Luca nodded, satisfied. “Gabe?”
“Ricky and I have been digging out everything we can,” I reported. “Dario’s been recovering from the hits to his family and is probably thinking about retaliation.”
“We should have done it already,” Alessandro droned.
Marco shook his head. “I hate to agree, but Kelly’s due in six weeks. We don’t have that much time.”
“We won’t need that much,” I cut back in. “Dario’s sloppy. I’ve kept a close watch on him, and his sister is still attending Stacy’s yoga classes every day. He’s not being careful. He’s going to slip, and it’s going to happen soon.”
“Are you sure Stacy is good with that?” Marco asked. “Is it safe?”
“It was her idea. Once she found an in, she wasn’t about to waste it.” I raised an eyebrow. “She’s got a knack for this shit. It’s a good thing we’re getting out, but if we weren’t, I’d have a pretty good mafia wife.”
“Good thing we are getting out, then,” Luca said, and Alessandro turned in his seat. “Something you wanna say?”
Alessandro sat in silence for a minute before saying, “I don’t know that shutting down is the way to go.”
“We’ve got enough in savings to last a lifetime,” I replied. “Ricky’s been putting shit in CDs and stocks and bonds. Our money is making more money now than we ever have slinging dope.”
“We’re not nine to five people. Have you forgotten who our father is? He’s turning over right now, I bet.” He sighed. “When this is behind us, we’re going to regret it. This is our world.”
He set his eyes on Luca. “You’re supposed to be running this.”
Luca glared back. “Don’t tell me what I’m supposed to do. Don’t forget who t
he head of this family is.”
Alessandro rolled his eyes. “I wonder if that’s how it should be.”
It had been a while since the last few years had stuck their bony hands out of their graves to clasp around my throat. The sudden unity the Binachi attack brought us was enough to keep Alessandro at bay, and once Luca gave him the operations near the border while Molly relocated to Maine to take care of the kids and get our new lives set up, he calmed down. Now that we were ticking boxes off our list and getting closer to hanging up the life for good, he was getting restless again.
“You want to see Willow tied up while you’re helpless again?” I asked. “Because that’s what will happen. Your hot head will make you more enemies than you can handle. You’re putting your whole family in jeopardy. You couldn’t even handle Willow walking away once. What’s going to happen when she takes Alexis and leaves you?”
Alessandro shrugged. “Then maybe that’s what’s supposed to happen.”
“Bullshit,” Marco growled at him. “You’d level half the country.”
Alessandro didn’t reply to that because he knew it was true. Instead, he settled for turning his gaze back to Luca. “You have to admit you haven’t run this business the way Dad did. If you had, none of this would have happened.”
“Dad’s in a body bag because he skimped off the Binachis, and now we’re all running around trying to clean up his mess. Are you dumb?” Luca asked. “I’ve heard enough from you.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not done talking.”
Luca raised an eyebrow. “Yes, you are.”
“No, I’m not.” Alessandro stabbed a finger in Luca’s direction. “Just because you’re the oldest, doesn’t mean you were the best suited to his job. I’d do it better if it were me.”
“Guys, knock it off,” I begged. “This is exactly what landed us in hot water in the first place.” I remembered the Binachis explaining that Alessandro had not merely spoken with Anthony Carducci but attempted to threaten him. “If we’re going to deal with the Binachis, we’re going to need to do it together.”
Marco looked as pleading as I felt. “He’s right.”
“Just because I was born third shouldn’t keep me from the throne I’m entitled to,” Alessandro said finally before folding his hands over his stomach in quiet resolve.
I watched in shock as Luca reached around his middle finger and pulled off the ornate gold ring with a bright topaz jewel set into the middle. “You think you can steer the ship better than me, brother?” He slammed the ring down on the desk. “Be my guest.”
Checkmate
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