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ANTONIO
“You sure about this?” G asks.
After Dom and Krishna took off, Giovanni and I were left in the dark, vacant alley a block over from my father’s home.
“He doesn’t need to be here for what I’m going to do.”
“Maybe he should.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t question me,” I bite out in a low tone with enough bark that he knows his words are grating on my nerves.
“Just offering advice, since that is my job,” he deadpans, not afraid of me like most people. Growing up together, we were always competitive. It never mattered to him who my father was, and back then, I appreciated that honesty. Even now, it’s the reason I made him my consigliere. I always knew he’d be perfect for that role. Even though he knows his place, he’ll never cower to me, and that’s exactly what I wanted and needed.
“Not where my kids are concerned.”
“As the underboss and the future head of this family, Domenico’s rank and what he’s involved in comes before being your son, Tony. You know this, and I know you don’t need my advice, but you also know I’m going to give it anyway. I’m not very apt at holding my tongue.”
“Let’s go in there and get this over with before I lose my control and end his life sooner than he deserves.”
I pride myself on patience and being in control of every aspect of my life. I wasn’t always that way. In my younger years, I didn’t care, nor did I know better. When my wife was killed, I certainly didn’t have an ounce of restraint. Finding my way as a single parent, running a family organization along with a multitude of different business ventures changed me over time into the man I am today.
I may be a coldhearted bastard to most that cross my path, but to my children, I’ll never be anything less than the father they deserve. I owe that to them and to Ariana.
I feel the vibration in the pocket of my slacks before I step in the direction that will lead me to taking Rafe Caputo’s life. I flipped the switch to silent before slipping out of Giovanni’s SUV because I didn’t want to be disturbed in my quest. I never ignore calls unless it absolutely cannot be prevented, which this case warrants, yet I find myself pulling the device from my pocket.
“Go scope out the perimeter. I’ll follow in a minute,” I spout, turning the screen to see it’s my daughter calling. She and G are the only two that know my real motivation for tonight.
“Finally come to your senses?” I open with instead of greeting my daughter. “Did you stab him and now need a cleanup crew?”
“Can anyone else hear me?” The seriousness of her tone makes my spine go rigid and all attempts at humor vanish.
“No,” I respond as I watch Giovanni make his way to the end of the alley.
“I lied,” she admits, and my eyes immediately cast down to the pothole-ridden ground.
“Come again?”
“Earlier tonight. You asked if I knew who was behind my abduction. I didn’t want to say in front of my brothers.”
“Who?” I demand, my voice low but lethal, harsh as if I were speaking to one of my capos or any of the other men that report to me.
“I only have Vin’s word—no proof—but . . .” her whispered tone trails off.
“Spit it out, Sienna.”
“Probably shouldn’t over the phone, Dad.”
“I don’t give a fuck. Tell me. Tell me now.” I’ve never spanked my children. No one has. Ari didn’t believe in that form of discipline, and in all honesty, I don’t feel it’s needed when there are far better ways to punish children when it’s called for; however, in this moment, I could beat her ass for not telling me immediately after returning home.
“Let’s just say your destination tonight will lead you to his front door.”
Fire ignites within me, rapidly spreading through every cell. From the day I started grooming her to manage our finances and marketing, Rafe Caputo was spitting out rhetoric, telling me all the ways I was making a mistake. She was never my mistake. Sienna is just as important in my family as her brothers, as I am, and now I know that my own father not only took my wife but had unimaginable plans for my daughter too . . .
I close my eyes, squeezing them so tight pain pierces my forehead between my brows as I bite down so hard on my teeth that I’m surprised they don’t crack. She told us that Vin had been given orders to kill her but tried to persuade her to vanish with him instead. I knew from the first day Si introduced Calvin Ross that he wasn’t the smartest tool in the shed. I indulged my daughter’s request, giving him small jobs, but nothing of importance—or so I thought.
Vin chauffeured my father around a few times a week. I didn’t need Rafe putting ideas in the ears of real made men that work for me. He has a way with words that makes men react exactly the way he wants them to. Manipulating is a skill he’s perfected over the years. He has the ability to make a man believe something was their idea when, in reality, he crafted it. I have no doubt Vin played right into his hands.
The question is, was it me that led him to the former boss?
