Chapter 32 Something Fishy
Roman.
I watch as Tony plunges the screwdriver into the man’s palm. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Michael flinch. He’s never been one for torture, preferring to kill someone and be done with it.
I revel in the sounds that fill the air. Satisfied that he’s suffered enough, I ask Tony to stop. He does so immediately, turning to face me. His hands are covered in blood, and even some on his face.
And despite all this, he manages to smile. Elena always calls me a psychopath, but honestly, her brother is more deserving of that title.
Thoughts of Elena make my teeth clench, and I quickly push them away, not wanting to even think about her at a time like this. I walk towards the man in the torture chair.
His brown hair is matted with blood. Every visible surface of his body is a clear sign of how much torture he had to endure. His blue eyes are half-closed. He looks dead, but he is not.
Not yet.
He deserved it. If it weren’t for anything other than the number of lives that were lost because he poked a hornet’s nest. Karman Gallo is forty years old, the former boss of the Gallo family. Former because they’re gone.
I’m surprised when he manages to lift his head and look me in the eye.
“Please,” he croaks. “Mercy.”
“How many times do I have to tell you this?” I mutter. “Mercy is a foreign concept. It doesn’t exist for me anymore. I can’t offer you any mercy, but be glad your wife and kids will be safe—there’s only so much I can do.”
He nods once before hanging his head. Not wanting to wait any longer, I grab the gun and fire. He dies instantly. And then there were four. With the Gallos gone, there are only four known Mafia families left in New York.
I'm sure another organization will creep up to take their place, another Mafia family hoping to make a name for itself. But for now, I've won the war.
I turn to face my men. Christian D'Angelo is in the room, too. He's wearing a sharp navy suit, his arms crossed, and when I look at him, I can see he's impressed. Michael looks relieved, and Tony, the idiot, starts clapping his hands slowly.
He makes an explosive sound.
“And boom, Gallo!”
I sigh, ignoring him and moving closer to Christian. I would never have been able to do this without him. He’s been a great help to me these past few weeks, helping me gather information and helping with the war as much as he could. Now that it’s all over, I don’t know how to repay him.
He must see it on my face, because he smiles.
“Consider it a favor to a friend.”
“There are no free services,” I say rudely. “Not in our world.”
Although he and I have indeed grown close over the past month, sharing drinks and having a few small talks in between discussing strategy.
He shrugs.
"True. Perhaps you'll have a chance to repay me in the future."
I nod once.
"Thank you."
"Although I do require something of you," he states.
"I hear you."
"My wife asked me to invite my new friend to dinner. She's very excited to meet you."
I raise an eyebrow. I guess we're friends. Tony was right, we're very similar. Christian can be as dry as cardboard sometimes, but he's a good man, and I really like him. As friends go, he's not bad. Not at all.
"I know it's funny," he says, frowning. “But Danielle is stubborn, and I've mentioned you a few times. It's just going to be dinner with my family. You can bring your friends.”
His lips curl as he says the last sentence. I'm sure he's thinking about Tony and whether I can get him to behave decently in public.
“Thanks, man. Just let me know when and where. I’ll be there. It’s the least I can do.”
“Okay,” he says. “Good job, by the way. You’ve definitely proven yourself. Anyone who thinks less of you can fuck off.”
I smile. “Or we could just kill them.”
“Yeah,” he chuckles. “I have to go. But we’ll talk later.”
A few seconds after he leaves, Michael sighs.
“I’ll have someone clean this up,” he says, gesturing at the dead man and the blood and gore around him.
He walks away, too, leaving Tony and me.
“Is it just me, or is he acting angrier than usual?” I ask.
“Nope. He's sad because Kiara is leaving the country,” Tony replies.
“Again?” I frown. “But she just got back.”
“Yeah, but Elena got a promotion at work that requires her to go to London for a year, and Kiara is going with her,” Tony said.
My brows furrow. “Elena is going to London?”
“Yeah. She just managed to convince my dad to let her go. He's only doing it on the condition that she comes home and settles in New York when she gets back. He wants her to get married as soon as she gets back.”
I clench my fists, trying not to notice how my blood boils at the thought of Elena getting married. "And she agreed?"
“Yeah. I was surprised too. She said she'd do whatever we wanted when she got back, if we let her go. I guess she's looking for a promotion or something,” he says, shrugging.
My gut tells me something fishy is going on. It's not right. But I can't question their decision. “Okay. When are they leaving?”
“In two days. Dad and I are going to fly to Boston to say goodbye, since they're leaving. I kind of hate that I won't see her for a year.” Tony was gloomy.
“I'm sure you'll survive. Besides, we have a lot of work to do. Let's start by appeasing our buyer in China and mending fences with some of our other investors”. I said to him.
"Of course, we'll do all that. But today we're celebrating," he grins, throwing his arms around my neck.
I grin, letting him lead me out of the room. He's right. I have so much to do, but today I can breathe easier. Because I've just taken a monumental step in making my father proud of me and continuing to be proud of me. There will be other obstacles. But for now, I've won.
Tony and I are leaving the house when we run into Ivan. He pulls up to the house on his motorcycle, revving the engine twice before pulling up in front of us. I don’t miss Tony’s eye roll.
“Dude needs to stop bragging about that thing,” he mutters. I can tell he’s secretly jealous.
Ivan gets off his bike and gives me a quick nod.
“Roman,” he greets.
“Cousin.”