Before Michael could finish, Renzo and his team walked in, holding Carlo at gunpoint. Carlo took one look around the room before settling his gaze on me.
“You,” Carlo said. “This is your fault, you ungrateful son-of-a-bitch. After all I did for you, you betrayed me for some stupid bitch.”
I stood so fast my chair toppled over. “Don’t you fuckin’ talk about Ari like that,” I snapped. “You betrayed the familyandkilled my father.”
Carlo’s gaze once again took in the room. “I see you’ve finally put two and two together. I have to say I’m disappointed that it took you all this long. Had any of you actually heeded my advice, you probably would have figured it out long ago. Bones, what’s the number one thing I tell you?”
“Trust no one,” I answered through gritted teeth.
Carlo’s gaze settled on me. “At least someone was paying attention. I had such high hopes for you, but it turns out you’re no better than your old man. He was just an enforcer who forgot his role and interfered when he shouldn’t have, too.”
“You mean an enforcer who stepped in and saved my ass when my own uncle betrayed me?” Dominico asked, his expression tortured.
Carlo shrugged. “Don’t be so goddamn dramatic, Dom. I didn’t plan the hit on you. I just didn’t stop it, either. Figured I’d let shit work itself out.”
“Why, Carlo? You were my uncle and my mentor. Why would you knowingly send me into a setup?” Dominico asked.
“Because you were a liability,” Carlo snapped. “Head in the goddamn clouds, so busy chasing Annetta that you broke a family deal and pissed off an ally. You weren’t the kind of family man we needed, and I saw more possibilities in your death than your life.”
Dominico’s eyes narrowed.
“Don’t look at me like that, Dom. We were trying to rise to power, and all you cared about was dippin’ your fuckin’ cock into some cook with no benefit to the family. You humiliated the Pelinos when you knocked up Annetta and broke your engagement to Valentina. They demanded your blood. Your father was too big of a pussy to hand you over, so I did. I expected them to kill you, and knew your father—hothead that he was—would retaliate, probably getting himself killed in the process. Thankfully, your old man died in the other attack I allowed.”
“You son-of-a-bitch,” Michael growled.
Carlo spared him a pitiful glance. “I was trying to help you, you ungrateful bastard. You were never meant to take the fall for your brother’s transgressions. You were meant to lead the family. To be greater than your fatherandyour grandfather. With me by your side, telling you what to do… God, Mike, you were so easy to train, to influence. You were weak, and I knew you’d lean on me. You would have let me mold you and make you into the boss the family needed. I would have finally gotten to lead the family. Through you, of course.”
“You think I’m weak?” Michael asked, his face murderous. “I will fucking kill you. You’ll see how weak I am then.”
Carlo glanced around the room dismissively. “I think you’re gonna have to take a number and stand in line. You’re just a cripple now, and there are far more important people who want me dead.”
Unable to believe my ears, I stared at Carlo. He knew he was caught. He was confessing everything in that no excuses, no bullshit way he had about him. He’d accepted his fate, and he was ready for what was coming. But he was making us listen to the details of his life-long fucked-up power trip first.
“Do you have any other last bullshit to get off your chest, Carlo?” Dominico asked, leaning forward. “Or are you ready for the family you betrayed to send you to hell, where you belong?”
“This family will collapse without me,” Carlo replied, drawing himself up to stand taller. “Everything I did, I did it for the family. I don’t expect any of you to understand that, though. You bunch of pussies. None of you have any idea what it really means to be a wiseguy.”
“I think we know exactly what it means to be wiseguys,” Dominico replied. “Angel, get me the plastic. I’m not messing my floors up for this chooch. He’s not worth it.”
Carlo’s face reddened as Angel retrieved a roll of plastic drop cloth material from the office closet and unrolled a length out on the floor beside Carlo. When he finished, he cut the plastic and returned the rest of the roll to the closet.
Carlo watched the entire thing without saying a word.
Dominico pulled a pistol out of his desk drawer and pointed it at Carlo. “Step onto the plastic like the piece of shit you are. You’re not worth the stains you’d leave behind without it.”
For a moment, I didn’t think Carlo was going to comply, but Dominico waved the gun at him again, and he moved.
“Now, you’ve wronged every man in this room,” Dominico said, standing as he plucked a switchblade from the top of his desk and flicked it open. “So, every one of us is gonna get a piece of your sorry ass. Starting with the one your betrayal crippled.” He handed the switchblade to Michael, handle first.
Michael wheeled himself directly in front of Carlo. Then, in one fast swipe, he stabbed Carlo in the stomach. Carlo cried out, doubling over in pain. Michael gripped the handle and yanked the knife out. Blood bubbled around the wound.
“You motherfucker,” Michael breathed. “You don’t know what the fuck strength is. You’ve spent your entire life hiding behind your desk like a goddamn coward, surrounding yourself with people who risk their necks for you. You say love makes people weak, but my wife and kids made me a hell of a lot stronger than you ever did.”
“Bones,” Dominico said.
Michael handed me the knife, and I took my turn, stabbing Carlo in the side. “You’re a goddamn disappointment,” I said. “Nothing but lies and manipulations. Too damn cowardly to be honest with anyone. You told me to trust no one, but all I learned was not to trust you. I trusted Angel, Nonna, and Dom, and they helped me bring your ass down. I want you to go to the grave knowing that trust made me a better man than you’ll ever be.”
“Angel.” Dominico gestured him forward.
