Page 35 of The Mob: Shio Cuppacio
I felt a brewing headache as Shio walked in like his name was the one on the fucking bills. Ignoring me, he slapped hands with everyone in the room except for me, giving me a fucking head nod. It was cool, though. I didn’t like touching niggas dick beaters no way.
“Every damn day I wonder… why I didn’t lay the fucking kids down along with your sperm donors. Aye, Rut… that ‘nodiscount’ rule I was just telling you about. Make sure sis taxesthe fuckout of the Cuppacios for their weddings and showers and whatever else these cheap-ass niggas throw in the near future. Their tough asses got it. These niggas moving big bricks.”
Shio took a seat adjacent to me, and his brother sat next to him. Their resemblance was uncanny. It seemed like every fucking time I looked up, there was a fucking new sibling popping up. Them old-ass mobsters sure knew how to fucking get down. They couldn’t keep their dicks in their pants for shit. Not only did I have a new sister, but so did Matteo, and now Shio with a brother. I didn’t know how much more of this “secret baby” shit I could take. It felt like I was living in the middle of one of those urban, ghetto novels they used to pass around the jail.
Without changing his expression, Shio said, “Had you done that shit, we would have just been born again to give your ass even more hell. You ever heard ofreincarnation?”
Frowning at Shio’s smart ass, I scoffed. “You ever heard ofI would kill your reincarnated parts,too, muthafucka?”
“Facts,” Matteo cosigned, always having my back like I had his.
Turning my neck back in Shio’s direction, my face hardened. “I assume you handledthat, choir boy,being that you sitting here next to your brother breathing. What’s the word?”
Shio held eye contact; the serious-ass nigga didn’t waver at all. “Yeah, them people he trying to send yo’ way? That’s dead. He did have a proposition, though. For me, at least.”
I trusted every man in this room, with the exception of the newcomer. Shio was still earning my full trust, but because of our business dealings, the trust was there to some extent. Still, I appreciated him for not outright telling my business in front of everyone. This business with the Ledesmas was between us.Everybody had their part to play in the mob, and this Cuppacio in front of me was stepping into the role of his perfectly.
“You handling it. Right?”
“I’m handling it,” Shio confirmed.
I was able to breathe a little easier, knowing he wasn’t bluffing. I was leaving Ledesma’s slick ass to Shio. Had Reuchie still been on board, that would have been his job. The game wasn’t ending, though, just because one of my key players was down. Since he was out indefinitely, I had to move some pieces around the chessboard to ensure nothing was forgotten or left behind. Just had to fucking pivot at the last minute, but I was confident that Shio was the man for the job.
I nodded. “Now… Back to what the fuck you niggas doing back here.”
“You canceled on us. We figured we’d catch you while you’re available.” This new nigga shrugged while leaning back in his chair, crossing his hands at his abdomen.
He was dressed down in gym shoes, denim shorts, and a sleeveless top. Belt chains hung decoratively on the right side of his shorts, and that shit must’ve been some Memphis or Atlanta shit because it damn sure wasn’t the Bay. I couldn’t remember which city the nigga was actually from, but he’d have to calm all that extra shit down. When his lanky ass showed up in a suit that was damn near too tight and nearly too fucking short, I immediately said, “Fuck no.” I’d seen them on the camera and called a flag on the play. I also wasn’t in the mood to hear what their asses had to say, so I texted Shio saying I’ll catch them next time. If he was going to join my organization—because I’d already known that’s what he wanted, just like I’d known he’d existed the whole time—he needed his shit to be cut and sewn correctly.
According to Uncle Reuchie’s made-up ass rule book, I couldn’t outright deny Tunan a seat at the table. As long as hemet the requirements, he was in. But I didn’t have the fucking time to keep playing matchmaker with these niggas. I couldn’t for the life of me understand how hard it was for a nigga to get a hoe and put a ring on her. Jagoda Bay was crawling with bitches. Hell, if they couldn’t find one in this city, it was hundreds, shit thousands, of other cities to choose from. The more connections I made, the more money I made, and the more money I made, the more money I had to fucking hide and invest. Time was money, and even though I’d grown a tad bit fond of these Cuppacio niggas, I’d invested way too much time into being the fucking love doctor since our families merged. Now here they were, back like I’d set up another time to meet, running down on a nigga and shit like that could make me move faster than I was ready to.
As I stared between the two, I tried to come up with at least one good reason to say, “Fuck no.” I didn’t have the patience for this shit here with these untamed Cuppacios. The deeper I get in this mob shit, the more I see why my deadass daddy let his men run amok. Overseeing the niggas was worse than managing a hundred toddlers. Then, I had to do this shit all over again in a couple of years when the little Cuppacios grew up. Yeah, nah. This shit was beyond me.
“The problem with you Cuppacio niggas is, I already have a whole slew of y’all that haven’t fulfilled your duties to get married. Out of four niggas, only one of you done tied the fucking knot, and that shit damn near cost me my sister. I just want to shoot all you niggas dead and be done with it, but then ya done made babies and shit, and I’ll have to repeat the killings when those muthafuckas get old enough to hold a fucking gun.”
I paused. These niggas always managed to get me worked up, and my usual way of dealing with people that made me uncomfortable wouldn’t work in this situation. Teaching myselfhow to be a boss was draining a motherfucker. Inhaling quietly to myself, I looked up at Tunan.
“I like to give folks a fair shot, pun in-fucking-tended. The way I’m feeling, though… I don’t want to add another Cuppacio to my roster.”
No one spoke. Rut and Matteo looked damn near uninterested. Shio dropped his head, and I knew that nigga was plotting on how to make me change my mind. I watched Tunan intently in the silence. The nigga didn’t wear his feelings on his face. He kept his expression neutral and his breathing even. He was hanging onto my words—I could tell by the way his eyes stared right back into mine.
I didn’t know Tunan, per se. However, I’m familiar with his people. His sister’s best friend was married to my homie, Goal, and I’d seen a few of Tunan’s other brothers in passing. The Payne brothers were known to be solid. I felt I still needed to feel this one out, though. He wasn’t thirsty to get in. He hadn’t dick-rode his way into my space or had acted hard up to join our organization. He’d been out of jail more than a month, and the guys had all met up several times since his release just to kick shit. I’d only seen him twice: once when he showed up last week on the camera, and now. That shit spoke volumes without me knowing of him and his family.
“Aite. You in.”
Shio lifted his head and his expression matched Tunan’s, but I could see a half-grin form on Tunan’s face before he said, “Cool,” with his wannabe down ass.
“Slow down, lowdown. I wasn’t finished. You inonly ifyou can get married in—” I held my watch up to my face to look at the time. It was two hours until midnight on a Wednesday night. “Three weeks. Well, twenty days. You passed day one since it’s nearly midnight.”
“What?” both brothers yelped simultaneously.
Rut and Matteo were falling out laughing at this point, but I was deadass serious.
“How the fuck am I supposed to do that shit? Plus, ain’t y’all got a rule that says no divorce? Three weeks not enough time to find a quality wife.”
Shio placed his hand on his brother’s chest, and they shared a look before standing.
“Yeah, take y’all asses on. Make sure you lose some money on the way out. My daughter needs a new pair of earrings.”
