LUCA My control was hanging by a thread as I listened to my men. Matthew also seemed to have every intention of releasing our uncles from the burden of life.
Uncle Gottardo and Uncle Ermano seemed to argue quietly, but I bet they were planning to overthrow me behind closed doors. Ermano was a coward and Gottardo was only marginally better, but eventually they would act. Perhaps Gottardo would send his remaining legitimate son to kill me.
“War was inevitable,” I growled. “You know that as well as I do. Don’t pretend you haven’t all been waiting for an opportunity to spill Outfit blood again.” My Subchiefs nodded and so did most of my Captains. Not Gottardo and Ermano, though.
My eyes went up to the high ceiling of the power plant.
I had chosen it for every meeting of my Captains and Sub-Captains for the past three years to remind them of my bloody declaration. I had a feeling that their memory needed to be refreshed.
Gottardo hit the table with his fist, bringing my gaze back to him, and pushed Ermano’s pacifying hand away. “Enough,” he muttered. “You risked too much by bringing in the youngest of the Scuderi girls and making her Captain.” Gottardo nodded toward Romero with a condescending grunt.
Romero stiffened in his chair, but Gottardo turned back to me.
“All because you let the blond hooker Scuderi lead you around by the dick.”
I pushed the huge table away and grabbed my uncle by the throat, lifting him off the chair and throwing him to the floor.
I pushed him against the wall and clamped both hands on his neck and squeezed as hard as I could. His head turned red, his eyes wide. He was clawing, hitting and scratching me, but I did not loosen my grip. No one dared come to his aid as he fought for his life.
I stared into his eyes as I had done many years before when I had killed his son. His bones gave way, piercing his carotid artery and esophagus. He choked, blood gushed from his lips. He coughed , choking on his own fucking blood. The blood hit my face and shirt as he gasped. I did not loosen my grip until the light left his fucking eyes, then I loosened my grip and let his corpse fall to the ground at my feet.
Around me, silence had fallen. I turned toward my men. My hands, face, and shirt were covered in blood, and from the expression on Matthew’s face of shock and sick fascination, I knew I was a sight straight out of Hell.
“I am your chief. I rule the East Coast. I rule you. If anyone has a problem with me, then come forward and tell me to my face, and I will guarantee you a fucking quick death. But I swear by Heaven and Hell that crushing my uncle’s throat will seem like a merciful end to the next asshole who dares to insult my wife. I will not stand for any kind of disrespect.”
Several men nodded in assent; others seemed to have pooped their pants. I didn’t give a shit. “This meeting is over.”
I nodded to my uncle’s men, then pointed to the remaining son, who did not seem particularly sad about his father’s passing. “Take his body home. I hope one day you will not share the fate of your brother and father.”
I turned around, fucking tired of this reunion. Matteo was behind me as I strided out of the power plant and headed for my Aston Martin.
Matteo stepped in front of me before I could get behind the wheel. “I think I should drive. You’re not quite sane right now.”
I shoved the keys at him. “You think?” I muttered.
He went back to the trunk, returned a moment later, and handed me a clean white shirt. “Maybe you should change. I don’t want to have to explain this to the police if we get caught. They’re not all on our payroll, remember?”
I took off my shirt and cleaned my face and hands , but the pink tinge remained. Romero came out after us and I gave him the shirt. “Can you burn it?”
He nodded, his eyes worried as he took my T-shirt. I didn’t need their fucking worries. I was fine.
I got into the car and Matteo got behind the wheel. We drove in silence but he kept looking at me. “Are you okay?”
I frowned. “I’ve killed so many people. Do you think I still care?”
“The last time you slit someone’s throat, you were a little unbalanced after that. You were tense anyway, considering everything that happened.”
Tense was a strange way of putting it. Since the war had broken out, the voices in the Family wanting me to leave had gotten louder. They were still a small minority, but they were making life difficult for me. Perhaps I had silenced some enemies that night, or perhaps I had gained new ones. It was hard to say yet. I should have replaced my uncles with younger, more reliable Underbosses. I had tolerated them long enough. It was time for them to retire before I had to kill another.
“Shall we go back to our wives? Or do you need more time to calm down?” asked Matteo.
“I don’t need time to calm down. I am fine. All I want is to have Aria’s naked body under me.”
Matteo gave me another sideways glance. I hardly ever mentioned sex with Aria. I hated sharing even that little bit of Aria with someone. We spent the rest of the trip in silence. Usually my pulse slowed rapidly after the kill, but this time it did not.
When we arrived in the driveway of the mansion, I was still excited. Romero arrived shortly after and together we entered the house. There was silence as we moved into the living room . The women had put up the remaining Christmas decorations. The Christmas tree glowed red and silver. I needed a quiet Christmas; I was looking forward to a few quiet days with my real family.
My cell phone beeped, announcing an e-mail. I pulled it out of my back pocket. It was from a journalist contact and the ‘subject line said “Urgent” followed by a dozen exclamation points. I paused and clicked on the e-mail.
I had received it from a colleague in Chicago and prevented it from making the rounds or, worse, becoming a headline.
I clicked on the three attached photos.