Page 19 of The Sicilian Brotherhood I

I took firm, determined steps downstairs and she followed, hurrying behind me and grabbing my arm.

“Giacomo, what do you mean?”

I shook her arm off me. How dare she touch me like that?

“Back off,” I growled, “How I handle things with my men is my business.”

I took my last step down the stairs and caught the faces looking back at me. Pietro and Elena intertwined on the couch, both visibly perturbed by the look on my face. They’d seen that look before. I reached for my gun before anyone could have time to react and pointed it right at Raimondo.

He raised his palms up and Pietro scowled at me.

“Giac, what the hell are you doing.”

“Quiet,” I growled, “Or you’ll be next. Neither of you is irreplaceable.”

That shut Pietro up. Elena nestled her way deeper into his arms. Good. If that woman could keep him hanging onto life, he’d keep quiet.

“Boss, what are you doing? We need to get the information out of her and get out of here.”

“Quiet,” I growled, “Don’t speak. You don’t get another chance to speak. I want all of you here to watch and learn that this is what happens when you touch a woman without her permission.”

I pulled the trigger. Dahlia screamed. Pietro flinched and Elena let out a loud wail as the bullet went through Raimondo’s skull. My stomach churned as it always did when I had to take a shot like that — and so close at that.

“Pietro, Santo, get him out of here. Call Vinnie to take care of this. Elena, take her upstairs and get her dressed. We’re getting out of here.”

Dahlia was still shaking as Elena led her upstairs. Poor Elena’s face was as white as a sheet. Too bad. If that could teach Pietro, Santo and the rest of them to stay out of trouble, it would be worth it.

Raimondo knew our rules. He knew the punishments. He thought being my right-hand man made him immune to consequences. Guess again.

“You didn’t have to waste him like that,” Santo grumbled as he moved Raimondo’s large body off the couch.

“Rape is unacceptable. We all know that.”

Santo whined, “How do you know she didn’t come onto him? Sounds like you were a bit jealous, boss.”

“Quiet,” I growled, “Or it’ll be you next.”

They wrapped Raimondo up in a white blanket and then we waited for Vinnie. Elena left the room for that part. Cleaning up that sort of mess isn't a woman's job.

Vinne showed up just after dusk when the streets were too dark to make out what we were up to. He was the sort of the guy who could handle messes like this without them popping up again to haunt me. Santo and Pietro hoisted their buddy up into the back of Vinnie’s truck. I counted out $1,000 in cash and handed it to him as he sped off.

“Are you going to tell Britt what you did?”

I grunted, “Only if I get to tell her that it was because her man forced himself on another woman.”

Pietro cleared his throat, “Probably best not to tell her then boss.”

“Exactly.”

We reentered the house and I turned to the two men.

“I’m leaving,” I announced, “I don’t want any more trouble. We need to get the diamond back from wherever that bastard has it. Then I’ll decide what to do with Franco’s chick.”

“And this isn’t just an excuse to screw her?”

“No,” I replied, “She’s… not Sicilian.”

“That never seemed to be a problem for you before,” Santo pointed out.

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