Chapter 20: Chapter 20

SANTINO

The tension was thick, the overwhelming silence interrupted by Gia’s pitiful sniffing. It irritated Santino as he stood, silently staring at her and Paulie as they squirmed in their chairs.

He motioned for Elio to shut the door and waited until it was secure before slowly walking over to Gia. He stood over her a moment, glaring before reaching down and removing her gag.

“Sonny, let me go! I didn’t do anything!” she pleaded.

Reaching out, he ripped his mother’s necklace off her neck, breaking the chain in the process. He tossed it to Elio.

“Get that fixed and cleaned.”

Elio nodded. Turning back to Gia, he crouched, leveling his face with hers.

“Do you think I’m fucking stupid?” Santino snapped. Seeing her wearing a piece of his mother’s stolen jewelry had infuriated him.

“It’s all Paulie’s fault!” Gia cried.

“Shut up!” Paulie snapped.

Santino glared at Paulie before turning his attention back to Gia. He felt nothing but disgust for her and wasn’t even sure why he had even entertained her.

“Start talking. Now.”

“You kept pushing me away, and then you just cut things off between us,” Gia confessed. “I wasn’t going to leave empty-handed!”

“So, you decide to not just steal from me but from my mother?! You’re fucking disgusting,” he spat, shaking his head.

“Sonny! No! Please, let me go. I promise, you’ll never hear from me again! It was all Paulie! He said if we pulled this off, we would be untouchable!”

“Shut the fuck up, Gia!” Paulie bellowed, trying to get out of his restraints.

Turning his attention to Paulie, Santino tried to tune out Gia’s sobbing.

“Elio, shut her up,” he snarled, unfazed by her tears as he closed in on Paulie. “Untouchable? You thought ~you~ were going to get away with stealing from me? Why would you do something so stupid?”

“You all bossed me around! I was so sick of it. ‘Do this, get that, drive here.’ Fucking sick of it! Abramo treats me like I’m more than a fucking grunt, or at least he used to. Now he’s worse than you. I guess it’s a family thing.”

His rage was overwhelming. Being betrayed by his own people, by his own flesh and blood, was unforgivable.

Santino punched Paulie in the face. He stood over the bleeding, wide-eyed traitor and smiled. He’d make an example out of all of them.

“What did you think was going to happen, Paulie? That you were going to be the one giving orders?” Santino laughed at the sheer audacity. “You’re not even family. You don’t have a fucking clue how this works.”

Leaning against the wall, he crossed his arms over his chest and clucked his tongue. “I strongly suggest you start talking. You really don’t want me to have to make you.”

Paulie sighed, lowering his head in a dejected pout. “It was Abramo’s idea. He wanted to take over.”

“And?” Santino urged.

It was no surprise that his uncle was the brains behind this. Santino’s fingers curled into a fist as he thought about Abramo getting near Presley. He took a breath. He’d deal with that in a moment.

“I snuck him product and fed him info. He promised me my own crew, but I got tired of him shitting on me. I took the shipment to make a name for myself. I sold the drugs in the clubs and invested the money in the resort,” Paulie mumbled, blood dripping from his mouth.

Santino stood, shook out his jacket, and gave Elio a nod. He walked away from the pair without another word.

“Hey! You can’t just leave us here!” Paulie yelled as the door slammed shut behind Santino.

He stormed down the hall to where they were holding Abramo. The older man struggled in his chair, one of Santino’s enforcers holding him down.

“What the fuck is going on, ~nephew~?” Abramo spat.

Santino sat down at the desk and stared at his uncle. He tapped his fingers against the mahogany, letting his uncle squirm for a few seconds.

“Quit playing games, Santino. I have shit to do.”

“You don’t have anything to do but pack,” Santino growled.

“What do you mean?” Abramo asked, a confused look on his face.

“You’re cut off, Abramo,” Santino said calmly. “No money. No houses. Nothing that has to do with the family business. You have until sundown to get the fuck out of town. And if you ~ever~ show your face around any of our businesses or Presley again, I will fucking end you.”

“You’re cutting me off?! I helped your father build this! It should be mine!” Abramo roared, struggling against his captor. “And what’s this bullshit about leaving town? Where the fuck am I supposed to go?”

“I have that handled. You’re going home. Back to Italy.”

Santino had leveled the worst punishment he could think of. For a man like Abramo, going home disgraced and imprisoned was worse than death.

“Y-you’re sending me home,” Abramo stuttered as his face paled.

Santino could almost taste his fear. Life for his uncle would be a living hell back in the old country.

Coming and going as he pleased and living a fast lifestyle would all be things of the past. He would be watched twenty-four hours a day. He wouldn’t be allowed to leave the family compound. His room, little more than a cell, would be the only thing he knew.

“They already know you’re coming.”

“I’m family, Sonny! You can’t banish me to live out my days in lockup! Your father would be appalled at the way you’re treating me.”

Santino listened to his uncle rant and rave. Isolation was going to drive his uncle insane. He held up a hand finally, and Abramo glared.

“Wouldn’t it have just been easier to show me a little respect?” Santino asked. “To accept your role in this family instead of trying to fuck me over so you could be in charge.”

“I didn’t fuck you over!” Abramo yelled.

“Stop, Abramo. I know everything,” Santino snarled. “Fucking me over in business is one thing, but then you pulled that stunt with Presley. That I can’t allow.” Santino stood, buttoning his suit jacket. “You have no respect, Abramo, and I have no use for you.”

“You punk! You can’t keep me locked up! I won’t allow it.”

The older man’s hands were shaking.

“You don’t get it, Abramo. You are nothing but a disgrace now. You have no say, no pull…nothing.”

“You can’t make me get on a plane,” Abramo said, panicked eyes watching Santino’s face. “I won’t go… I’ll tell airport security you’re kidnapping me.”

“What makes you think you’re going to the airport?”

Abramo’s face fell. Santino smirked.

“A private plane is waiting for you at a nearby airstrip. You will get on that plane, or we will tranquilize you and put you on it. We can do this the easy way or the hard way, but either way you choose, you’re going.”

His uncle sat down, letting out a defeated sigh.

“You should just kill me,” Abramo murmured.

“That would be too easy.” Santino checked his watch. “Your plane leaves in a few hours. Elio will escort you home to pack and then to the airstrip. He has strict orders to knock you out if you don’t cooperate.”

His uncle stood up on shaky legs. Santino stepped up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Goodbye, Abramo.”

Kissing his uncle on the cheek, he gave Elio a nod and left. He watched from a window as Abramo was led from the house and into a waiting car.

He couldn’t help but smile. Now that he had officially dealt with his uncle, he and Presley could move forward with their life together. His eyes flicked down as Paulie and Gia were shown into another vehicle. There was just one more thing to take care of.

***

“Espinoza.” Santino stood up and gave the man a short nod as he entered. “How is the resort?”

He held out his hand, and Espinoza shook it, taking a seat across from him. He glanced at Elio, who stood quietly in the corner.

“Santino. It’s doing very well.” Espinoza raised an eyebrow. “I understand you have some information for me?”

“Call it a gesture of good will,” Santino said. “I’m here to hand Paulie and Gia over. They made the agreement for the product without my knowledge, then liquidated it to make money for themselves, cutting both of our organizations out.”

The resort owner was furious. “Paul introduced himself as a representative for the Agosti family. I wasn’t aware the funds he invested had been stolen from my own pocket.”

“I figured as much,” Santino said, waving a hand to Elio. “They’re both yours to deal with as you see fit.”

Elio moved toward the door he was standing next to, opening it and snapping his fingers. Two other men dragged in Paulie and Gia, both gagged and tied to their chairs.

Santino stood as he buttoned his expensive suit jacket. “We appreciate the past partnership, but we won’t be investing in the drug business moving forward.”

“I understand,” Espinoza said as he rose to his feet. “Perhaps we can discuss a more legitimate partnership. Your lady was very helpful in gaining attention for my resort.”

“Possibly.” Santino smiled and shook his hand. “I look forward to hearing more.”

Santino started to leave the room, watching as Espinoza advanced toward the two captives. The last thing he heard before he stepped into the hall was a loud smack and a muffled scream. He and Elio walked out of the private office building.

“Did you recover everything? All my mother’s pieces?” Santino glanced at Elio.

“Yes. Everything has been inspected and cleaned. They are tucked away in the new safe. By the way, that situation in the prison has been handled. He won’t be bothering Presley ever again.”

“Thank you.” Santino slid into the back of the car and pulled his phone out. “I’m going to go see Press.”

Elio slid in next to him. “I’ll come with you. I’m going to go see Florence anyway.”

“How is yoga class going?” Santino asked with a sly grin.

“Shut up.”

They laughed the whole drive over to Presley’s place. Both women were sitting on the porch when they pulled up.

They caught a piece of the ladies’ conversation as they exited the car, something about hot sex and yoga. Santino watched as Presley tried to do a yoga pose and fell over laughing, evidence of the martini that usually accompanied a visit from Florence.

He scooped her up as Elio hoisted Florence over his shoulder. He waved at them both as he carried Presley inside and shut the door. Presley laughed as he laid her on the couch and pounced on her.

“I missed you,” he said, kissing her neck.

“I missed you too.”

Santino looked at her. “I love you, Press. I’m going to marry you.”

“I love you too, Sonny. I might even say yes when you ask,” she joked, pulling him down.

He smiled as he kissed her. He knew she would.

End of Book