Mafia Kings: Adriano: Chapter 22

While Bianca and her mother were packing, Massimo took the opportunity to rip me a new asshole.

“What the fuck were you thinking?!”

“I told you, we’re not talking about this anymore.”

“Yes we ARE,” Massimo snarled. “You’re the capo of Florence – you’re supposed to look out for the family, not for some whore!”

I don’t know why, but that enraged me. “She’s not a WHORE.”

Massimo looked bewildered. “What’s gotten into you?! You’ve made every bad decision in the book tonight – ”

“Like what?” I shot back.

“You didn’t go back to the house like Niccolo ordered – ”

“We would’ve looked weak.”

“To WHO?! They’re all dead!”

“Which we wouldn’t know if we hadn’t gone to the safe house – which YOU didn’t want to do.

“And we wouldn’t know the Agrellas are dead if we hadn’t gone to Fiesole, which YOU didn’t want to do, either.

“Thanks to ME, now we know there’s somebody else out there who wants us dead.

“So YEAH, I took some big risks – but every single one of them paid off.”

“You got lucky,” Massimo said sourly.

“Three times in a row? That’s not luck; that’s skill.”

“And that’s delusional,” Lars said.

It was the first time he’d spoken since I’d shot Sergio.

“Oh, you too?” I snapped at him.

“The smart play would have been to take Sergio alive. You just blew the best piece of intel we had.”

“He could’ve killed the mother!”

“Which would have been horrible, but she’s not family, Adriano.”

I scoffed. “You always talk about how you don’t kill women or children – but you’re fine just standing by and letting somebody else kill them, huh?”

Lars narrowed his eyes. “Fuck you.”

“No, fuck you, man. You’re a hired gun and this is family business, so stay the fuck out of it.”

Lars had a damn good poker face, but after nearly a year of living and fighting next to him, I knew him well – and I could tell by the look in his eyes that I’d hurt him.

I immediately regretted it.

He said nothing, though, and I knew he wouldn’t.

I was just about to take it back when Massimo shoved my shoulder.

“You little shit!” he snarled. “Lars has saved our lives a dozen times! He’s as much a brother to me as you are, and he’s ten times smarter! How fucking dare you – ”

I slammed Massimo’s arm away. “Get your fuckin’ hands off me!”

“Then get your fuckin’ act together!”

I stood there and looked at him coldly. “Go back home, Mass. That’s a direct order. Take the men and Bianca’s mother and go back home.”

Massimo scoffed. “And you’re gonna stay here and find the father.”

“Yeah. I am.”

He shook his head. “You don’t deserve to be capo.”

“Well, I am. And until Dario changes that, you’re still under my command, and you still follow my orders.”

“What, like you followed Niccolo’s orders?” Massimo snapped.

“I went over Niccolo’s head to the don, and the don agreed with me,” I said in an ice-cold voice. “You’re welcome to do the same.”

“I will,” Massimo snarled. He pulled out his phone and walked off into the kitchen.

I nervously watched him go. I’d mouthed off again – and there was every chance in the world that Dario would cut me off at the knees and side with the others.

I might’ve just made a huge mistake.

I knew I’d made another one just a minute before.

I looked over at Lars. “…I shouldn’t have what I said about you.”

That was as close to I’m sorry as I’d ever said in my life.

Lars looked at me for a long moment.

Then he said quietly, “You can say whatever you want.”

His refusal to accept my apology just made me madder. “It was the heat of the moment. I said some shit I didn’t mean, that’s all.”

“If you’re going to be capo, there’s going to be lots of ‘heat of the moment’ situations. Don’t use that as an excuse.”

THAT pissed me off.

“You know what? Fuck you,” I snarled. “Go back to Tuscany with the rest of them and fuck off.”

“We’ll see what Dario has to say,” Lars replied as he looked over at the kitchen.

I turned to see Massimo walking back towards us.

He looked sullen as hell as he shoved his phone back in his pocket.

My heart lifted, but I didn’t let on. Instead I asked belligerently, “Well?”

Massimo wouldn’t look at me. He focused on Lars instead. “The don said Adriano’s the family’s representative in Florence… and what he says goes.”

Relief flooded my entire body.

At least one of my brothers had my back.

Lars nodded. “Well then, I guess we’re headed back home.” He turned to me. “Unless you’ve changed your mind.”

“No – I haven’t,” I snarled.

“Alright,” Lars said. “That settles it, then.”

“Yeah, it does. Massimo, call Vincenzo and tell him to leave the bar. Lars, you call the warehouse and have everybody ready to pull out in 30 minutes. I’ll get the women and we’ll go.”