Page 74 of A Bond Beyond Blood

I nearly made a sarcastic remark about not needing to watch this movie to know how it ends, but then I glanced over my shoulder and the sweet look on her face halted my tongue.“Sure,” I said instead.“I’ll be quick.”

Placing a kiss on her forehead, I strode out onto the front porch and closed the door lightly behind me, then pressed the button to answer the call.

“Vincenzo, my boy,” Carmine purred before I’d even managed to say hello, the sound of his deep voice making my hackles rise.“Is this a bad time?”

As if you give a shit.

“You missed the last drop.”The fact that he didn’t wait for a reply when he asked if it was a bad time was just par for the course.Carmine’s time was the only time that mattered.

I’d expected this call, knowing damn well my explanations would have fallen on deaf ears.“Some things went down last weekend.I gave the money to Marco on Monday—”

Carmine sighed.“In all the years you’ve known me, have I ever given you the impression that I’m interested in your personal life, Vincenzo?”

I grit my teeth, bracing myself for whatever came next.When the silence lingered on longer than expected, I scrubbed my hand down the back of my neck.“I’ve never missed a drop—”

“Which is why I haven’t sent my men to collect you.”

I tensed.There would be abut; there always was.Carmine wouldn’t let this slide, regardless of my stellar record or good standing.Regardless of the way he’d always called mesonand never missed an opportunity to tell people how fond he was of me—or how dear to him my father was.So dear, in fact, that Carmine allowed my old man to get into this debt in the first place.

A missed payment was a show of disrespect, no matter the circumstances.

And we’d already confirmed Carmine cared little about those.

“You’ve disappointed me, Vincenzo.”

“How much?”

Carmine chuckled and the sound grated on my ears like nails on a chalkboard.“Double.For the next three payments.”

I closed my eyes and tipped my head back.“Carmine, I—”

“Buon anno, my boy.”He hung up before I could respond or beg for leniency, which I knew—whicheveryoneknew—was not a concept Carmine entertained.He didn’t go easy on anyone, and he certainly didn’t negotiate.Carmine Donati’s rule was law.Plain and simple.

And I’d fucked up when I missed that payment drop because I’d been so consumed by Jacqueline’s injuries and Elias Bristol’s return that I’d lost all goddamnsense.

Buon anno indeed.

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