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None of them blink. None look away. None say a word.
"Good. Pour the drinks, Knox. Let's discuss business. I've been eager to hear from all of you."
Knox pours the drinks, but no one takes the glasses until Alec has a gulp of his, as though we couldn't poison ourselves and have the antidote as backup.
"I know what the news says. My father is sick. There is no longer need to hide this. The Russians have made sure Chicago knows this."
"And what does this mean for the Famiglia?" Antonio asks. Antonio ensures our guns get to the points where they need to be. He's straight-tongued and doesn't deviate from the truth.
"It means things continue as usual. There will be nothing changing."
The silence is long and winding. Enzo breaks it. "The Capo..."
I stop him with a blunt cut through his words. "I will be Capo in less than three weeks. Trust me, the issue of the Capo has nothing to do with this. It will be as I say."
Matthew Benjamin, who has the most American name I've ever heard and also the most dangerous swing with a knife I've ever seen, lifts his hand in the air. I nod at him, though I don't know why he bothers. "Shouldn't we hear this from the present Capo?"
I frown at him, lifting the gun to check its heft in my hand. His eyes roll to the gun just like I want it to. "Are my words not enough for you, Benny?"
He jerks and stills. "Very well. But I do need your assurance that nothing changes. The Russians are parading the streets. Things are tight. I worry there will be trouble more than you can handle."
The group goes tight-lipped all at once. And I know this is the root of the problem. They doubt me.
"Do you have a solution for the Russians?" I ask. I pull the drink that Knox had poured for me and take a large gulp, pretending the burn from the whiskey is all I feel.
"I think we should wipe them out." Sandro barks. He takes a swing from his flask and glares across the table at me.
Declan drags the drink across the scratched mahogany table to pour himself a shot. "You don't deserve a voice in the gathering of men, Sandro. We gave you a task. You failed at it. If you ask me, Xander's bullet is not a fitting punishment for your failure."
Sandro bangs a large, hairy hand on the table. "They killed my men!"
"As we should kill you. Now shut up." I roar at him, fixing him with an intense stare that has him back into his chair in a few seconds.
Enzo wipes his lips with the back of his hand and cranes his neck to meet everyone's eyes one after the other. "There will be no reasoning with him. If these words don't slip out of this room, I will advise an extinction."
I tilt my head, my stomach curdling like bad cheese. "Do you have knowledge I don't? Is there a traitor in our midst?"
"None that I can think of. But loyalty is a commodity. I have no idea who will decide he can be bought." Enzo said.
"Let's talk about this... extinction. All the Russians gone. Is that what you mean?" Alec leans forward, his eyes gleaming in a way that says he is interested.
And I realize why, or at least part of the reason Father must have agreed to keep Lucian from me. Now, I have a child of my own, and I understand what Alec means. My guts squeeze uncomfortably.
There are innocents. I imagine someone coming after Lucian. Or after Melissa, and blood sings in my veins. Rage and the need to hurt anyone who comes even a step close to them wishing them harm.
The discussion is still swirling around me when I hit a fist into the table. All their eyes snap to mine. Good. I like to know all the authority is still mine.
If I don't hold onto it with a tight fist, I have no doubt it'll slip right out. "We'll wipe out the Russians. Very soon. But not the family."
"Then it is not an extinction." Matthew glares at the glass before him.
I nod. "Yes. But they will be too weak to fight back. That's what we need. It will be fun to watch them watch us win."
Smiles break out on their faces. Sick men.
I push my chair back and pick my gun off my table, waiting for my brothers to leave their seats, so we walk out of the meeting with a united front as we always do when outsiders are present.
"If anything changes. There will be another meeting. Until then, stay safe in the streets. Every man under one banner." I conclude the meeting and walk away, stopping at Sandro's chair to knock the gun against his knee. "Get that cleaned. An infection really isn't necessary in these hard times."
