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“Bludgeoning? That’s a big word coming from you, Stefano. Whose company have you been keeping recently?” Luca taunted him as he sat down in a chair opposite from them.
“I’m fuckin’ sick and tired of how you’re always humiliating us, Luca. We’re not stupid.” Rocco shifted under Luca’s regard. “We might use unorthodox methods at times but you fuckin’ know that everything we do; we do for the family.”
“We are as educated as you and yes, I know fucking big words. Just because I’m a free spirit who likes to have fun in between doesn’t mean I’m any less committed to our cause than you.” Stefano groaned as he leaned forward. Pain slashed across his face. “Fuck, I think I’ve got broken ribs too.” He gnashed on his teeth. “Fucking bastard!”
“And therein lies the crux of my anger, Stefano. Based on the fact that both of you look like you were punching bags for more than a couple of fists, it’s not difficult to make an educated guess what happened.” One eyebrow crawled higher. “Well? I’m waiting.”
Stefano squirmed under Luca’s sharp glare. He glanced at Rocco. He had a feeling that Luca already knew what they had done but reveled in making them suffer. In some ways he was worse than Marco Boneiro. Their father hardly showed his emotions except when in the presence of their mother, Isabella. He doted on her and he openly showed his love for her. Luca, on the other hand, was devoid of emotion. Stefano often wondered if he was born that way since he couldn’t recall ever seeing him laugh or show any signs of enjoyment.
Luca had little time for his two younger brothers. It had been like that as far back as Stefano could remember. At times, he believed that Luca hated them, or at the very least, resented them for ever being born.
“This is bullshit.” Rocco jumped up, pushed open the sliding door and stood staring out over the rolling hills to give himself a moment to calm down. He and Stefano always had to fight to be acknowledged in the Boneiro Family. It was past time their efforts were appreciated. He snapped at his older brother. “At least we tried to do something. We didn’t fuck off to Sierra Leone like you did. You know as well as I do that we can’t afford that rough diamond importation bill to be passed. Our entire business would crumble.”
“Exactly,” Stefano interjected. “We had no idea when you and the Boss were planning on returning. We had to do something.”
“Hmm.” Luca linked his fingers together over his stomach. He looked between them. “And you did what?”
“Get off your high horse, Luca. You already know what we did.” Rocco walked to the bar in the corner. He was agitated as he poured a stiff bourbon. Everyone feared Marco Boneiro but the two brothers dreaded Luca. To them, he represented the devil incarnate— always had, since they were kids. He was Marco’s right hand man, his confidant and the only one in the Mob who had the Don’s approval tofixa problem in the Family.
“You kidnapped Senator Wilson’s daughter.”
“Fuckin’ right we did,” Stefano boasted. “We had Wilson in the bag!”
“Which is why you were detained and beaten and are now hiding here, you fucking geniuses.”
Rocco bristled at the humiliating remark. “Everything went according to plan.” He hammered the neat Jack Daniels and poured another. “We have no fucking idea how those bastards found out we had her or how they tracked her to our house.”
“Marco’s house, which means the one place he and mom had always called home is now on every Fed’s shit list. What the fuck were you thinking?” He gestured toward their faces. “Who tuned you up? I find it hard to believe the SFPD or the Feds did this to you. We would’ve known if they were onto us.”
“We don’t know. They wore balaclavas when they interrogated us. We were kept in steel-walled rooms for two days and when they couldn’t get anything out of us, they dumped us off the bridge in Lake Merced Park.” Rocco took a sip of his drink. “We then made our way here.”
“And the others?”
Rocco and Stefano looked at each other.
“What others?” Stefano winced as Luca shot a searing glance at him. “We don’t know. There are no reports that Wilson’s daughter has been found. Dante and Enzo managed to escape. They’re probably holed up at the Pier 70 warehouses.”
“Which means four of them were captured.” Luca shook his head in disgust. “You totally fucked up. Kidnapping is not our MO. You know that. Marco had already put a plan into play. Now, everything is fucked up thanks to both of you. Un-fucking believable!”
“Oh yeah? Whose fucking fault is that? You never tell us anything.” Rocco glared at Luca. “You and the Boss treat us like shit! We’re family for fuck’s sake! Shouldn’t that give us priority over the rest of the crew? To at least know what is going on?”
Luca got up to join Rocco at the bar. He stared at Rocco as he poured himself a drink.
“Why the sudden desire to have inside information on how the Don’s mind works, brother? The two of you are caporegimes of your own regions. The Don has rarely shot down any of your suggestions. Neither he nor I have ever interfered. What made you think you had the right to interfere in something that’s outside of your jurisdiction... or demand information that’s got nothing to do with you.” Luca tilted his head back to drain the glass. He reveled in the warmth as the liquor burned down his throat. “If there’s one thing Marco would never be accused of, it’s nepotism.”
“Says the big Underboss... who is Marco’s oldest son!” Stefano teamed. He walked to the patio where he lit a cigarette. He glared at Luca over his shoulder. “How’sthatfor nepotism, big brother?”
Luca didn’t bother to respond to the accusation. His brothers knew it was unfounded. He’d been voted in unanimously as the Underboss when the position became available. There had been no doubt in anyone’s mind that he was the perfect man for the job. The entire mob, including the members of the other four Mafia Families in the U.S., regarded him as Marco’s successor. There were those in the family who looked to him for advice.
“You wish me to believe they pummeled you black and blue and you didn’t give them shit?” Luca returned to the matter at hand.
Rocco shot a scornful look at him. “What they did to us pales in comparison to what you did when you... how did you word it again... prepared us as capos.” He went outside to join Stefano. Luca watched them but didn’t follow. “I got the impression it’s not us they’re after. They want the Boss… and you.”
“Yeah, they wanted him in custody but I told the bastard you and he had been on vacation for the past two weeks so they had fuckall.” Stefano glared at Luca. “Why else would they have let us go?”
“Yes, little brother, tell me. It’s a question I’ve been asking myself. They caught you with the little girl which proved that you were involved in her kidnapping. Why didn’t they charge you? Then dump you at a lake?”
Rocco and Stefano looked quizzically at Luca. They’d thought themselves lucky to be let go. Now, they had to wonder why.
