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This stupid motherfucker.
“Easier said than done, huh?” I ask him. “We recently tried tostrikethem, and two of our men are dead.” I slam my Zippo on the table, and their glasses rattle. “If anything, their guards will be up more than ever.”
Sonny pinches his lips. “Where does your loyalty lie, Antonio? Do you want the Lombardi name running the streets of New York?”
My blood turns hot.
The Lombardi name will never run New York. It’ll only fill the obituaries if we aren’t careful. It’s time I step up, and later tonight, I’ll tell my father I’m ready. I failed to set Vinny straight and look at what happened. Sonny needs to learn I’ll make the rules going forward.
“You want to talk about loyalty, Sonny?” I slam the Zippo on the table, stand, and kick my chair toward him, causing him to wince slightly, but he quickly regains his composure. “Loyaltymeans thinking about the entire family, not only your selfish interests. Soon, I’ll be don, and I don’t want it to be a mess when I do.” I step closer to get in his face. “If you keep playing with me, I’ll not only cut you out of the family tree, but I’ll cut your tongue out, too, so I never have to hear you speak again. It’s not as if you have anything of value to say anyway.” I smash his cup against the table, grab a sliver of glass, and hold it to his throat. “Maybe I should go ahead and do it.”
Sonny’s Adam’s apple bobs, and he licks his front teeth while smiling at me. “Do it. Show me you’re my don and slit your uncle’s throat.”
“Antonio,” my father warns.
I ignore him and inch the glass into Sonny’s pudgy neck.
“Antonio!” My father bangs his fist on the table, and poker chips go flying. “I’m still head of this family, and I’m ordering you to fall back.”
I ease the glass sliver away from Sonny’s throat and toss it on the table but maintain my glare on him. “Soon, I’ll make every decision. Every. Single. Fucking. One.”
Sonny juts out his jaw and crosses his arms. “And here I thought, the power was getting to Vinny’s head.”
“I have to go.” I point at Sonny. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
Unfortunately, Sonny isn’t the only person I should’ve said that to.
22
I swear, we’ve lived in constant chaos since Benny’s wedding.
Today is Tommaso’s funeral. A heavy veil of rain assaults us as we stand in the cemetery. My heart hurts as I watch Neomi and her sisters grieve while they lower his casket into the ground. Deep down, I know his death will provide him more peace than this life ever did.
Benny tracked down the men responsible for his death. It wasn’t the bookie, surprisingly. Tommaso’s friends were the ones responsible for Neomi’s attempted kidnapping and his murder. It served as another reminder that you can’t trust anyone.
The Cavallaro sisters are holding themselves together better than their parents. Neomi’s mother, Concetta, is completely consumed with her grief. When the girls and Severino attempt to comfort her, she fights them off.
Benny holds Neomi’s hand as the priest says his last words, and I softly squeeze her shoulders while standing behind her. He separates from her when my father calls him over. Neomi continues playing referee with her parents. When her mother starts stomping through the graveyard, Neomi kicks off her heels and follows her.
“I don’t know if we should help Neomi or just let them handle it within the family,” I say to Natalia.
“I asked your father for his advice this morning,” she replies. “He said to be there for Neomi. Neither of us can understand what it feels like, losing a child, you know?” She slumps her shoulders and rubs her belly.
“Hopefully, we never have to either.”
A lightning bolt crackles through the sky, and thunder angrily rolls through the storm clouds. I look at Neomi in curiosity when she stops and stares in the distance, almost in a daze.
I inch closer in her direction at the same time she screams, “Benny!”
She changes course and sprints toward Benny but doesn’t make it far. Her body jerks, and she collapses to the ground. At the squeal of tires, my attention flies from her to a car driving away. People scatter—either chasing the car, running from bullets, or dashing toward Neomi.
My breath catches in my throat, and I swipe rain off my face as I run to her. When I reach her, Benny is crouched at her side.
I cover my mouth with my hand, vomit threatening to surface. Benny searches her for more wounds, and tears fall down my cheeks as he begs her to open her eyes. He scoops her up in his arms and carries her to my father’s SUV. He and my father don’t wait for anyone as they speed out of the cemetery.
My head spins as I follow Neomi’s sisters, and we run to Bria’s car. I jump into the passenger seat, and she guns the gas so hard that we all go flying forward.
“God, please let her be okay,” Isabella says next to me, swiping away tears.
