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The shots we’d heard from around front were growing closer. Strangely, the sounds comforted me. It meant my brothers were still alive and shooting their way out of the club. After losing Gia, I couldn’t bear the thought of losing my brothers too. Even if they were bastards most of the time, they were still my blood.
Sonny peeled back a curtain and stole a glance, before releasing his hold on the fabric. He took a few steps back, his gun drawn and ready to fire. A few seconds later, my brothers ran through the curtain past us with blood on their faces.
“Let’s go!” Pete yelled, pushing open the heavy back door.
Following behind Pete and Marco, I took off with Sonny on my rear. We hauled ass around the side of the building, with two men behind us. They fired several shots which barely missed my ear. Pete and Marco took off toward the bar next door. He ordered Sonny to get the car. Like a good soldier, Sonny listened to Pete, but I wasn’t about to let him go alone. He needed backup.
Pete and Marco waited off to the side of a dumpster at the edge of the parking lot, while Sonny and I used the few cars around us for cover. My brothers lucked out and lost their tail. The two men followed Sonny and me, continuing to shoot at us. They either had the worse aim ever, or someone was watching over us. Each bullet barely grazed our bodies. We made it to the car just as another bullet hit the fender.
Sonny peeled out of the lot and drove over to where Marco and Pete were waiting for us. My brothers got in the back seat and slammed their doors as Sonny drove off the lot. The bullets stopped once we were on Pacific Avenue.
I turned around in my seat to face Pete and Marco. “What the fucked was that about?”
Pete wiped the blood on his forehead with his hand, smearing some of it down the side of his face. He was out of air, his breathing shallow. “I asked to speak to Dante. His men told us to wait for him in a private room off the back of the building. Something was off. I could feel it. So, I decided to cut our losses and bail.”
“But Dante had other plans,” Marco added. “We had to shoot our way out of there. He had six men on us. The whole thing was a setup.”
It wasn’t until I took a better look that I realized Pete was bleeding, and that it wasn’t the blood of a man he killed. “You need a doctor.”
Pete rolled his eyes at me. “I’m fine. Nothing a bottle of whiskey and a blow job can’t fix.”
I shook my head, laughing. “Suit yourself.”
Pete glanced out the window as Atlantic City
passed us by. “Gia wasn’t there. Two girls were dancing on the left stage, but I didn’t see her anywhere. If Dante has Gia, she’s not at the club.”
“None of this makes sense, Pete.” I bit the inside of my cheek to keep myself from blowing up. Rage bubbled inside my chest, which always fueled me to do stupid things. “Why would he send me a video of Gia at his club if he didn’t want us to come after her?”
“We did what Dante wanted,” Pete shot back. “He lured us there to kill us.”
“Is he on Enzo’s side now? I thought Pops was on good terms with the DiSalvos.”
Pete blew out a puff of air, frustrated. “So did I.”
“Whatever Pop did behind our backs is blowing up in our faces.”
He pointed his finger at me. “Don’t talk about Pop like that. He wouldn’t put all of us in danger without warning us first.”
“Dad only cares about himself, Pete.” I gripped the headrest, my teeth clenched in anger. “When will you see that for yourself? You’re so blind when it comes to him. We’re nothing more than toys he takes out when he wants to play with us.”
“Shut your fucking mouth, Angelo.” Pete’s voice rumbled in the quiet air.
“Your loyalty to him will be the death of us all.”
I should have listened to his warning. Before I could move my head, Pete leaned forward, gripped me in his hand, and slammed my head into the window.
An intense pain burrowed into my skull and spread down my back and arms. “Fuck,” I screamed, reaching for Pete’s hand.
He released his grip on me and sank back into his seat. “When will you ever fucking listen? That mouth will be the death of you. It’s probably the reason your girl’s gone.”
I wanted to swing at Pete, but I knew better than to talk back. He would only make it worse for me once the car stopped. Whether I liked it or not, Pete was in charge. Being a member of his crew wasn’t like showing up late to work and losing pay as my punishment. When one of us fucked-up, we either got the shit beat out of us, or paid in some embarrassing way that satisfied Pete’s sick sense of humor.
“So, what’s the plan?” Marco broke the silence in the car.
Pete turned to look at Marco and shrugged. “We need time to plan. It’s obvious Dante’s working with Enzo and Big John.”
“Enzo’s turned all of our allies against us.” Marco leaned his head back and pushed a hand through his hair, agitated. “How the fucked did he manage that?”
