Part One Hundred and Nine

Part One Hundred and Nine
Gage walked into the church and sat down in the front row and bent his head, closing his eyes and clasping his hands together. To any other person he would like a man deep in prayer, but Gage was waiting.
He glanced up at the sound of the confessional box’s door opening and he watched the woman as she dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief and walked past him. He waited another five seconds before getting up.
Gage closed the door behind him and settled into the shadows of the confessional box. The partition was opened and he could make out the priest’s features. “In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been five weeks since my last confession. My sins are lust.”
“Your penance is to pray the Act of Contrition, my child.”
“That is not my only sin, Father,” Gage said.
“What other sins are you guilty of?”
“Where do I start, Father. I lusted after this woman and I fucked her hard on my kitchen counter. I couldn’t help myself, even though I knew she was a victim, I fucked all my frustrations away and she let me. She screamed for more as I rammed my dick into her, over and over again. I’ve fucked her a few times since then, always hard. I bent her over the coffee table and fucked her slowly until she begged me to stop, but I didn’t stop. I just kept fucking her and fucking her, even now my dick is so hard, I want to pull it out right here and I wish she could straddle me and ride me hard,” Gage said.
“Fuck sakes, Gage, is that you?”
Gage chuckled and moved closer to the partition so Tomassino could see him. “Was it the fucking part that gave it away or the fucking part?”
Tomassino shook his head and grinned. “It was the fucking part.”
Gage barked out a laugh and leaned closer to the partition. “Do you know why I’m here?”
“You know I don’t get involved in la famiglia politics, it’s why I chose the church and turned my back on my father.”
“I need you to come with me,” Gage said.
“Am I coming with you willingly or did you want to grab me outside and make it look like a kidnapping?”
Gage grinned. “God loves you, Tomassino, willingly would be better for us in these circumstances.
“Let me go change. I’ll meet you outside in five,” Tomassino said.
Gage left the confessional box and leaned against the door. Tomassino exited from his side and grinned at Gage. “It’s good to see you, cousin.” They hugged briefly and Gage walked toward the church’s doors and waited for Tomassino.
Ten minutes later, Tomassino walked out of the church wearing jeans, boots and a t-shirt, looking nothing like the priest he’d been ten minutes earlier. He made his way to Gage and climbed into his car.
“Where am I being held? At least tell me I’ll be comfortable,” Tomassino said.
“I’m taking you to the country estate. Nobody will look for you there,” Gage said.
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on to warrant my kidnapping?”
Gage glanced at him and grinned again. “Eris was killed last night and Dominic thinks it might be retribution for Alejandro’s murder.”
Tomassino’s eyes widened as he looked at Gage. “Fuck, Gage, I’m so sorry about Eris. Why would Dominic kill Alejandro?”
“He didn’t, I did.”
“I will not shed any tears over that man,” he murmured.
“Why not? He’s your father’s advisor,” Gage said.
“He’s an asshole. He took me with him one day, trying to make me a man. There was a girl in a cage in a warehouse. I’ll never forget her screams, Gage. He carved his initials into her skin while I stood in the shadows and tried not to cry.”
Gage’s knuckles whitened on the steering wheel and it felt like he couldn’t breathe. “Go on, cousin.”
“He raped her, some Russian girl, and when we left, he told me that next time I could carve mine into her other shoulder. He’s a sick fucking man, Gage. I’m not sorry he’s dead,” Tomassino said.
“That Russian girl is under my protection and I’ve already claimed her as mine. The wedding is only a formality now,” Gage said.
“Fuck, Gage. I’m sorry … I …”
“I killed Alejandro for her. She watched me cut his dick off, the dick that raped her and then I sodomized him with a baton for carving his name into her. She asked me to make him bleed and I let her watch as he breathed his last breath.”
“How would my father know that you killed Alejandro? Nobody even thinks of you as dangerous, Gage,” he said.
“Dominic’s just guessing. We’re waiting for more information but I can tell you, whoever is responsible for this will bleed.” The look in Gage’s eyes told Tomassino exactly what Gage would do to the man responsible, family by blood or not.
“If you had to guess,” Tomassino said. He knew Gage pretty well. He was only a few years older than him and Tomassino had spent a lot of time with his cousins. Gage was a savage, always had been, even as a child, he’d scared the shit out of Tomassino.
“I think it’s the Chinese sending us a message. I think the Chinese are pissed off at the Vittori family, not only because of Wei’s murder but also because Rocco can’t deliver what he promised.”
“Rocco has always made deals in haste.” Tomassino shook his head sadly.
“He killed Conrad for the godfather seat,” Gage said and glanced at Tomassino again.
“Holy shit!”
“He admitted as much at the Elder meeting. There will come a time when you’ll have to choose, Tomo. We love you like a brother, but we will kill you with your father nonetheless.”
“My loyalties have not changed, Gage, not in all these years.”