Page 74 of Niccolo

“You’re sure you’ll still be able to turn the rest of theCosa Nostraagainst your nephews if Mezzasalma fails?” I asked Fausto.

“Absolutely,” he said confidently. “I know exactly whose ears to whisper into.”

It was a strategy we’d developed together. I’d asked Fausto if there was any way to cut the Rosolini brothers off from the rest of theCosa Nostra– to completely isolate them.

Fausto was the one who came up with blaming the Agrellas’ deaths on his nephews.

Murdering business partners of two decades? A betrayal of that magnitude would make the other families turn on Dario immediately.

And, once isolated, he would be that much easier to pick off… even if Mezzasalmadidfail.

I noticed that, unlike last time with the Turk, Aurelio didn’t treat the Mezzasalma’s success as a foregone conclusion.

Either he’d learned his lesson – which was unlikely – or he just hated the Sicilian for insulting him.

“You think Mezzasalma can succeed where the Turk couldn’t?” I asked.

Fausto chuckled. “If he can’t, then I doubt it can be done.”

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Apparently itcouldn’tbe done, because Mezzasalma failed.

Oh, he succeeded in wiping out the Agrellas, alright.

But he failed to kill Adriano, Massimo, and Lars in an ambush at a hotel.

What’s more, he failed to kill themagainat a restaurant just a few days later.

He shot Adriano several times, yes –

But thecapoof Florence was wearing a bulletproof vest and had only suffered a few broken ribs.

Not only that, but Mezzasalma met his end when the female hostage he’d taken – Adriano’s new lover – jerked the steering wheel and sent his car careening over the edge of a culvert.

The crash didn’t kill him.

Three bullets to the head from Adriano didthat.

“Stupid fucking Sicilian,” Aurelio sneered. He alone was happy that Mezzasalma had failed.

As part of the operation, Fausto had arranged for a bunch of dirty cops from other cities to be transferred to Florence.When the police arrested Adriano, one of those dirty cops was supposed to murder him while in custody –

And yet Adrianostillmanaged to escape.

In the end, Mezzasalma and his Sicilians were dead, and Dario and his brothers were still standing.

I couldn’t believe it.

Twicewe’d sent small armies against the Rosolinis –

And twice, they’d met all comers and won.

Hell, they’d killed the Sicilian Grim Reaper himself.

The only positive development was that Fausto successfully waged his whisper campaign regarding the Agrellas’ deaths.

As far as the rest of theCosa Nostrawere concerned, Dario had ordered the murder of his family’s business partners.

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