The guy who handed Levi the bag steps forward. “I can do it,” he says. “I know all of his contacts.”
“Good,” Roman says, nodding to Marcus who reaches below the table and pulls out a black briefcase. “Your boss right here? That’s your warning. If you fuck this up, you’ll be down on that ground beside him. Is that clear?”
“Julius never told me what he was selling or what your prices were. I just know the buyers.”
Roman watches him for a silent moment before Marcus steps in with the briefcase and opens the latches. I can’t help but stand and glance between Levi and Roman, getting a good look at what it is they’ve been up to, and as Roman goes over his expectations, all I can do is gape.
This is the shit I’ve seen floating around the club. They’re Giovanni’s pills, only the packaging is different.
A laugh bubbles up my throat and I fall back against my seat, shaking my head in amusement. I thought the guys were here on business for their father, but that’s definitely not the case. They’re doing their own business by stealing their father’s products, slapping on their own branding, and using Giovanni’s contacts to make a profit. It’s one hell of a risky game, but damn it, it’s the best kind of fuck you to their father.
They’re not just undercutting him; they’re completely screwing him over.
Levi gets bored and drops down beside me. “What’s so funny?” he questions, his gaze narrowed as he looks back at the dead body in a pile at their feet.
“They’re your father’s pills, aren’t they? I recognize them from the club. You’re not just planning on overthrowing him. You’re undercutting his business deals and completely taking over.”
Levi laughs as a wicked grin tears across his face. “You’re observant,” he comments, leaning back and dropping his arm over the back of my seat. “They’re his pills. He manufactures them and we steal them right out from under his nose. He makes so much of the shit that he doesn’t even notice. We change the branding in his fucking warehouse and have his guys deliver it right to our front door. It’s sold within his city and we make 100% of the profits without even lifting a finger.”
“You guys are evil masterminds.”
Levi shrugs. “Nope, just businessmen who know how to fuck with the system.”
“And he has no idea?”
“There are whispers out there of a new supplier, but he’s too fucking blind to see what’s right in front of his face. Hell, the fucker even asked us to locate this new supplier and deal with it.”
“You’re kidding?”
“Nope,” he says. “When we’re ready to overthrow him, we want to have our whole operation already set up. We’re not just taking down our father, we’re destroying the whole DeAngelis family. When we’re done, there will be nothing left but us. We’re starting fresh, and without our father keeping us down, we’re going to be the most feared, unstoppable names in the whole fucking country, and you’re going to be right there to witness the whole damn thing.”
I stare at him with wide eyes, the realization of just how big this is sitting on my shoulders as Roman and Marcus finish up their business and send their new dealer on his way. “Is he good?” Levi asks as though he didn’t just drop a massive bomb.
Roman shrugs his shoulders and presses his lips into a tight line. “I guess we’ll find out,” he says, looking back over his shoulder and watching the three men slip away into the crowd. “He’s got a week to prove his worth.”
I swallow hard as my gaze shifts over the three brothers. They have every little thing planned out. They’ve prepared for the worst and taken everything into consideration. They really are going to destroy their father. They’re going to take him down from the inside, and only when he’s lost everything and everyone around him, they’re going to tear him to shreds. So much for the simple bullet that I wanted to put through his head. Their plan is much better, at least, it’s one that I can finally get on board with.
Roman takes the drink right out of Marcus’ hand and throws back every last drop as Marcus gapes at him, more than ready to throw down over those last few drops. “Let’s get the fuck out of here,” Roman says, cutting him off before he gets a chance to get even. “It’s only a matter of time before someone calls in that fucking body.”
Levi flies up off the seat beside me and immediately starts stalking back the way we came with Roman falling in behind him. Marcus looks back at me and silently indicates for me to get a fucking move on.
Wanting to get out of here just as much as they do, I step over the fallen body and walk behind Marcus, keeping close as other men leer a little too hard at me.