“What the fuck is this?”
He doesn’t believe it. I don’t smile. It’s not funny. Enzo slips out of the back room and shuffles around to stand behind me. Santo and Franco join him, and Siena remains at the far end of the room.
Guido looks at his boys and spots his girl near the door. His eyes go wider, and his lips move on their own like he’s saying a prayer. Understanding drops into place. It’s like watching a musician find the beat and the melody, and suddenly everything’s on track. He takes a step back as if there’s somewhere to go—but he’s trapped. He knows what’s happening.
“It ends now, Papa,” Enzo says and his voice is quiet fury. “We didn’t want it to come to this, but after what you’ve done to Siena—”
“Siena? Your traitor bitch sister?” Guido’s neck bulges with veins and muscles as spittle flies from his mouth. He’s in a blinding rage. “Suddenly, you care what happens to the little whore? She betrayed the family, or don’t you remember, you stupid cunt?”
“Stop, Papa,” Franco says suddenly, stepping forward. I can feel his tension rolling from him in waves. “You don’t matter anymore. It’s finished.”
“Watch your mouth, boy. What are you three doing with this fucking Russian? This murderer? You’re going to let him kill your own father?”
“Yes,” Santo says. He sounds almost calm. “Because none of us have the balls to kill our own father, but you need to go, Papa. We let you torture us long enough.”
“Torture.” Guido sneers at them. “You know what my father used to do to me, don’t you? He cut me when I stepped out of line. He beat me bloody. He broke my wrist on my tenth birthday because I cried when I dropped my cake on the floor. You think I’ve been bad to you? Clearly, I haven’t been bad enough. I should’ve been harder, then maybe you three wouldn’t have stabbed your own father in the chest.”
“Enough,” Enzo says. “Be quiet, old man. You’re finished. After everything you’ve done. After the abuse and the dead girls. You’re finished.”
Guido laughs. He laughs like this is somehow hilarious, and Enzo flinches away like he’s about to be hit. I feel sorry for them, and I want to pull the trigger, but I know the boys need this moment with their father. They need the closure of telling their father why they’re letting him die.
Siena comes forward them. I feel her more than see her. She puts her hands down on the counter and leans forward, and her voice is eerily quiet.
“Die with some grace, Papa. Lord knows you never lived with any.”
“Traitors,” Guido says. “All of you are traitors. At least this Russian has the balls to face me. Look at the three of you. You’re all cowards.”
“It’s time,” I say, glancing at Enzo. “You should go.”
Enzo’s jaw works. “I should stay.”
“No. There’s no honor in staying. He’s dead already. You don’t need to see it happen. Just go and take Siena outside.”
Enzo hesitates, but he moves. “Goodbye, Papa. We won’t miss you.” He steps through the gate while his father laughs and curses at him. Santo and Franco follow, and I hear them pull Siena along. The door opens and closes, and I’m alone with Guido Bastone.
The old man’s pale white and trembling. He’s afraid now. Good, he deserves to be afraid. He looks at me with watery eyes and he’s pathetic, so fucking pathetic. I can’t imagine how a weak little man like this managed to terrorize his strong boys for so long, and yet he did it. That’s the nightmare of parents. No matter how strong you are, they hold a power over you like a dagger to your throat. You never escape it.
“This worked out for you, didn’t it? You got my daughter and now you’ll get my empire. That’s quite a score, isn’t it?”
“Yes, Guido, it is.” I show him my teeth. “You forgot something when you decided to fuck with me. You forgot something when you hurt Siena. You forgot that I’m a wolf and you’re a fucking lamb. Now show me your throat and let me rip it out.”
I pull the trigger and his head snaps back in a spray of blood and brain and skull fragments. He drops to the floor, lifeless, motionless, dead.
I lower the gun and shove it into my holster.
Guido Bastone is gone.
Now all that’s left of his family are his three boys and Siena. I should feel something—happy to see him punished for hurting the woman I love, or maybe sad that her family’s so fucked up and broken—but there’s nothing inside of me. I don’t have room for more feelings, especially not for this worthless little man and his used-up pathetic life.
The corpse at my feet bleeds, and it’s the third person I’ve killed in this room in the last few days. When the brothers are in charge of their empire, I’ll ask Enzo to bulldoze this fucking room. I’ll pay for renovations. Anything to remove the stain of all these bodies.