Page 28 of Shotgun Daddy
“How serious are we talking?” Faustino asked, his voice a low growl. “Because if they’re crazy enough to take a shot at me, they’re not just grumbling, they’re planning something very fucking real.”
“Deadly serious,” Matteo said, his eyes narrowing. “They’ve got resources. Cash, guns, maybe even a few of our lower guys who flipped on us. They’re testing us, seeing how far they can push before we hit back.”
“Then we hit backnow,” Faustino snapped, leaning in, his whisky sloshing in its glass. “I’ve been saying it from the start. Loyalty or death. No half-measures, no waiting around. And while we’re here, I want back in on decisions, all the way, and I want us to be as brutal as I’ve always pushed for. Crush this before it builds. Anyone who’s not with us gets a bullet to the chest, no questions asked.”
Michael exchanged a glance with Matteo, the tension in the booth increasing by the moment. For months, they’d reined Faustino in, preaching caution, trying to shift the family towarda smoother, more political style. But this was different. Faustino knew it, and he hoped that Michael and Matteo finally did too.
Quit stalling.
This is the only way.
A Fendi with a gun is a Fendi in control…
This was war inside their own ranks, and Faustino could see the shift in his brother and cousin’s eyes, the realization that his way might be the only way now.
Matteo took a slow sip of his drink, the ice clinking as he set it down.
“You’re right,” Matteo said, nodding his head. “We’ve been too soft, too focused on alliances and all that shit. If there’s a splinter group, we can’t let it breathe. Loyalty or death. It’s the only message they’ll understand.”
Faustino nodded, his jaw tight.
“Agreed,” Michael added. “We root them out, fast and hard. No mercy. But we need to be smart—find out who’s leading it, who’s funding it. Then we end it.”
Faustino was happy that the three of them were finally on the same page. But then his thoughts snagged on Reece, sleeping upstairs, oblivious to the storm brewing below.
The grocery store incident flashed back… Reece’s frantic text, the man in the dark suit, his trembling voice when he’d arrived.
Was that tied to this splinter group too?
A warning shot, a way to rattle him through the boy?
The idea twisted inside Faustino’s gut. Reece was his Little, his boy, and the thought of anyone using Reece to get to him made his blood boil.
“Where does this leave Reece?” Faustino asked, his voice quieter but full of steel. “He’s up there, safe for now, but if these sonsofbitches are bold enough to tail him in broad daylight… I just can’t have the boy caught in this.”
Faustino’s mind was full of thoughts of what happened with Justin. His emotions were bubbling up and he didn’t know if he could keep a hold on them.
Michael frowned, swirling his drink.
“He’s a liability if they know he’s with you,” Michael said. “They could target him again. Leverage, intimidation, whatever. You need to keep him close, locked down till we sort this.”
“Hotel’s secure,” Matteo added. “But Michael’s right… he’s a weak spot. You sure he can handle this? He’s not exactly built for our world.”
“He’s tougher than he looks,” Faustino said. “He got out of that store, got to me, and didn’t freeze up. But I’m not taking chances. He stays with me. I’ll figure it out.”
“We’ll back you up,” Michael continued. “Extra eyes, extra guns if you need them. But you’re right about one thing… this ends with bloodshed.”
“Agreed,” Faustino said, his voice calm and focused. “Loyalty or death. That’s the line now. We draw it, and anyone who crosses it bleeds.”
Faustino knew that there was no going back now.
The future of the family was on the line.
His own life was in as much danger as it ever had been.
But the thing that scared Faustino more than anything was the fact that his sleeping, sweet Little was at risk too…
Chapter 13
