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So either we destroy them, or we control them.
My father sits at the head of the table with AJ at his right hand. I’m much further down the table. AJ enjoys seeing me get shredded, but even his smirk dies into impatience as my father drones on and on.
“The man made a mistake,” my father’s Underboss breaks in at last. “Let it go, Aldo.” Roberto “Monkeys” Scignatti is usually listened to—but not tonight.
My father is pissed because I risked my life in a battle that was lost before it began. But I wasn’t there on purpose, and if anyone is to blame for what went down, it’s the Capo, Brunello, who worked dock protection. A minor dispute with a ship’s crew stocked with Castellani imports turned into a week-long enforced boycott on unloading it, and ended with a bloody battle.
Alessandro Castellani wasn’t fucking around. He sent his hitman to remove the obstacle. And now we need a new Capo down at the docks.
My father is extra cranky about it because Brunello was an old friend, the kind of Family man who’s been with us for decades of his life.
But the massacre had nothing to do with me. I was there with only one particular Castellani in my mind. Why Julian was there, I don’t know. But when I saw my brothers giving their blood, I wasn’t going to stand around and do nothing.
I’m paying for it today. Aching all over, my back fucking killing me from landing on it after I got kicked off of—
“I cannot afford to lose my idiot son at the moment,” my father growls. He holds out his hand as if to stop Monkeys from speaking further, not taking his eyes off me. “What were you doing there?”
I lift my head to speak. “I was following orders, Don Bernardi.”
He studies me with contempt in the curl of his mouth, but I don’t take it personally. My father looks at everyone the same way. “You think you’re so clever,” he says at last, but his voice lacks the force it did earlier. “I don’t need clever from you. I need strength. I need obedience.”
“You have them.”
My father makes a noise of disgust, but he’s finally done. “You—Gino, you lazy fuck. What the hell is your fiancée doing? I hear she’s been cast in a movie those asshole Castellanis are producing. You pull her into line, or I’ll send someone to do it for you. Same with your crew, boy—the revenue coming in has flatlined…”
And so, at last, the spotlight moves on from me. I sit unmoving until the meeting ends. As I expected, my father points a finger at me to stick around. I have to wait while he confers with Monkeys and AJ in an undertone, and then he dismisses them and turns back to me, waiting until the other two have descended in the construction elevator.
I expect another tirade about the incident at the docks, so when all he says is, “Tell me,” I’m surprised for the first time tonight.
Tell him. Tell him how my mission is going.
How his plan to turn Julian Castellani is going.
My father is under the impression that Julian Castellani hasambitions. I’m under orders to encourage those ambitions, to offer support and sympathy.
Julian was the late Don Ciro Castellani’s preferred choice as heir. We all knew it. My father would have preferred it, too. Like Ciro, he believes Julian would be preferable to Alessandro Castellani.
Easier to manipulate. Easier to control.
Julian has a hedonistic, self-centered approach to life that my father thinks will be more useful to us than Sandro Castellani’s bullish devotion to duty and honor. And Julian is also a highly skilled killer, who enjoys getting elbow-deep in blood.
I’m not so convinced of my father’s plan. Julian is too unpredictable to be useful.
Exhibit A: kicking me off the fucking shipping container last night.
I thought he’d recognized me. I thoughtthatwas what his cat-on-heat behavior was all about. But in retrospect…
I don’t think he’s made the connection yet.
I’ve been given orders, so I’ll follow them. I understand my place in the hierarchy. I am to strike up a friendship with Julian, drip poison into his ear until I can convince him to work with us, a few jobs here and there. Point out what a great Don Castellani he’d make. Then, once he’s primed, suggest he make a move on the crown.
And as for why my father sentmefor this job…
It’s the thing he hates most about me, the thing he makes me keep hidden from everyone, and the one thing that makes me perfect for the job.
I’m gay. The implication was clear, even if the instructions weren’t. DowhateverI needed to do to get Julian on our side.
I’m just glad that, for once, Aldo Bernardi decided I could be useful for more than just threatening peons back into line. I’m certainlygoodat breaking arms and kneecaps, but it’s not always interesting work.
