“The Devils and the Vipers defended it well until more Giorlando goons showed up,” the younger Serpent continued. “Better than we expected. They’re dug in now. Roman too probably.”
“And these Vipers?” I asked. “Our little surprise in the factory by the shore?”
The first Serpent shifted. “You hit them once already,” he said. “Got inside. Tore up their bar some. Shot a couple. But they pushed you back hard from what we heard.”
Isabella’s mouth twitched. “Maybeyoushould have pushed harder at the club and killed Dante. Die trying to complete your mission instead of high tailing it and running. At least my families’ men die with their name in their mouths and honor.”
I could see her anger. She never triedto hide it. She was just as ruthless as her cousins could be. That was one of the reasons I fell for her.
I let the room breathe for a moment. Let the details settle.
Hits landed. Money rattled. Some blood had been spent on both sides. But no one at this table was dead. Not a bad first verse.
I then turned my head slightly, met Fiorenzo’s eyes, and gave the smallest nod.
Fiorenzo moved before the Serpents understood the gesture was about them.
His arm rose, easy, unhurried, pulled a pistol out from under the table like it was nothing more than a misplaced utensil, and put a bullet through the younger Serpent’s forehead.
The sound was deafening in the enclosed room. The man’s head snapped back against the leather chair, a neat hole between his eyes, red mist shot out into the air behind him. His body twitched once, the firing of a final synapse, then went perfectly still, still upright, as if he were simply considering the ceiling. Blood dripped to the floor. A mess I’ll make someone else clean up later.
The other Serpent went white. He didn’t flinch. That was the only thing saving him right now.
Fiorenzo placed the gun on the table pointed in the Serpents direction and lowered his arm casually.
I took a slow breath, taking in my cologne and coffee.
“Failure is expensive,” I said softly. “But so is successwith the wrong mindset. I don’t want boys who think dying for me is enough. I want men who are too afraid of disappointing me. Too afraid to fail.”
I turned my gaze on the surviving Serpent fully now.
“You’re going to ride back to your clubhouse or wherever you all congregate,” I began to say. “You’re going to sit under whatever ugly neon you all drink beneath and you’re going to tell them exactly what happened in this room. You tell them the Vincinos and the Bolivars don’t tolerate waste. You remind them all that they work for me. That they’remydogs,notmy partners. If you bring me wins, you eat. If you bring me excuses, you end up like your friend there.” I jerked my chin toward the dead one.
The Serpent glanced at the corpse sitting politely in its chair, a line of blood sliding down its temple.
The Serpent swallowed. “Yes, sir,” he said hoarsely.
“Good,” I said. “Now go.”
Fiorenzo rose, this time to usher the man out. The Serpent kept his eyes on the floor and tried not to step in the blood.
When the door closed behind them, the silence dropped differently.
“That’s one way to negotiate,” Nico muttered.
“It’s not a negotiation,” I reminded. “It’s a language. He’ll translate for the rest of them better than any speech I could have made. Words he would have left out. Actions? Those he’ll remember.”
Ilooked at Yashida.
“Now,” I started. “We’ve rattled their cage. That Devil is dead. Dante’s glass is cracked. The Vipers were hit too. Devils were warned. Our name is in all their mouths whether they want it there or not. I’m not naïve enough to think they won’t try to hit us back. So, what fallout can we expect to come our way?”
Yashida leaned back, thinking.
“We have three categories of targets,” he said. “Small fronts, shell companies, stash spots. But most of those aren’t worth the bullets to go after. I’m sure they’ll realize that soon if they haven’t already. It’s how I’ve helped you sculpt your business, your empire. To protect the most important stuff, which leads to number two. The bigger assets. They’re here in the city. Skyscrapers. Real estate. Legitimate fronts hiding illegitimate money. They won’t touch those without inviting cops and cameras to the party. You own this city. Third, your family itself, which is already closely monitored and protected. Same goes for Roman. We’ve already bled the edges. If we want him to move, or get him where it hurts, we have to hit something he thinks is untouchable.”
“The Vipers,” Nico said. “Fierce, but too small.”
“Correct,” Yashida agreed immediately. “We already tried them. The hit on their yard. They only got angrier, not weaker. People like them don’t respond to offers after getting slapped. You can’t buy pride that protective. You can only kill it, and they’re dug in tight now. The cost would be higher than the return.”
