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Make him walk himself to his own death.
"Remind me, Francis, what was the deal you made with thefamiglia?"
I cross my arms as I look down at him, gesturing for him to hurry things along when he looks around the room instead of answering. "You were to marry Viva and in exchange thefamigliawould get complete access to all the south Piers."
I nod, running my tongue over my teeth. “You must make good money at your job to be able to buy out the piers like you did.” He shrugs in a noncommittal way, eyes leaving me to warily look at Andrea when he grunts. “Why the south Piers, though? I'm just curious why a simple man such as yourself would feel the need to invest in something so large. You've been an associate of thefamigliafor years, why suddenly feel the need to dive in so deep??
He swallows at my questions. I can tell they're making him nervous by the way his foot unconsciously taps on the floor with each one. “I just thought it would be a good investment.”
I nod, looking over his shoulder at Donatello and then to Andrea.
“Seems fair.” My gaze turns back on Francis’s frowning, I tap the side of my head with the brass knuckles. “You wouldn't happen to know Travis Castillo, would you?”
His eyes widen marginally before he masks it, and I smirk.
“Because if you did, and knew him well, you would have known that he's been a member of thefamigliafor decades. And a little Wolf told me that you borrowed money from him to buy the Piers. Which, there's no big deal there, as thefamigliais always happy to lend a hand, but you tried to pull a fast one on us, didn't you?”
My hand shoots out, pointing at his face when he starts to shake his head no, my tone turning dark. “Lie again and see what happens, Delfino.”
His head abruptly stops. The sides of his face starting to perspire under my gaze.
“Using Famiglia money to buy those piers would have been perfectly fine if you hadn't decided to turn around and use our money against us for your own gain. We don't tolerate that kind of disrespect.”
He starts shaking his head no again, mouth opening to say something, but I knock the lie about to come off his tongue with my brass knuckles, soundly punching him in the cheek so his head flies sideways and a nasty crack sounds throughout the warehouse. “We talked about lying.”
He whimpers to himself, eyes pinching closed around the pain. I wait until he looks at me again before continuing our very one-sided conversation.
“I have to admit, buying the south piers, knowing they’re the only ports we're able to get ammunition in, was pretty smart on your part. You had a good idea but the wrong execution.” I smile at Francis, rubbing my chin with the edge of my brass knuckles. “The funny thing about working with thefamiglia, Francis, is that thefamigliawill usually find a way to fuck you over, so even if you hadn't bought those piers for you own gain, we'd be here eventually, anyway.” I shift, making him flinch, and Donatello chuckles at the small whine that leaves Francis's chest. “And since we're being honest here, I'm also pretty fucking pissed at you for making me break my girl’s heart to marry your brat of a daughter.”
He shakes his head at me, mouth sputtering as he tries to find words through his growing panic. “I just wanted what was best for my daughter. You can't fault me for that!”
“What a good father. Selling your daughter to the most dangerous crime organization on this side of the country so that you could sit at the big kids’ table.” His face blanches at my mocking. My next jab bloodies his lips, sending a spray of it across the already stained cement at his feet. “You're either a compulsive liar or just not very fucking smart.”
Viva is a fool if she thinks her father actually had her best interests in mind.No, Daddy Delfino wanted his own piece of the power and thought he could get that with thefamiglia.And he may have,if he hadn't fucked with me.
I squat down so we're face-to-face, resting my forearms on my knees as he groans in the chair. “There is one major flaw in your plan, Francis. Do you know what it is?” I continue before he can respond. “When you signed that contract, you made me the sole beneficiary to any and all of your assets when you die. Did you know that? Or did they forget to mention that part?” By the way his eyes have turned into saucers, I'm assuming they didn't. “Do you see where I'm going with this?”
“You can't kill me! What about my wife? And Viva! She'syourwife!”
My head shakes at his panicky yells, my tongue swiping out to wet my lip as I smirk at him. “Viva and I won’t be married much longer. I can promise you that.”
He just gapes at me like a fish, and I reach out, tapping my knuckles along the side of his head, “Every action has a consequence, Francis. This is what happens when you meddle where you don't belong.” I lash out with another punch, this time to his ribs, bending to speak to the side of his face. “These next few are for Beverly.’
Letting my anger loose over the last half of the year, I lay my entire weight into every hit. There's a crack here, a pop there, blood staining my hands and arms, sprayed across my shirt. I put every ounce of hatred into my fists. A hit for everyday I've been forced to be away fromcuore mio, a hit for every fucking tear she shed that was at the expense of thefamiglia. I don't stop until my breathing is ragged and my knuckles are split and bruised. Not until the man in front of me is no longer recognizable as any kind of person buta thing. My hands are shaking as I stand there, watching the sluggish way Francis breathes, listening to the watery sound of it.
Holding my hand out, Donatello steps up, dropping a gun onto my palm. I raise it up, pushing Francis's head back so I’m looking into his face. Both of his eyes are swollen shut, the other crushed inside his skull. Leaning forward, I can speak into his ear, “And this is for thefamiglia.”
Standing straight, I pull the trigger, passing off the gun to Andrea and walking from the room as Francis’s head drips blood and other matter onto the floor. A cigarette is tugged out of my pocket and lit, my eyes rising to look at the pinks and yellows of the sunset. Holding the cigarette between my lips, I pull the brass knuckles from my fingers, wincing slightly as they run over the raw flesh.
Donatello comes out to stand next to me, eyes going to the sunset as I blow smoke into the sky. “Andrea called some of the soldiers to come take care of the body.” I nod, more smoke leaving my lips. “Where are you going now?”
I look over at him, taking the cigarette from my mouth and snuffing it on the warehouse wall. “To take care of Viva.”
Walking through the front door I listen for Viva, knowing she usually spends her evenings watching TV. Sliding my brass knuckles from my pocket, I set them on the console table before walking toward the living room. The back of her golden head comes into view where she’s rested against the couch and I make my way to her. Leaning over the back, I reach around to grip her throat, thumb stroking along her jaw when she jumps. Her face tilts back under my palm, eyes finding mine, and she relaxes after realizing it's me. I press my lips to her ear when she looks back at the TV, "Get out."
She twists on the couch, watching me pull away from her as she sits on her knees, frowning with confusion. “What?”
“Your father had an accident.” I pull my bloody shirt over my head and toss it away as she gapes in silent shock. “He's dead.” Her eyes flick over my body like she's just now seeing the blood. I washed my hands and arms before coming here, but my bruised knuckles and bloodied clothes couldn't be washed away. “You're going to move back in with your mother.”
