“I know, man, but I still feel like bailing entirely on the gala is only going to raise suspicions, that’s all,” Alex warns.
“Well, seeing as how my father has, yet again, proven himself to be a spineless, untrustworthy coward, I don’t see what other option we have,” I retort.
I always knew my father was a backstabbing piece of shit. I’ve witnessed him wrong so many for his own foolish vendettas. The Marinos and Riccis always reigned supreme on that ever-growing list, but this, this feels low, even for him. Especially after ending my mother’s life, stealing the direction I saw my own life going in. Now, he apparently views me as the enemy. So much so that he feels the need to warn the cops about me? He has always been a feeble man, but this, even for his vile self, is excessive. He has stolen everything from me, I will be damned if he steals my exit plan.Not this time.
“I already told Jake to meet me at the brownstone. I will give him what he needs to distribute. We don’t need the gala, or any elaborate ruse this time. Just a straightforward exchange. I need to rid myself of this shit, ASAP.”
“You really think having the drop at your place is the best idea?”
I can tell Alex isn’t feeling too confident about this. I need to reassure him it will be fine. Better yet, I need to reassure myself it will all be fine. That I didn’t keep my father alive for this long for it all to go up in flames before I put an end to him.
“Well, considering my father is becoming even more of a flight risk than we originally gave him credit for, what else do you suggest I do?” I ask Alex.
“Armando is an asshole, but he benefits from gala night as much as you do, why would he compromise that?” Alex says, as we both try to brainstorm my father’s motives.
“Who the fuck knows? Everything involving my father is a mess. I still say screw the gala tonight,” I say, standing firm in my decision.
“Yea, but if you don’t show at all, he is going to think I had something to do with warning you. Fuck, this is a mess,” Alex mutters into the phone, the stress palpable in his tone.“I don’t get why he is doing all this now,” he says in genuine disbelief.
“Because I brought her back here, Alex. He doesn’t trust my motives, so he is assembling a strong offense, in case I do what he fears,” I remind him.
Ever since Sienna has come into the city, everything is both falling into place while simultaneously falling apart, myself included. I can’t think straight when all I think about is her. All of this is for her, it’s always been with her in mind, and now that she is here, the playful banter we have is consuming me. Making me grow impatient, not wanting to stick to the plan anymore, but instead, working my way inside of her, consuming her, claiming her as mine, once and for all.
“Yea, which is fucking risky in and of itself,” Alex lectures.
“Listen, it’s a risk I am willing to take. My father has now stolen my options from me.”
“Yea, well, that’s not the only trouble he is giving us.”
“When he came down to the station, he requested to speak to a woman officer. That pain in the ass Vanessa was there, of course, so she jumped on that. Talking to one of the city’s rumored crime bosses had her practically creaming her pants.”
Of course, she did.This Vanessa is smart, and while I admire an intelligent woman, I don’t need a detective quite literally snooping around.
“Ha.”
“What the fuck is so funny?”
“Creaming her pants? You have such a hard-on for her, you know, if it wasn’t for your wife, you’d have her in the back of the squad car every chance you got,” I tease.
“Fuck you, man,” he snaps back.
“Don’t be mad at me because you can’t fuck what you want.”
“Yea, you are one to talk. How’s your master plan going with Sienna?” I detect the venom in Alex’s attempt at a joke.
“I’m working on it. We have this fun dynamic going on. She hates me, or so she thinks, but she will get over that soon enough. She is going to be joining me for dinner tonight,” I say with pride.
“That’s an even worse idea, Carmine.” I swear I can feel Alex’s eyes rolling through the phone.
“Don’t worry, I can still play this out like I planned. I just need to rearrange some things, that’s all. I will escape, and I will bring Father down before we disappear.”
He may have brought me into this corrupt world, but I will see to it that when it is time for me to strike, I will make his death slow, agonizing, and dragged out. As he takes his last precious breaths, he will know what it feels like to be a decaying corpse, feeling helpless to stop the destruction that is on autopilot.
Watching my father bleed out will be the only mess he makes that will be worth the cleanup.
“Listen, I will try my best to make sure they don’t come to your place, because once the inside surveillance gets wind that you aren’t there, your apartment will be swarming with cops to see what you are up to.”
“I didn’t say it would be at my apartment. I said the brownstone,” I say with a grin.
