Rocco opened the door and I stepped out, buttoning my suit coat as I did so.
One of my other capos, Emil Corvo, waited at the entrance to the warehouse. He dipped his head in acknowledgment as I approached.
“Don.”
“Emil,” I said smoothly. “Got something to show me?”
He nodded and I followed him inside. The smell of wood shavings hung heavy in the air. Crates upon crates were stacked high against the walls, and Emil cracked one open to let me see the guns tucked in there.
“These were ready for shipment, but Adrian has held them up. I asked him about it and he kept coming back with excuses.”
Fucking Adrian. If he wanted to stage a fucking coup, at least have the brains of doing it with some fucking grace and common sense.
“What was Adrian’s excuse?”
“He said that he was acting on your word,” Emil replied.
“Of course he fucking did,” I snorted. I trusted Emil, and there had never been a need for him to prove his word to me. “What else did he say?”
“Nothing else.” Emil cleared his throat. “But word among the capos is that Adrian wants to change up who runs which shops. Some are saying that the boys in the Lower East ought to be put closer to the Battery, and vice versa.”
That bastard. He wanted to play my own games against me. I had threatened him, stolen what he thought was his, and the only way for him to get rid of me was either to kill me or get the capos to turn their backs, to leave me vulnerable to attack.
“And how are they taking this news?” I asked.
“Well, depends on who you ask. The ones in the Lower East don’t want the shit detail. But the ones in the Battery are chomping at the bits.” Emil replied.
“Getting restive?” I asked.
Emil nodded.
I had seen this coming. With some guns in the mix, Adrian had gotten himself a nice little army. The exact kind he could use to violently take over the Cavazzo Mafia.Unless I did something about it.
“Ship them today,” I said. “I want confirmation by the end of the day that they have all been sent.”
“Yes, Don.”
The boy showed some real promise and initiative on that front. Too bad he couldn’t have put that same initiative on behalf of workingforme. But he was too goddamn dumb to realize that once Dons started taking control of Mafias by force, it would be a long time before the cycle of violence stopped.
It was always more preferable for someone else to do the dirty business.
“Anything else?”
“There’s also rumors,” Emil continued. “About the D’Agostino girl. Rumors that you’re willing to go to war over her. And the thing is: I don’t think the rest of the capos like the idea of dying for some bitch.”
My heart bristled at the word.
“They may not like it,” I growled. “But need I remind them that Cosimo demanded they give their loyalties to me?”
“No offense, Don,” Emil said after a moment as I struggled to keep my anger under control, my outward appearance still impassive. “But the prospect of a war really isn’t popular with the boys. Might be best to put her back on the auction block. Adrian is turning more heads than I like right now, telling the boys that you are using the Cavazzo money to bring the D’Agostino Mafia to our doorstep.”
No other capo was brave enough to talk to me like Emil was, mainly because Emil had been an enforcer with me. We shared plenty of great times—kills and girls—together. The day that I had elevated his status to capo was probably the best day of his fucking life.
Still, I wanted to deck him for telling me that I should give up Leda. He didn’t know the internal war that was raging inside me, how she tore me up with just a single night together—making me question who was really ever in control to begin with.
“Keep an eye on the rest of them.” I ordered Emil as I straightened the cuffs of my sleeves. “If you get so much as a hint of treason from any of them—”
“Car crashes, gas leaks, and other unforeseeable accidents.” Emil finished my sentence. “I’ll keep them quiet. But I gotta say. It’d be nice to know why we’re doing all this shit.”