Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 82847 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82847 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Luigi moved to his knees, bringing his hands together like it was Sunday mass. “I’m sorry, Don Mancini. I plead for your forgiveness. You can kill me, but please, not my boy. He has nothing to do with this… Please.” He started to whimper and cry, a groveling idiot.
I crossed my arms over my chest and watched the show.
“You’re the one who betrayed me, and when I gave you another chance, you decided to betray me again.” He said it solemnly, almost apologetically. “Our families have worked together for generations. They’d roll over in their graves if they knew this is how it came to an end.”
Luigi continued to shake, his hands clasped together. “Please, Vincenzo. Please…”
Don Mancini stared down at Dante. “If I didn’t yield, you would have killed my son.”
“But I didn’t,” Luigi said. “I didn’t kill your son.”
“You would have killed him and then the rest of us,” he said matter-of-factly. “Or stolen my family business that’s endured for generations…and left me humiliated. When Cosa Nostra came for you, I stood beside you. When the Skull King threatened you, I stood beside you. When customs changed and the shipments were turned upside down, I stood beside you. But the second you saw an opportunity for power and greed, you stabbed me in the back.”
“I was wrong, and it won’t happen again.”
“Trust is broken now, Luigi. There’s no going back after this.”
“That’s—that’s not true—”
“But from one father to another, I’ll grant you one mercy. Your son has chosen a quiet life raising a family by the sea, to tend to his land like a man—and I respect that. I’ll let him go. But it’s a very different outcome for the rest of you—except for those who bend the knee and choose to work for me.”
In just a few seconds, every man in that room was on his knees.
“Good choice,” he said. “Except for the three of you.” He looked at Luigi and his closest cronies, the ones he’d conferred with, the ones he’d probably planned all of this with. “Wolfe, take care of this.”
I moved forward and grinned from ear to ear. “Happy to, boss.” I gripped my knife and went first for Luigi, who tried to crawl away like a scared puppy. “Who’s the dog now, huh?” I stabbed him in the back, right through the spine, and watched him crumple to the floor. Then I moved for the next one, who got up and ran for the door.
I laughed uproariously as I dashed after him. “Ooh, I feel like a kid on the playground.” I punched him in the back of the head so hard he hit the floor and slid into the wall, and then an audible crack sounded from his neck.
The last guy ran for the stairs at the back of the warehouse, an escape route that was a little smarter.
I had a bullet in my pocket, so I grabbed the nearest corresponding pistol on the floor, loaded it, and then shot him just before he reached the second floor. Hit him right in the head, and he rolled back down the stairs until he landed on the pavement at the bottom. “Damn, I hate this part,” I said as I tossed the gun on the table. “When the fun’s over.”
14
WOLFE
Everyone made it. Didn’t get shot. I’ll call you when I can. I texted Francesca just like I promised then returned the phone to my pocket.
We loaded Dante into a car so he could be returned to his house, while the guys who’d surrendered cleaned up the mess of bodies on the warehouse floor. The men outside surrendered too, even though they had no idea that their guns were faulty.
“We’ll start the business transition tomorrow,” Don Mancini said. “I wasn’t looking to expand, we’ll need more guys, but we’ll make it work.” He headed for the main door. “Let’s head out. It’s almost dawn.”
After we finished up, we headed back to the SUVs that waited to take us back home.
Don Mancini moved to the middle SUV. “Wolfe, you’re with me.”
Leo was about to walk up on the other side of the SUV to join his father, but when he heard the order, he moved to the front vehicle, the one I’d ridden in on the way here.
Everyone got in the cars, and we headed to the winery in Caltanissetta. The sun was starting to rise, the sky still a dark blue as light slowly crept across the land. It was a quiet drive because it was spent in silence.
I expected Don Mancini to have something to say to me, but he stared straight ahead.
I turned to look at the side of his face.
He felt my stare and met my gaze.
“This is the part where you tell me I was right, thank me, and give me a nice pat on the shoulder.”