Page 130 of Unlock My Heart

I smack the book beneath his arm, and it skitters down the hall. “What now, smart guy?”

“Aren’t you a little too old for the bully routine?” Disdain punctuates his words.

Despite my being considerably bigger, my little brother’s always looked down on me. Pisses me right off.

“Probably, but you’re such a pretentious little shit, I can’t seem to help myself.” I grab his wrist, and Angelo screams as I snap his left index finger. Didn’t mean to do it so hard, but shit, it’s hanging limply out of the socket.

“I’ve got a piano recital this weekend, you asshole!”

“Don’t be a baby.” To cover for my fuckup, I try to fix his finger by popping it back into place. With a nasty crunch, Angelo screams again.

Having no defense for my little outburst, I return to my room and slam the door.

Papà hates me for breathing, and after Mama finds out what I’ve done to her precious baby, she’ll hate me too.

I unleash, knocking the head off the dummy, except I can’t shake the feeling it’s my head, and I’m the dummy.

Fabien

The Present

Instead of apologizing, I speak in terms Angelo understands. “Ten million, and twenty percent,” I counter.

“Twenty million, forty percent, and your dislocated finger. Final offer,” he warns.

I consider my brother and our fucked up relationship. Is there a path forward for both of us in this city? In this family?

Angelo leans forward in his chair. “If there’s no agreement, then you can find out for yourself how inconvenient it is when the mayor wages war against organized crime.”

I chuckle softly. “You actually make a hell of a boss. Vitto would be proud.”

“Vitto can rot in hell,” Angelo says with venom.

It’s like I’m seeing my brother for the first time. “And here I thought I was the only one that man terrorized.”

“Maybe we’ll exchange war stories another time,” he answers vaguely. “Do we have a deal?”

“Deal.”

We rise, and I inwardly brace myself as I extend my left hand. Angelo moves quickly, snapping my index finger out of the socket.

“Fuck!” I scream, my finger dangling.

“Don’t be a baby,” Angelo chides with glee as he pops my finger back into place. With a nasty crunch, I scream again.

“Happy?” I bare my teeth, cradling my fast-swelling finger.

“Very.” Angelo laughs.

“Pretentious prick.” I spit at him.

He chuckles. “Let’s go make the announcement.”

We both head for the door, reaching it at the same time as we try to squeeze through the tight space. “The boss goes first.” I give Angelo a little shove.

“I’m still the boss until you’re sworn in, so I go first.” My brother shoves me back.

“If you two don’t stop, I’ll pop you both and take over this entire empire.” Al appears in the doorway.