Page 90 of Lord of Punishment

“Has anyone visited you here at the hospital?” I asked as I sensed Miguel stiffening.

“No, sir. Just my wife.”

“But you’re afraid they will.”

“Yes. Please protect my family. I don’t care what you do to me, but they are innocent. I swear I didn’t know what else to do.”

I shook my head. My father would kill the man and get it over with. Once a traitor, always a traitor, so he’d told me. Times were different. If Rico or anyone else had gone to the trouble of delving into the most painful moment of my past just to keep me on the edge, then anything was possible, no one safe. The internet didn’t help the situation either.

“You and your family will be protected, Chase. You have my word. In exchange, I’ll expect your full and absolute loyalty. You get one chance. One.”

“Yes, sir,” he croaked out. “You have my word on my mother’s life that I will honor you and your entire family, serving loyally for the rest of my life.”

He meant what he’d said.

“I’ll make certain you have the best care as well, Chase. If you hear or see anything, call me,” I told him.

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”

It was moments like this that I longed to be an accountant instead of the Don of the DiMaggio Empire. “Rest easy, Chase. Things will improve.”

“What about the money, sir? I haven’t used a penny. I swear to God.”

Miguel grinned as if knowing what I’d tell him. “First, use it on your mother’s care. If it’s not enough, let me know. Second, if there’s leftover, pay it forward.”

His eyes opened wide and there was something particularly haunting about seeing a grown man cry. It had been a long fucking time since I’d shed a tear.

And of course, I knew the exact date.

My wife and baby’s funeral.

As I headed out of the room, I wanted to say I felt good about the decisions I’d just made but I’d be lying to myself. Again. I should have known something was off. A man like Chase didn’t simply turn against someone who’d provided holiday bonuses to ensure his kids had a fantastic Christmas. Fuck. I slammed my hand on the wall opposite his room, putting a dent in the wallboard. Thankfully, only a storage closet was near to my damaging blow.

“You did good in there, brother,” Miguel said from behind me.

“Too little, too fucking late.”

“If he’d come to you then he’d be walking.”

“If he’d come to me, his mother would be dead, his wife and kids as well. Contact Andres. Have him coordinate establishing round the clock guards at the hospital, his wife’s house, and his mother’s as well. I don’t want anything happening to them. I have another call to make.”

“To the Brotherhood?”

“You got it.”

It was time to bring in the big guns, especially since every man and every crime syndicate within the alliance had been placed on a hit list.

And it would seem the streets would be painted in blood once again.

CHAPTER 27

“Love isn’t there to make us happy. I believe it exists to show us how much love we can endure.”—Hermann Hesse

Georgia

Was there such a thing as love being a curse?

At this point it felt that if I fell any harder for Sabatino, I’d fall into an abyss that had no bottom, that I’d be floating for all eternity, darkness my only friend.

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