They had other rules too, and those who violated them were targeted by The Company or blacklisted. Los Muertos was one organization that fell into both categories. I wasn’t exactly sure what Los Muertos had done to earn the double whammy, but they had truly fucked up. Quite a few of their people were taken down quietly to make the point, and after that, Los Muertos was no longer allowed to take out contracts with The Company. That sort of blacklist also marked them for smaller groups known for assassinations, and they often followed The Company, refusing contracts from those on the blacklist as well.
So right now, Leo knew I had a piece in the game that he and his people could never utilize in return.
“But it’s not,” I said. “You see, if you’re smart enough and willing to pay the right amount of money, you can set up a contingency. So don’t think of it as an inevitability, think of it as...a choice.”
“What choice?”
“You don’t touch mine, not those who are outside the Marelli Family. Easy. And if you do, then the contracts are activated, and at that point...good luck.”
“Contracts?” Leo asked, hitting the ‘s’ hard and staring at me with wide eyes. “Just how much did you put into this?”
“Do you have a wife, Leo? A girlfriend perhaps?”
“No.”
“A child.”
“Two.”
“Do you love those children?”
“With all of my heart and soul, God preserve them.”
“Well, I don’t need God to preserve the ones I love with all of my heart and soul,” I told him coldly. “Because I have more money than I know what to do with and a whole lot of people who I’m willing to kill to keep them preserved, do you understand?”
He muttered something and sucked in a breath. “Who?”
“I thought that was clear. Those who are mine and not in The Family. I won’t block you from targeting Family members; they are in this war as much as you are.”
“No, who are the contracts for?”
I smiled. “Now that would be telling.”
He stared. “Perdón?”
I shrugged. “I took contracts out on certain members of Los Muertos. I will not be giving up the names, but I will tell you, if I ever call in the contracts or it’s shown that Los Muertos was responsible intentionally oraccidentallyfor the deaths of the people I have listed as important to me, then the contracts will be activated.”
Reg blinked. “How the fuck are we supposed not to accidentally kill them when we don’t even know who they are?”
Leo tried for a grim smile, but it looked like a grimace. “By staying out of Cresson Point for a long time.”
“And if they get into our territory, and...get drunk and run over by one of us by accident?” Reg exclaimed. “This is bullshit, you know it.”
“The people listed under protection of the contracts will be alerted that they need to stay out of Los Muertos territory, but Idoubt any of them will leave Cresson Point for long,” I said with a shrug. “That and I have the Syndicate keeping an eye on them as well. If they should die, they’ll be alerted, do an investigation, and if they find that the death falls within the criteria of my contracts, they’ll alert The Company.”
“And the Syndicate. Dios mio,” Leo muttered while Reg muttered something far more colorful and not as easily translated, but I was sure he’d called me a son of a donkey whore...which was new. “Surely you have nothing left. Not a penny to your name. Even as Augustine’s son, you cannot have much left.”
“I think we should leave worrying about my finances to my personal accountant,” I said dryly.
“Leonardo,” Reg pleaded, staring at the older man. “You can’t...we kill this fucker now. Or later, when he’s not going to blow us up, but he’s not going to. Just kill him now, and we can...ignore the fucking asshole he’s been sleeping with and take over this city.”
Leo stared at me. “Was there anything else on your list?”
And there it was, the final stab in this fencing match. I looked at Reg. “He doesn’t leave this city.”
Which was the precise moment I saw that was exactly what Leo had been waiting for, as his shoulders slumped slightly, but not for a moment did he look surprised, or, for that matter, angry. I don’t know what was worse for Reg, the realization that I had never intended to let him leave or that the man who might have been a trusted teacher had just let the request pass without an immediate refusal. Tension filled the room, thick enough that it was a good thing emotions couldn’t take physical form, or we would all be suffocating.
A knock on the meeting room door made me jerk, and I almost dropped the detonator. We all spun as the door opened,and at the sight of the person coming slowly through the doorway, I felt my heart drop right down to my stomach.
