Bonus Epilogue
Tino
No one took me seriously. They labeled me, Johnny Lip, after some lame ass character in a movie, as if I had no feelings. Since we were children, I had been the DeLuca’s whipping boy. Do this, Johnny Lip. Do that, Johnny Lip. All without any appreciation. Those assholes had everything handed to them on a platter just because their grandfather was the don. Well, someone managed to take his ass out, and I was happy about it. It hurt them and that’s what I lived for.
When Enzo took over as don and sent me to America to work under his cousin, Nicolo, I was pissed. Nobody wanted to live in the United States with the fake gangsters. No Italian worth his salt would be associated with American Italians. They were watered down versions of the real thing, as far as I was concerned. Being stuck in that country town made my skin crawl. I felt stifled. When was someone going to see my value? It certainly wasn’t going to be that asshole, Nicolo.