Armando reached out of the darkness and shoved Tito roughly back onto the bed. “Boss said ‘sit,’ you sit.”
Tito grunted and shot a glare in Armando’s direction before refocusing on Santino.
“Rumor has it,” Santino continued, ignoring Tito’s outburst, “that you were buddies with Nico.”
“Nico?” Tito’s eyes widened, his entire face contorted in odd shadows from the blinds.
Santino let his expression, and his tone, darken. “Nico was a rat. But we both know he wasn’t the source of the poison, don’t we?”
Tito’s chest heaved. “The only rat is you, sellin’ us out to those assholes!” He shoved a hand beneath the pillow he’d been practically sitting on previously, then twisted back around with a pistol aimed at Santino. “Long live the Segretis.”
Chapter seventeen
The Capos
Santino fought the urgeto rub at his aching shoulder and instead raised his chin higher—as if he weren’t already looking quite literally down on every fucker in the room—when the door slammed behind Aronne.
One of the hanging overhead fluorescents squeaked and swayed, just a bit, from the impact.
“Took your sweet fuckin’ time, Aronne,” Ciro, Santino’s third capo, said in his usual agitated tone.
Aronne came to stand on Freddie’s open side, angled to talk around him and bark back at Ciro. “So sorryoneof us was getting our dick wet tonight. Shame they don’t make medicine for your problem.”
Freddie closed his eyes. “If you two start arguing over me like I’m fucking invisible, I’ll slit both your goddamn throats.”
Ordinarily, Santino would have laughed at that type of comment. In the moment, he didn’t even have it in him to fake the amusement. He settled for clapping his hands in a loud, obnoxious manner that thoroughly overshadowed the next half-formed declaration, drawing the proper focus of all three men. None of whom had been expecting the near-midnight summons.
He really didn’t feel bad about that.
“Gentlemen,” he said with a deliberate, sarcastic emphasis, “this isn’t high school. Have some self-control, hm?”
Freddie straightened his posture while the other two squared up on either side of him.
“Sorry, Boss,” Ciro offered with a low grunt.
Aronne still looked rather disquieted, but he said, “Yeah. Sorry.”
How moving.Santino pretended to accept the words at face-value for the moment and settled his hands on his hips. He knew they would be able to make out Armando’s outline a few feet behind him, and possibly the shape of something else on the edge of veritable spotlight, but also knew that was all they’d see from their positions. And, for the time being, that was how he wanted it.
He tilted his head just a bit and narrowed his focus on Aronne. “It doesn’t take half an hour to get here from your place, Aronne.”
Aronne’s lips thinned. “I was pre-occupied, Boss. I couldn’t exactly—”
“You could have,” Santino interrupted. “It would have sucked for you, I’m guessing, but youcouldhave.” He paused and let a cruel smirk lift his lips. “I mean, unless you were the one all tied up. Then I guess you’d have had to say your safe word first, and I do realize you’d rather eat a bullet from me than lose your pride on that.”
The light overhead was bright enough to see the way Aronne’s face flamed red as he sucked in hard breath. “I wasn’t told it was urgent.”
Santino’s amusement fled as quickly as it had come. “I called and demanded we meet. I believe I even used the word ‘immediately’. How much more do you need to hear? Should I have explained the entire situation over the phone while you were balls deep in some poor college girl? Or should I have started talking dirty to you to help you come faster?”
Aronne balled his hands into fists. “That’s not what I—”
“What he’s saying,” Freddie cut in with a side-long glare at his compatriot, “is that you should haveassumed.”
“Goddamn right,” Ciro muttered.
Aronne huffed. “I made a mistake. I said I was sorry.”
Santino found it in him to smile again, though he doubted the expression was reassuring. “Yes, Aronne, you did. But I’m going to be honest, the real reason I’m pissed has nothing to do with standing around here shooting the shit with these two.” He turned and paced away, feeling their stares track his movement. “Let’s get to business, shall we? There’s something we all need to discuss, but you, Aronne, in particular have some explaining to do. Because I have hadquitethe evening.”
