me now.” I deadpanned daring him to check me. “Mine.”

A knock at the door cut through the intense standoff.

When the door flung open, one of Gianni’s men stuck his head in looking between us with our guns drawn.

His face said he wanted to step in, but street politics said he better stand down or face the ultimate consequence.

The hierarchy was in full effect, and everyone with Gianni and me knew their place.

Instead of making the scene bigger he calmly informed us that the bottle girl was there.

“Send her in,” Gianni told him, stepping back and lowering his gun, which prompted me to lower my weapon. But I was no fool, my finger stayed on the trigger. Just in case he wanted to get active.

The bottle girl entered timidly, eyes solely focused on the empty mahogany table that sat between Gianni and I. She was aware of how volatile the atmosphere was.

“I... gentlemen, your whiskey,” the pretty woman managed to cut through the heavy silence, her voice barely above a whisper.

Avoiding eye contact with either of us, her gaze bounced between the twin matte black pistols locked in my grip, then shifted to the chrome barrel half-hidden under Gianni’s hand. It didn’t take long for her to shift her focus to the empty bar sitting in the back of the room.

“You can sit them down, sweetheart.” I told her, drawing her gaze from the distance and to my face.

Tucking one of my pistols in my waistband, I reached in my pocket retrieving several hundred dollar bills and dropping a hefty tip on her silver tray.

Then I offered a reassuring nod. “We won’t be needing any more services tonight. ”

There was no need to explain the importance of discretion. The fear in her gaze and the silence that stretched while she placed the glasses one by one in front of us told me she hadn’t seen shit. Even if she had.

“I’ll make sure you’re not disturbed any further.” Her neck bowed slightly before quickly getting the hell out of dodge, exiting out of the same door she came in. The moment the thick door slammed closed, all of the tension resumed as if no one had ever entered the room.

I let the heaviness sit for a beat, then leaned in.

“We’re entering a new era of leadership.

Samuel was forced to step down. My father is retired.

That leaves me.” My hand patted at the center of my chest. “And Bash. Then you. But I don’t trust you.

Bash doesn’t trust you. Hell, the faction doesn’t trust you.

The way you been moving lately has been inexcusable. ”

“Inexcusable?” His scoff was just as loud as his ego had been. “I’ve been making moves since before either of you dropped from your pop’s nut sack. I helped build the very table you young pups dare to try to claim as yours. My leadership is what brought the faction this far.”

“Yet, your non-action has let your family descend to shit, led to a war orchestrated by someone in your family, and made room for a power vacuum that threatens the stability of everything we’ve built.” I told him coldly. “You’re out.”

Gianni’s light caramel face turned a deep crimson, his anger radiating off of him. Both his hands balled into fists, and his knuckles ground against the table. “You little—”

“This is not up for debate.” I cut him off, my voice a barely contained rage. “You of all people know the rules. There’s no room at this table for a man who can’t control his family or his men. The game doesn’t pause for anyone. Not even you.”

Settling back into the leather cushion, I draped my arm across the back of the seat’s cushion and watched him fight his temper.

“Whatever you’re thinking... you shouldn’t. Whatever leash the faction has asked me to give you, I’ll say fuck it. Because I voted we kill you but…” I trailed off smirking at the fact he was on borrowed time.

“And what the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

I shrugged.

“No!” He launched forward. “This is complete bullshit. I built this shit. I’ll go to war. I’ll come after you and your family.”

“With what army?” I chuckled darkly. “Isabella fucked you over. Your men are gone.”

“I still have a few loyal men.”

“Stop it,” I boomed. “It’s over.”

There was a beat of silence while he let the truth set in.

Then I continued. “Now this is what we’re going to do.

The way I see it, you have two options.” I reached for my whiskey glass, taking a slow sip while keeping my eyes locked on Gianni.

“Bow out graciously, or bow out permanently. The choice is yours.”

I set the glass down. “You have until I finish this drink to decide.” I nodded toward my half-filled glass of whiskey. “After that, if you can’t decide, I’ll make a decision for you.” My shrug was indifferent.

Gianni’s eyes narrowed as he considered what I was saying, but there was no hint of fear in his gaze. I took his silence as an invitation to continue.

“Here’s what’s going to happen. You will step back.

Completely. The faction will divide your territories among the existing families until we find a suitable replacement.

Sophia will handle the search, and before you even think about it, you get no say in who we choose.

Your men will be absorbed into other families.

Any resistance will be handled in blood. ”

“And if I refuse? Then what? You gonna put a bullet in my head right here?”

“Then go home and sleep like a baby. Problem solved.”

“Do it then. Pull the trigger. At least I’ll go out….”

That request died on his lips when I put two bullets in his chest. The shots were quiet, silenced by the suppressor attached by me earlier in the day. I didn’t give a fuck about how he wanted to go out.

Wasn’t interested in anything past ending the Vitale name.

Gianni slumped forward, both eyes flashing wide. Blood seeped through his shirt, pooling at the floor.

I sighed, placing my glass gently on the table. “Done,” I said to him while he struggled to catch his breath.

Pulling out my phone, I dialed Keem. “I need you to deliver a package to the Riccis. A Don for a Don. Make sure they know it’s a gesture of goodwill... from me.”

“Say less.”

“And bring the cleaners.”

“They’ll be there in less than thirty.”

Downing the rest of my drink and hanging up the phone, I watched Gianni’s lips part then gurgle up a wet chuckle.

He tried to curse me, but all that came out was a series of bloody coughs.

I stood, slamming the glass on the table.

Buttoning my tailored jacket, I straightened my cuffs and looked down at him one final time.

“Your territories will be carved up by morning.” I stepped back from the table, keeping clear of the new crime scene. “But your men. They’ll obey now.”

I walked to the door and opened it, finding his men waiting in the hallway. “Nobody touches him until my people arrive. Anyone who disobeys gets the same treatment.”

Without waiting for a response, I stepped past them and never looked back. My mind was now free, knowing every person who put hands on what was mine had been handled.

Gianni made his choice. And his choice pleased me.

The Vitale name died with him.