Arthur
The man I’d been searching for, for twenty-five years, was sitting next to me. He was nothing like the man who’d killed my father in cold blood or the man that had stood in the cemetery with hatred burning in his eyes. He was now a frail old man, his hair thinned and completely white, he’d lost all the muscle he’d once had, and he looked tired. His looked like he could use a long nap. I wondered what my father would do at this moment. Would he end him, right here? Slit his throat or put a bullet through his skull?
I looked at the woman I loved across the room, the woman I tried to push away, the daughter of my sworn enemy. What was a man to do in such a situation? Before I could think any further, I pulled out my gun and shot Charles Russo in the chest. He tried to speak, but blood just streamed down his mouth. He lay back in the chair he’d been sitting on, his eyes staring back at me, as death finally came. His men stepped forward, guns ready, but Stephen told them to stand down. They were working for Castello all along.
“I saw that coming,” the old man laughed. He really was a sick fucker.
“Do you have any idea what that bastard was doing to your children?”
He coughed and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth. “I didn’t. If I had, I’d have come for them sooner. It had to be beaten out of Giorgia. The girl, Gaia, she’s been playing femme fatale, killing off Charles’ clients.”
I looked at Gaia, and she turned away. I could not imagine her killing anyone.
“Let’s end this, Arthur. I have no fight left, and it’s about bloody time.”
I stood and placed the gun to his temple. The man deserved to go quickly. I hated him, but I was not in the mood to be cruel. It would do me no good to torture him. And then I remembered Gaia and Gabriel. I walked over to them.
“Leave. Take Gabriel, a car is outside. I’ll meet you at home.”
She stared at me, stubbornly, not moving. “Will you just listen to me for once, just this once." I growled.
Standing, she managed to wake her brother and they stumbled toward the front door. Before leaving, she looked back at her grandfather.
“I did what I thought was best for the two of you.” Castello offered.
“You keep telling yourself that,” she hissed, walking out of the door.
“Tell your men to leave and get on your knees.” The old man hobbled up from his seat, balancing on his stick before awkwardly getting onto his knees.
“Go,” he commanded, and the men left through the same door Gaia just had. I looked down at the man who’d been my father's best friend his entire life. He was the man who’d saved Luther's life on more than one occasion. He was his best man and a brother to him. Stephen Castello was named my Godfather. My father loved and respected him
“Why, Castello? I have thought about it over and over again during the last twenty-five years, and I still cannot make sense of it. There was nobody my father trusted more than you yet you ended his life without a thought, without reason.”
“There is always a reason, Calthorpe. Your father's rule was ending; it was time the Castellos took his place.”
“And how did that work out for you?”
“You would be surprised how well.”
Suddenly, I felt a hit on the back of my head. And then another brought me to my knees. The last hit had me closing my eyes, the pain excruciating.
“So you do bleed.” I heard a woman’s voice as I drifted off into the darkness.
* * *
Iopened my eyes to a darkened room. I was seated in an upright position, my hands tied behind my back. My head pounded, and I could smell blood.
“Castello,” I shouted, but it only made my head hurt more. A light was turned on overhead, and I squinted, turning my head to the side.
“It is odd, isn’t it, being on the other side?” He sounded amused, pleased.
“Quite easy to capture the infamous Arthur Calthorpe.” He still stayed in the darkness.
“You killed my son, then two of my best men They were running my operations here in New Orleans while working for you, but you were none the wiser. You’re losing a grip on things, Calthorpe. Just like your father did.”
“Stop hiding in the dark like a coward, Castello Show yourself. And why don’t you just end this? Why the theatrics?”
“Because they are all going to come for you, the Cavalieri. You’re their leader, and none of those men are going to sit back and do nothing while their king is held captive. I want them all here when I end you, then my men will end all of them, and I’ll finish off with that pretty daughter of yours who looks just like her mama.”
I pushed against my restraints, trying yet failing to loosen the rope around my torso and the one binding my hands.
“As for Gabriel and Gaia, they are Castellos, they’ll understand what that means soon enough.”
Giorgia stepped forward, dressed in a black dress that hugged her curves. She looked down at me in contempt before she stuck a needle in my arm.
And then I was bathed in darkness again, my head feeling heavy. I let it lull forward, drifting off into oblivion before I knew it.
