Page 22 of The Sting of Love
“We do what we do, but there are some things that are plain evil. Young girls, Amadeo? You’d be okay if your daughter was taken, your sister, your niece?”
“Fuck you, prick. Fortunately, I do not have a daughter, sister, or a niece.” He rises to his feet and glowers at me. Leo follows suit, and so do we.
Gibbs and I stand, ready for them if they decide to jump us.
“Where did Xiou take the girls, Amadeo?” I try again, and he sneers.
“Grunt.You can go fuck yourself. I don’t have to answer shit from you. You just ended our alliance and contract. Remember?”
“Don’t come back around here. Or, nowhere you know is owned by the Morientz’s. We see you around, it’s kill on sight,” I threaten. Of course, I know he won’t like that.
It’s not customary to threaten one of the bosses of a family like this and live to tell the tale. I know who I am, though, and who my people are. So does he.
Leo places a hand on Amadeo’s shoulder and whispers something to him. I can’t hear him clearly, but I make out a few words. He’s trying to calm him down.
“Donatello, you don’t want trouble with me. I get it you’re a grunt trying to work his way up, but you need to watch your back.” Amadeo fumes.
“You too,” I inform him and step a little closer so he can see his words don’t faze me. “Sometimes it’s the little guys you need to watch out for. The grunts like me. They’re the ones who kill you in your sleep.”
“We shall see about that,” he answers with an arched brow, then he turns on his heel and walks away.
Leo looks from me to Gibbs and leaves too.
I wait until I hear them taking the last steps leading off the boat before I turn to Gibbs.
He’s already looking at me. I appreciate his presence here. Having him sit in with me was almost like having one of the other guys. I’m always with Alex or one of the guys from the crew. This is the first time that I’ve had to deal with people like Amadeo by myself.
“You alright?” Gibbs asks.
“Fuck,” I breathe, running my hand through my hair. “I don’t know, man. Why do I feel like that’s not over?”
“’Cos it’s not. The hotel was a good setup for them. Cops and others know to steer clear because this is Claudius’ property. They were hidden well doing good business, and the club here was an easy spot to lure away young women. It was all easy money. They’re not going to go away quietly.”
I release a ragged breath. “I just hope their fear of enraging Claudius is enough. They won’t come for me unless I piss on them. This meeting achieved nothing more than to tell them we aren’t doing business with them anymore.”
“Sometimes that’s all you can do,” Gibbs says with a nod. “Donny, he’s not gonna know where Xiou took those girls. Xiou wouldn’t have told him.”
“I figured, but I thought I’d ask. I could see it was bothering you.” It was clear it was a sensitive subject for him when he told us about it. I’d never seen him behave the way he did, ready to jump ship and state his stance before we could say anything.
He nods. “It reminded me of a case. I was too late, and the girl died. She was a close friend’s daughter.”
I stare at him and instantly, I understand him. He’s had a really tough ride, like most of us. He was blamed for his wife’s death. When he was cleared of the charges after being in prison for her murder, he decided to become who he is now. I know to this day, he’s still looking for the person who killed her. I didn’t know he’d been touched by more death.
“I’m sorry, man. I didn’t know.”
“That’s okay. It was before I started working with you guys, so I wouldn’t have mentioned it.” He gives me a curt nod. “But yeah, it struck a nerve with me. That’s how I know people like Xiou only give minimal information. I take it Mario was an enabler, kept the coast clear and provided the facilities to make shit happen.”
“I need to find him, Gibbs. If I’m going to take over business here, I want to know what the fucker got up to. I want no stone unturned. I don’t want dealings with The Triad or any kind of cartel.” I want to know everything there is to know.
“Well I’ll go looking, then.”
“Thanks. Take Lois and Saul with you.”
He nods and leaves me.
I need a fucking cigarette. I reach into my pocket and feel for my pack of Marlboro, but what I feel is that damn bracelet.
Fuck.
