A ripple of shock runs through the room, though no one actually speaks. My men part like the Red Sea and I walk between them, approaching the small circle of dons.
Some of them are staring at me with dumbfounded expressions on their faces.
Others look mildly impressed.
But only Budimir looks furious.
“Hello, uncle,” I say. “Congratulations on your first dons’ council meeting. But you forgot one very important invitation.”
He scowls. “I should have made sure you were dead in that forest.”
I grin. “But you wanted to make me suffer, remember?” I remind him.
“It’s not a mistake I’ll make again.”
“You won’t get the chance to correct it.”
Budimir stares at me for a moment and then he laughs coldly. “You think you can take on the might of the Bratva alone?”
“The might of the Bratva?” I echo.
I don’t glance at my men—I don’t want to risk it—but I can see from my peripheral vision that they’re converging around Budimir, positioning themselves so that they can take him down if they have to.
“The Bratva has splintered, whether you realize it or not,” I tell him. “You stole their loyalty; you never earned it.”
Budimir glares at me, the loathing evident in his filmy eyes. “You sound like your father.”
“My father valued his men,” I tell him. “He protected them. What he didn’t do was threaten them.”
I see the flicker of uncertainty pass across his eyes. He’s wondering where I’ve gotten my information and how. He’s wondering who he needs to kill.
“I am the rightful don of the Bratva,” I announce to the whole room. “And I am claiming what is mine.”
“You are a fool,” Budimir barks. “Every man in this room answers to me!”
He practically screams the last word and I can start to see my uncle unravel. This is not how he had imagined this meeting going. The disappointment is making him sloppy.
“Each man here is an ally, not a lackey,” I reply. “And each man who gives you their loyalty will expect loyalty in return.”
“Don’t preach to me, you little shit,” Budimir snarls. “I command more men than every other man in this room combined, and if asking nicely won’t do it, then sheer force will have to suffice.”
Maggadino rises ponderously to his feet. He glances towards Budimir and then towards me.
Slowly, one by one, every other don does the same.
“This is not our fight,” Maggadino says. “I will not concern myself with this.”
He turns and makes for the door. The two guards he had with him follow behind.
The remaining dons seem to realize that they have a decision to make, too.
“Maggadino is right,” Ruwindu booms. “This is not my fight.”
He makes his exit. Behind him follow Juarez, Guzik, and Ambrosino, and each take their men with them.
Budimir glances towards the two underworld mob bosses to his left.
Kovar and Bufalino.