Page 45 of The Sting of Love
The guy laughs. “You asshole. You absolute asshole. You come here and create a stir to show you’re worthy of a job. You are shit. Nothing. A nobody.”
“Who the fuck is this?” I retort.
“It’s Amadeo!” he shouts at the top of his lungs. He’s so loud that Gibbs hears him and raises his brows.
“What the fuck do you want? I thought I made it clear that we were done with you.”
“Oh yes,boss, you sure did. You know there’s an honor amongst us in the mafia. No matter what famiglia you belong to, no matter your position of power, the code is this: respect and honor. You broke both when you went to the feds.”
My mouth drops, and I widen my gaze, shocked to shit.
“What the hell are you talking about?” I gasp.
“Fuck you, dog. Fuck you. You are a disgrace to your family. How dare you try to act like you don’t know what the fuck I’m talking about? They killed Leo. You asshole, you went to the feds, tipped them off, and they killed my brother when they raided our brothel.”
Holy fuck…
“Jesus Christ, Amadeo, I never did that. It wasn’t me.”
“Liar!” he bellows. “They had information, the same pictures of us you showed me. You gonna tell me that’s a fucking coincidence. I saw them with my own eyes.”
Fuck no. This shit is not happening. I didn’t do shit but I have a pretty good idea who tipped off the feds and provided photo evidence. Fucking Mario.
Dushkin sent him the images I had of Amadeo, Leo and Xiou. That bastard must have used them against me to set me up.
That fucking prick. I ball my fists and tighten my knuckles so much my fingernails dig into my palms.
“It wasn’t me, Amadeo,” I repeat with emphasis.
“Fuck you! My brother is dead, and I’m closed for business. You are going to pay for this. Mark my words. You’re a dead man. I’ll make you suffer, and I’m going to start with those you love.” While he laughs, my blood runs cold. He’s talking about starting war with me, as if things aren’t bad enough already. “I’ll start with that pretty raven haired girl you’re sweet on. I’ll take her and fuck her brains out first before I kill her, then I’ll come for you and your family.”
My fucking voice gets stuck in my throat. My eyes bulge so wide I think they might pop out of my head.
Willow.He’s not supposed to know about her. No one is. Not unless they were watching. Watching me.
“You fucking bastard, you motherfucking bastard, don’t you dare go near her!” I shout and tighten my grip on the phone so hard I think I might break it.
Gibbs walks over to me and tenses his jaw.
“Donatello, you are not in the position to make demands here,” Amadeo points out. “I went quietly. You broke the alliance, and I went quietly. But you crossed the line when you shared information about my personal business. You are going to see firsthand what it means to piss me off.” He hangs up and numbness fills me.
I look at Gibbs, then I look at the door. I seethe, and my blood heats. Sweat runs down the side of my face and my head… spins.
“What happened, Donny?” Gibbs asks.
“Someone set me up. Mario…” I see it clearly now. It had to be him. The fucker set me up in the worst way possible to get me off his back and end my ass. “He tipped off the feds about Amadeo. Leo’s dead, and he’s blaming me. He thinks I did it.”
This … I can’t do this now. No more explaining. I can’t waste time talking when Willow’s in danger.
“Willow…” I say more to myself, and Gibbs narrows his eyes. Of course, he doesn’t know who I mean.
She’s mine, and I have to protect her. I run. The thought moves me, and I run faster than ever before.
I jump on my bike and ride hard, cutting through traffic and down the narrow streets, anywhere that can get me to her as fast as possible.
I get to her home. There’s no answer. It looks dark, like no one’s inside, but since I can’t be sure, I pick the lock and go in to check. The place is empty.
The only other place I can think to look is her aunt’s restaurant. If she’s not there, though, I wouldn’t know where else to go.
