I squeezed her against me. “I don’t know, baby, but I’ll get to the bottom of it. I promise.”
Little did I know, our house was only one of the hits made that night.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Dominico
FATHER WAS DEAD. Try as I might, I could not reconcile the hard-as-nails, mean-ass man who’d raised me with the corpse laid out in the pine box. The Durantes had finally gotten him. He’d been heading into Antonio’s for a meeting when they’d taken him down. Of course, my old man didn’t go down alone; he made sure to drag Maurizio to hell with him.
Michael should have been dead as well. Taking my place at the Pelino pickup, had earned him two bullets in the spine. Then he shot Adamo and two more of his men, buying our soldiers enough time to pull him out of there and rush him to the hospital. So far, my brother had undergone three surgeries. The bullets had been removed, but the doctors said he’d never walk again. Michael would spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.
“Dom,” Carlo said by way of greeting, joining me at the casket.
“What have you heard from the messaggero?” I asked, still staring down at my old man’s lifeless form.
“The hit was unprovoked and unsanctioned. The Commission gave us the thumbs-up to retaliate, and we hit them this morning.”
“This morning?” I asked, stunned. “I should have been there. Why didn’t anyone tell me?”
He laid a hand on my shoulder. “Because as soon as this shit’s over, the family will swear allegiance to you. You’ll be our new capo. We couldn’t risk you.”
Confused, I stared at him. “But Michael will recover. He’s the heir.”
“The men won’t follow a cripple,” Carlo said frankly. “They need strength right now, and they’re willing to pledge to you.”
Still reeling, I asked, “How did the hit go?”
“We got all the Durantes except Joey. The little bastard slipped through our fingers.”
Joey Durante was Maurizio’s youngest son. “He’s just a baby, isn’t he?” I asked.
“As your father always reminded us, babies grow up to be men, thirsty for revenge.”
Yeah, but the old man was dead. “I’m not my father, Carlo.”
“I’m aware.”
He sounded disappointed. No doubt, they all were.
“What about Gino?” I asked.
“No sign of him.”
Carlo was holding back something.
“When’s the last time he checked in?”
“Two weeks ago. They might have discovered him, Dom.”
My world was crumbling around me. Father was dead, Michael was crippled, and Gino was probably dead. At least they’d taken our enemies with them.
“And the Pelinos?” I asked.
“Found them holed up with the Durantes… all except Ciro and his kid.”
Valentina’s big brother was still roaming the streets. No doubt that would come back to bite us in the ass long before Maurizio’s baby did.
Carlo finished his report and excused himself to talk to one of his cousins.
