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Severino massages his temples. “You don’t want to know.”
Tommaso nods. “Neomi’s doing?”
“I’ll explain later.” Severino curls his lip and points at Alden. “Help Benny dispose of the body since it’s your sister’s fault the idiot is dead.”
“I’ll do it myself,” I reply, stopping Tommaso from stepping toward me.
I’m not messy with my cleanup. Involving someone I’ve never worked with to help cover up a crime is reckless.
Tommaso lets out a relieved breath.
There’s no missing the revulsion on Severino’s face at how easily his son disobeyed his orders and allowed me to boss him around. If I were Tommaso, I’d make sure the body was properly disposed of.
“My men will escort you out,” my father tells them, done with the conversation. “Expect a call from me in an hour, Severino.”
Severino shakes my hand and then my father’s. Neither one of us even offers our hand to Tommaso. He doesn’t deserve even a word from us after his delayed response to gunshots at his sister’s engagement party.
As soon as they leave, my father locks the door. “Your behavior tonight was unacceptable. You have yet to marry, and you’re already creating problems.”
I’d rather be shot in the kneecaps than see disappointment from my father.
“I made a mistake,” I say, wiping my hands down my pants.
A hint of amusement crosses his stern face. “I have a feeling you’ve met your match, son.”
“You can’t blame me for killing that motherfucker.”
“Of course not, which is why I’m allowing you to dispose of the body however you see fit. Get it done. I don’t want to see a trickle of blood when you finish.”
After he leaves, I text my cousins Luca and Romeo and tell them to get their asses to the billiards room. I might not trust Tommaso to help with the job, but I do trust them. Luca’s father, my uncle Lorenzo, trained us for years on the best ways to get rid of dead bodies.
I was eleven the first time I saw Neomi at a wedding, but I didn’t know what we’d become until years later. She was in the row before me, chomping on a Jolly Rancher. I should’ve known she was a psychopath then. Whochews onJolly Ranchers? When I asked her if she had any extras, she whipped around and told me they were five dollars each.
I scoffed, telling her I could buy an entire bag for that price.
“Then, leave and go buy a bag,” she said, unwrapping a purple one and shoving it into her mouth. “And now, the price has gone up to six dollars.”
I paid the six dollars—not wanting to look like I didn’t have money—and requested a green one. She handed over a red one, turned around, and flipped her hair over her shoulder. Throughout the ceremony, I caught her sneaking glances in my direction, so I kept my eyes on her.
She forgot her Jolly Rancher bag in the pew when the wedding ended. I took it, and when she returned, asking if anyone had seen it, I told her no and left.
I’ve hated red Jolly Ranchers since.
“Oh, fuck yeah,” Romeo says, barging into the room and seeing Alden’s body. He holds his hand out to Luca for a high five, but Luca ignores it. “I was hoping it’d be someone I didn’t like.”
“His face is blown off,” Luca says. “How do you know who it is?”
“I got stuck working surveillance,” Romeo says. “I recognize his tie after having to listen to him brag to a woman about how much money he had for thirty fucking minutes. No one drives a Maserati and brags about it anymore, bro.”
I rub my hands together. “Let’s get this done. I have shit to do.”
* * *
“Goddamn,I didn’t expect that slimy motherfucker to be so heavy,” Luca says as we leave the funeral home and slide into my black Range Rover.
“I think I’m getting better at this cleanup thing,” Romeo says with pride.
Luca whips around in the front seat to stare at Romeo in the back. “Good job not puking this time, you weak motherfucker.”
