Page 271 of Niccolo

“Don’t you – ”

“Shhhhh,”Massimo shushed him.“Even after everything that’s happened, I’m willing to cut you a deal.”

“DON’T LISTEN TO HIM, AURELIO!” Fausto screamed at the tablet –

But Aurelio couldn’t hear because he’d turned down his phone’s volume so low.

“If you put down your gun, I’ll put down mine. I won’t hurt you. You’ll have to go before the Council at Rome and tell every Cosa Nostra family what you and Fausto did… but they’ll decide your punishment, not me or any of my brothers.”

“KILL HIM, YOU FOOL!” Fausto shrieked. “KILL HIM!”

“But,”Massimo continued,“if you hurt her in any way… I’m not going to kill you. Not today. Not in a month, or two months, or a year. I’m going to take you somewhere no one will ever find you… and I’m going to torture you for weeks on end.”

Massimo listed, step by step, the horrors he was going to inflict on Aurelio. Castration, dismemberment, and locking him away in a cage for decades – a fate worse than death.

The entire time, Fausto raged and frothed at the mouth like a rabid dog. “YOU FUCKING FOOL – SHOOT HIM NOW! SHOOT HIM, GODDAMN YOU!”

But Massimo gave Aurelio another option.

“OR… you put down your gun… and I won’t hurt you. You’ll stand trial before the Council… but I won’t harm you, and neither will any of my brothers or my men.”

“Swear it,”Aurelio demanded.

“I swear it on my life – on my soul. May I die and burn in hell if I break my word to you.”

“DON’T BELIEVE HIM, YOU MORON!” Fausto raged –

And I remembered all the oaths Fausto had made to Mezzasalma and the Turk.

But Aurelio believed his cousin.

He lowered his gun to the floor and kicked it away.

Massimo limped over to Aurelio with a smile on his face, the insanity gone from his eyes…

Patted Aurelio’s cheek almost lovingly…

And then the madness returned.

Massimo’s face became absolutely demonic as he grabbed Aurelio’s jacket.

“NOOOOO!” Fausto screamed until he was hoarse. “NOOOO!”

Massimo pushed Aurelio backwards, out of frame.

We could no longer see what was going on –

But we could hear.

“You PROMISED!”Aurelio screamed. “You SWORE – ”

“On my life. But I don’t give a shit about MY life. Only my brothers’ – and HERS.”

And there it is,I thought in wonder.

The reason the Rosolinis always win:

Each man isn’t fighting for himself…

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