Chapter 12
VILLAIN
You’re the reason I’ll never be innocent again.
The windows in my office thankfully overlooked the hillocks that made up this part of California wine country, not my driveway.
If I had to look at the damage to my car again…
I squeezed my phone in my right hand to avoid grabbing for my gun.
This kid had a knack for thoroughly testing my resolve.
Just like Vinny foretold, I regretted ever summoning Ms. Burch.
“You’ve been focused on Persetta since you took over. As any good brother would do,” Vinny said from his chair. “But that’s done, and business has suffered. You let this girl go, they’ll think you’ve gone soft, and that you don’t have the family’s best interest at heart.”
“Is that what you think?” I asked both my underboss and consigliere, a warning in my voice.
“For once, I agree with the hard-ass, cugi-boss.” Tore snapped his lighter shut with a metallic ring. “There are already whispers.”
My left ring finger scratched against my palm. The dull ache reminded me that there was always something worse lying in wait around the corner, and underestimating those around you got you killed.
“Then it’s time we remind them why they agreed to my ascension as don and what that means. Find the two loudest in their qualms, and gather the capos for a demonstration of how I handle dissent.”
I turned away from the rural view to face my underboss and consigliere.
Tore smirked like this was all in good fun.
The man found humor in anything and everything, which often made him reckless and impulsive in personal matters.
However, he was exceptionally organized and methodical when it came to the good of the famiglia.
Vinny, on the other hand, remained stoic, with nothing more than a nod to tell me he’d get it done. We’d been inseparable since the day I lied to my father to save a boy I barely knew, and there was no one else I trusted more, not even my own cousin and potential heir.
“And the girl?” he asked.
“I’m not reneging on my principles.”
Vinny’s mouth puckered in distaste. “She’s fifteen. A few of them were already working for your father at that age. They won’t see her as a child.”
“I was fifteen to your thirteen when I saved you. Do you remember what I told you?”
“Oh, do tell.” Tore twisted in his seat and tossed an arm over his backrest, clearly amused. “I don’t think I’ve heard this story.”
That was because it was nobody’s business, especially when my father ruled the outfit.
If anyone ever found out that thirteen-year-old Vinny had the gall to pickpocket the don as the man was getting serviced in a brothel by the boy’s mother, then taunt the don’s heir with his stolen prize, my father would have cut Vinny’s throat out.
“So? Come on, guys, I’m dying here.”
I ignored Tore, my focus on my consigliere. “What did I say?”
Vinny exhaled slowly. “You said, ‘We’re kids. Someone’s gotta protect us. If no one will do it for you, I will.’”
“Exactly.” I’d named us kids back then, yet I’d already executed two traitors by that age. Ms. Burch had more claim to the title than I ever did.
Tore drew out a long whistle. “Even with what she did to your car? The kid’s egging for it. You don’t mess with a man’s ride.”
I squeezed the back of my chair because, for all my principles, I had really loved that car.
I jumped through hoops to get it imported directly from Italy, right off the assembly line, once I heard about the limited edition.
The way the engine roared. How the exhaust growled.
The way the steering responded in my grasp to every touch.
How the car obeyed every command with absolute precision under its thrilling speed.
It was a thing of beauty. Now it was just gone.
Poof. Worth little more than trash, all because of a little brat with an attitude problem. The chair creaked under my grip.
A knock cut through my train of thought, and I picked up my gun.
“Come in.”
As Ricco and Ms. Burch entered, I actioned the slide of my semi-automatic.
Ms. Burch flinched. Her plain, brown eyes widened and fixed on it.
I’d barely paid attention to her a few days ago, besides noticing her short stature, obnoxious teenage attitude, and obvious youth.
Now, after the damage she wrought, I took her in fully, like I would any foe.
There was nothing particularly special about her at first glance.
Small build, not petite, not large, definitely not athletic either, from the lack of any particular muscle definition.
She had freckles on and around her nose and a few minor old acne scars on her forehead, mostly hidden behind poorly trimmed, overgrown bangs.
Her long, dirty-blonde hair was pulled back in a plain ponytail.
Her wide but smooth cheekbones and narrow forehead gave her a more youthful appearance than the fifteen years her file indicated.
Her jeans were torn at the knees and a little short at the ankles.
Her shirt was overused and thin, looking like it had seen better days, similar to her tennis shoes.
But what intrigued me, despite her mediocre appearance, was the intelligence and fiery attitude sparking in her eyes.
“Close the door behind you, Ricco. Ms. Burch, sit.”
With an exasperated sigh, Vinny stood, leaving the space empty for her. Instead of obeying, she hugged her elbows, hunched over herself, eyes flicking about, likely scanning for exits.
“Look, I’m sorry,” she prattled. “I didn’t mean for that to happen. It was—”
“It wasn’t a request.” I waved my gun at her. “Sit. Now.”
“Fudge you, asshole. I’m not a dog.”
I eyed the picture of Persetta at this same age on my desk. Give me patience. I rounded the furniture and leaned back against its edge, tapping my gun against my thigh. The way her eyes jumped from it and back to me said everything I needed to know about her paper-thin bravery.
Her shaking chin rose in defiance. “If you’re going to shoot me, just get it over with.”
I raised a brow, unimpressed. “Was it your brother who neglected to teach you common civility or your parents?”
Her face reddened, making the multitude of freckles around her nose stand out.
“My brother was ten times the man you are.”
“Yet he’s dead, and I’m not. Now sit. Before I decide once and for all to put you out of your miserable existence.”
Her face twisted into a grimace as she slowly crossed the room and lowered herself along the edge of the seat.
“Good. Now explain this.” From my desk, I plucked the note Ricco handed me earlier and smacked it into Tore’s chest.
“What kind of sick monster are you?” He read. “You want to hurt me? Fine, but don’t you dare go after my foster siblings ever again. You think I’m weak, but I’m not. I will come back swinging when you least expect it and become your worst nightmare. Enjoy your car, you god-awful prick.”
“No signature,” Tore added before tossing the paper into the air. It floated down to the rug.
“You know, I’m happy your car got burnt. Wasn’t what I meant to happen, but honestly, it’s the least you deserve for threatening us.”
“I never threatened you.”
“Really? Is that what you call being held at knifepoint by a mountain man with John Lennon sunglasses and facial tattoos that make him look like a goth wannabe? ’Cause I wouldn’t call this souvenir a social call.”
The girl tugged her shirt collar sideways, revealing a puckered wound that gashed her collarbone. My teeth ground against each other.
“Find Alfie. Tell him I want to see him now.” Ricco left with a nod. I bent in front of Ms. Burch until my face was level with hers. “So you thought damaging my property was a way to scare me off? Tell me, what did you think I’d do once I caught you?”
“I’m not afraid of you.”
I couldn’t stop the burst of laughter that erupted out of me. The girl was quivering in her seat, even while she stayed defiant. It was admirable. If ever her fire were molded and tamed, she’d be a force to be reckoned with. Until then, she was nothing more than a playing card.
“You should be, piccola.” With a finger barely grazing her chin, I forced her to look at me. “Men like me eat little things like you by the dozens. You have no idea the games you’re playing.”
There was another knock on my office door. This time, Vinny opened it. The moment Alfie strutted inside, I raised my gun, aimed, and pulled the trigger. Ms. Burch’s shrieked scream muffled Alfie’s howl.
“Stay down.” I pointed the gun at her, and for the first time, she obeyed. “And you, stai zitto!” Shut up! “You’re lucky Ms. Burch only has a flesh wound.”
“Boss?” Alfie grumbled through the pain. He was a decent soldier, not the brightest, but definitely loyal. That was why I’d aimed at his bicep instead of his shoulder. He’d be incapacitated while it healed, but his life wouldn’t be threatened.
I treaded toward him. Sweat beaded and shone over the block lettering of his tattoos, ranging from his ear down to his chin at the curve of his jaw.
“On whose order did you injure Ms. Burch?” I pressed the muzzle of my gun deep into his wound.
“No one’s, boss.”
He jerked and hissed through his teeth.
“I don’t order it. It doesn’t happen. We clear?”
“Yes, boss.”
“Now, get out.”
Not soon enough, the door clicked shut behind the brawny enforcer.
“You shot him,” a weak voice said.
“And you’ll keep quiet about it,” Vinny warned.
The girl shook and curled in on herself, with her knees dragged up to her face, staring a hole into my rug. I uncocked my gun, popped out the loaded cartridge, and tossed the gun on the desk. That last noise snapped her out of her stupor, her head rearing up.