Page 25 of Unraveled

Gian didn’t like what he was hearing.

Nor what Edmond suggested.

“And what case is this?” Gian asked, not bothering to hide the edge of irritation sharpening his tone.

“It’s time to fill the seat, Gian. We’ve gone a week without a boss, now, and that’s not how it works in la famiglia. We’ll do the nomination tonight, and take a vote. By morning, the Guzzi family will have a new boss, and we can all move forward.”

“Except that’s not how it works, Edmond.”

“Why not?”

“Because every made man gets a voice in that vote, not a select few that you picked to be here for it.”

Edmond smiled, a sight cold enough to make Gian stand a bit straighter. “As I said, once the boss is the boss, there is nothing to argue about. Your grandfather would have understood, given the current atmosphere of the family, that this is the best way to go about stabilizing the ground floor of this famiglia.”

“Not to the detriment of more possible problems,” Gian argued.

“Right now, you’re the only one causing a problem, Gian.”

“Or is that how you want it to look, Edmond?”

Gian had hit the nail directly on the head, and he knew it in that moment. The old consigliere to his grandfather was not even bothering to hide the sneaky way he intended to go about taking the boss’s seat. He was not going to even allow the majority of younger made men in the family to speak.

Perhaps because they wouldn’t choose Edmond.

Perhaps because they would pick someone like Gian.

That pissed Gian off.

But what could he do?

Gian was acutely aware of his current situation, and how dangerous it could be for him. In a room full of made men, he would likely be the only one on his side. He could be killed, though, it was technically forbidden without proper reasoning, and no one would speak up and say why. Not when the older men felt as though they were getting what they wanted.

This was not a good situation for Gian.

Suspicion weaved through Gian’s bloodstream, and he disliked how it left him feeling. A distasteful sentiment stuck heavily on his tongue as he looked to Edmond, and was forced to wonder … had he found the hand that ordered the gun on his grandfather?

He had no real reason to believe that, and the friendship between Corrado and Edmond was a long one. Far longer than both men’s marriages, even.

It could be that Edmond was a fucking upstart, and this had been his chance to take control. Something that was entirely unrelated to Corrado’s murder, but rather, a happy by-product.

Gian didn’t particularly like either of those ideas.

But here he was.

Fucked.

“I know you’re unhappy about this,” Edmond started to say.

“That’s an understatement.”

“But it is for the best, Gian.” The older man rested back in his chair, steepling his fingers in front of his face before he spoke again. “And consider that once the men have proper stability again to fall back on, we can begin to work on other things.”

“Like what?”

“Corrado’s killer, for one.”

Gian’s jaw ached from clenching so hard. “I see.”