“And what is it I was built for, boss?” I ask, letting the venom I’ve been holding back seep through my lips.
“To be a killer forme. I took you in, fed you, clothed you, and taught you all you know. That woman had nothing to give you that I couldn’t.”
I nod slowly, thinking of my next words carefully. “And what is it you can give me that she couldn’t? The basic necessities I need to be a human?”
He stands up swiftly and moves toward me. Grabbing my face in his hands, he stares right into my eyes. “And power. I can give you power, Eric.”
“Power?”
He smiles again, and with him so close, I can see the yellow stains on his teeth from all of the coffee and cigars he consumes. “Yes, power. I can make you better than ever. You don’t need some pussy to be great.”
I grind my teeth in his hold. “Is that really how you feel?”
“Of course. You’re like a son to me. I gave you my name and I want to give you the world.” The way he speaks makes me want to puke. He’s so sure of himself.
Keeping my eyes locked on him, I move my hand slightly to grab the gun from my side. Raising it, I aim at his wife on the couch and fire. Immediately, the twins scream, and her body goes limp. Clyde’s eyes go wide, and he tries to move, but I snake my hand up and wrap it around his neck.
“You don’t need some pussy to be great, boss. Remember?” Now it’s my turn to smile. His body shakes in my hold as I squeeze his fat neck tighter. “A new era starts with me. Fuck your name, from this moment forward I’ll go by Ciccone.” I spit in his face before moving the gun to his head.
A moment of pride fills me. He took everything from me tonight, but the one thing that means anything in this world. Lily may be gone, buthername will live on with Max and with me.
As he stares at me, face turning blue, body frozen from shock, I pull the trigger. Blood splatters on my face, so I drop him, letting his body fold at my feet, and wipe it with the back of my hand.
The twins scramble around the room, unsure of what’s going on, crying for their parent’s, but I leave them there to play in the blood. Clyde took what was mine, so I took what was his.
When I make it to the living room threshold, Jerry grabs ahold of my leg. “Unc, Eric!” He screams.
Shaking him off, I squat to his level and use my thumb to brush the single drop of blood from his cheek. “When you get old enough, you’ll want revenge. You may not understand now, but you will. Come find me then.”
Pushing him away, I exit the house and slip back into the car where Alfredo and Max wait.
EPILOGUE
ERIC
Four Years Later
“Okay, boss. I got the word out. Shouldn’t take long for some women to come forward.” Alfredo says, stepping into my office.
Raising a finger to my lips, I glance at Max asleep on the chase across from my desk.
He’s older now, looking more like his mother than before. It’s a painful reminder of what she and I could have been, but he’s growing to have a lot of my qualities too. He’s stubborn, strong-willed, and so fucking intelligent.
I wanted to be pretty hands-off at first when it came to raising him, and it worked since Alfredo was here. The connection and understanding they have for one another are wild to me, but now that he’s at a good age and understands more, I think it’s time to finally start showing him the in’s and out’s of what our family will be about.
“Good,” I whisper. “I already have a meeting with a woman who just gave birth. Escort her into the formal living room when she gets here. I’ll be down shortly.”
He nods. “So we’re really doing this?”
I let out a small chuckle. When I told Alfredo my idea, he wasn’t on board. He feels children have no place in our world, but ultimately, he gave in. I get what I want— boys who will stand by my side, take over the Ciccone name, and rule the fucking city— and in turn, he gets what he wants too. He’ll get to raise children and love them as his own.
“Yes.”
He nods again, knowing there is no changing my mind at this point and exits the room.
Standing from my spot, I round my desk and stare down at Max.
The day I murdered Clyde, I not only made a silent promise to Max that I would keep him safe, but I also made one to myself. I would take all the shit Clyde taught me and morph it to fit my own agenda along with being smarter, and that starts today.
