Page 49 of Empire of Seduction

“His sister would slice my balls off if I tried,” I said dryly. “Let’s do this. I need to be at a meeting by one o’clock.”

Tommaso and Cesare each lifted a stiff leg and began dragging Gaetano’s body out of the woods. As we trudged back to the car, I dialed Toronto and told them to send more mentoday. We needed to kill whoever was responsible for Gaetano’s death—swiftly and painfully. Then I arranged for the jet to pick up my men back home.

At the SUV, the three of us lifted the heavy corpse into the back, while Michael looked on, his skin pale. Once Gaetano was in, Tommaso started off for the winery. Cesare got behind the wheel of the SUV, so I gestured for Michael to get in. “Andiamo. Let’s go.”

I could see his throat work as he swallowed, but he obeyed and slid into the backseat. I followed, then unlocked my phone and punched a few buttons. The other end rang once before a deep voice answered. “What the fuck do you want now?”

“This is a courtesy call.”

Benetti grew serious. “Oh?”

“Found one of my men in the woods behind a strip club, executed. I’m dealing with whoever is responsible.”

He was silent for a beat. “Which club?”

“Sparkles.”

“I know it. Harmless owner. Treats the girls well, customers like him. I can’t imagine he’d take out one of your men.”

If he had, I was going to burn the place to the ground. With him in it. And Benetti couldn’t stop me. “That may be so, but I mean to find out.”

“Any enemies follow you when you came from Toronto?”

I stared through the window at the passing streets. I didn’t like to speculate, I preferred facts. “Seems unlikely. Anyone here pissed at you?”

“No.”

“You sure?”

“Yes, but I’ll ring the boys and tell them to do some digging around.”

“Thank you.”

“D’Agostino.” He paused. “I’ve tried to keep a low profile there. Donotlay waste to that town.”

“I can’t make any promises.” I disconnected and tapped my mobile on my knee. More men meant more housing. Looking over at Maggie’s brother, I said, “Michael, I need?—”

He was bent over at the waist, breathing hard, nearly hyperventilating.

I frowned. This was no time for dramatics. He needed to pull himself together. “Michael,” I snapped, putting some force behind the single word. “Focus.”

Nodding, he straightened and clasped his knees with both hands, still breathing erratically. “I-I’m sorry. I-I’ve never s-seen a dead body like that before.”

“I told you to stay in the fucking car.”

“I-I know, and I really,reallywish that I’d l-listened to you.”

“Count your breath. Inhale through your nose for four, exhale through your mouth for four.” It was a technique that my sister-in-law taught Enzo to help keep him calm.

Michael closed his eyes and concentrated, breathing as I said. Cesare met my gaze in the rear-view mirror. We were too jaded and too old to remember seeing our first dead body. I did vividly remember my first kill, however. I was twelve, with my father handing me the pistol.

When Michael regained some of his color, I said, “I need a place for a large group of my men to stay. I’m assuming the winery is out of cottages.” The young man nodded, so I unlocked my phone. “Then I’m going to need the name of a realtor.”

Maggie

I debated not going.

Vito was using a sledgehammer to destroy over sixty years of Fiorentino legacy in a matter of days and I couldn’t catch my breath. It was like I was being buried alive and Vito was shoveling more and more dirt on top of me.

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