the type of person who
gives gays a bad name, and if God was real he would put you down
like the fucking dog you are.”
The front door opened, my eyes shooting to
it. Christo stepped inside, the man a bald and much slimmer version
of his twin. “Who’s a fucking dog?” he said with a grin.
The Padre pushed up from his chair and went to his
brother, the twins embracing. After a few seconds, the Padre pulled back, giving
his brother a good stare. “You’ve lost weight, Christo, and what
happened to your hair?”
“ I shaved it off.” Christo
headed for Nino, embracing him as well. He let go and took a hold
of Nino’s face. “I will avenge what was done to your father and
brother, I promise you that, Nino.”
Nino nodded, the man looking choked
up.
Christo headed for me next, also giving
me a hug. “You’re looking well, Matteo. I’m very pleased you are
here to help.”
I pulled back and smiled at him,
grateful that someone appreciated what I was doing. After Alberto
had died, I could’ve washed my hands of the entire situation, but I
didn’t because I wanted to find Alberto’s killer as well help the
family, no matter what the others thought.
He smiled back. “So, what’s the
plan, nipote ?” he said, calling me nephew . Well, I think it meant that, although I
wasn’t sure since my grandfather used to call me it too, so maybe
it was an endearment. Fuck, Italian was confusing.
I leaned back against the
wall. “I’m
going to get at the D’Angelos through their weakest link: Jagger’s
half-brother. He’s now staying at the Landi house.”
“ That place is a
fortress.”
“ Maybe, but the Landi do go out,
notably the sisters, who seem to have adopted the little puppy. I
will go to the clubs they frequent tonight, and get with one of the
sisters.”
“ Smart boy. Work through the
women to get to the men.” He patted my cheek. “I knew I could trust
you.”
Feeling proud, I flicked Nino a
glance, basically saying ‘I fucking told you, you useless prick’,
but the man was texting on his phone, probably ordering in some
hookers. I shifted my focus to the Padre , who was grinning from ear to ear, making me want
to cut his throat from ear to ear.
I refocused on Christo. “Your brother is
responsible for our family’s downfall.”
“ That’s a lie!” the Padre said, storming
over, his grin now gone.
Christo stepped in front of his
brother. “You may deny it all you want, dear brother, but I have
been informed that it was you who compromised the famiglia .”
“ That is not so.”
“ I wish that were true.” Christo exhaled,
looking frustrated. “I told you numerous times that you were not to
go near Jagger.”
“ His true name is Gabriel, and
my angel belongs with me.”
“ Jagger is no one’s angel, and I
want you to stop this ridiculous obsession; it has gotten our
brother and nephew killed.”
“ That wasn’t my fault,
they had heart attacks.”
“ In the same day? I don’t
think so. Knowing the D’Angelos it was a hit. Poison would be my
guess.”
“ Regardless, this is not my doing, and you
can’t blame me for their deaths,” the Padre said, now looking stricken.
“ Maybe, but when you knock
a domino down, the rest fall.”
“ What is that supposed to
mean?”
“ You wanting to fuck Jagger has
fucked our whole famiglia over . So, forget about him, he’ll be dead soon
anyway.”
The Padre’s face turned vicious. “You are not to harm
him.”
“ That boy will be the death of
you if we don’t kill him.”
“ No, he’ s my light, my reason for
living.”
“ What the fuck are you talking
about, Micky ? This is not a romance novel, so stop spouting shit. He
despises you and wants you buried six feet underground .”
“ He does not.”
“ He sliced your dick off! That
speaks of hate to me, and you’re being delusional, even more so
than usual, if you think you can live happily ever after with
him .”
“ There is always
hope.”
Christo