Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 62266 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 311(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62266 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 311(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
“Sweetness.” Z kisses my shoulder again, not shy at all about giving me affection in a room full of people. My father had always been that way with Mom. It did often make them stand out in this kind of setting because they were truly in love.
“My sister isn’t wrong.” War speaks loudly and clearly for the whole room to hear. “Tullio isn’t wrong either.” Boo, I don’t want to be grouped with him. “I am in charge.” He stares right at Tullio. “And things are changing.” He glances over to Ronan and then to Z. “You might not like those changes, but it’s how my brothers and I will be moving forward.”
“Dario.” Tullio calls to my father, who shakes his head at him. Murmurs break out in the room. I’m sure many are not happy about this news.
“You change, or you get left behind,” Z adds.
“Or we do what we need to.” Ronan speaks for the first time. Always so quiet but never missable, that brother of mine.
“This is not why I thought we were here.” Tullio keeps pushing. As for Sal, he’s not looking so great. “We were told this would be an apology for his behavior.” He points his fat, short finger at Z.
“We’re not here for no reason, Tullio,” Z responds. “I thought this place was rather fitting since you drugged Rochelle here.”
“I did no such thing!” Tullio starts to stand from his seat.
“Sit the fuck down,” Ronan orders him.
“You might not have done it, but you knew it was happening, didn’t you?” Z goes on. Holy shit. Tullio is shaking his head adamantly no. “You capitalized on it. It wasn’t really Rochelle that you wanted. No, it was a favor, a debt so you could have Cosima.”
“What?” Sal turns toward his father, sweating more. What the hell is wrong with him?
“Don’t play dumb, Sal. You knew. Not back then, but you’ve known for years.” Z calls Sal on his bullshit.
“Dario, do you believe this? You know he’s insane. Just like his father.” Tullio tries to pave himself a way out of this.
I swear if I could, I would reach down, take my knife out of my garter, and cut that man's tongue out for talking about Z like that. But I know that I can’t lose my temper right now. Not when the stakes are so high.
“I believe him,” my father says without hesitation. “Even without the proof Z showed me.” Dad reaches into his suit coat pocket, pulling out papers to hand over to Tullio.
Tullio scans them. “What are they?” I whisper, maybe too loudly.
“Communications between them.” Z nods to Sal and Tullio.
“How do you have these?” Sal takes the papers from his father.
“I hacked them,” Z says simply. “Eat, your food is getting cold.” Tullio glances down at his soup. “Scared history is repeating itself?”
I peek down at my own soup. Did Z do something to Tullio’s food? I suppose that would be fitting; they’d done that to our mom.
Tova has a hand over her mouth, eyes wide. I can’t tell if she’s enjoying the show. I’m not sure how I feel about it yet. I’ll need to see the ending first.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Z
The color is slowly draining from Tullio’s face. He pushes the bowl of soup a few inches away from him.
“You hacked us. As in through the computer?” He sounds shocked. A lot of these old timers think there are only FEDs tapping your phones or bugging your house. “That’s not how things are done.” Tullio stands, searching the faces of the other families at different tables. As though him doing so is going to change the outcome of this evening.
“Is that true?” one asks. “If so, that is not how we do things.”
“As Z said, you change or you get left behind,” War tells them. “The old ways are dying. Times are changing, as are the rules of the game.”
The murmurs start to grow loud. It’s making Tullio more confident. He’s nodding along with everyone.
“None of you are okay with any change. Everything I’ve done recently there has been pushback on,” War continues.
“And you just get to decide?” Tullio puffs out his chest. Cosima rolls her eyes.
“This is how it will be.” War's tone is filled with warning.
“You think we all will just allow this?” Someone else speaks. We knew this wouldn’t go over well, but we aren’t asking. We’re telling.
I took everything Dario told me weeks ago about the target on my head if people knew what I was capable of very seriously. If it puts a target on me, then it puts one on my wife as well. That, I couldn’t have. And I also won’t live my life worrying about them finding out.
“I won’t tolerate these accusations, and I surely won’t sit here and take them. We’re leaving.” Tullio thinks he’s on a roll now, already heading for the door, leaving his son behind.