Page 22 of Inherting the Mafia

It didn't feel right to talk about the weird interaction I'd had with Tony about his refusal to get on the airplane, so I just said, "We found a bomb on the airplane before take-off."

"Are you okay?" Carmine asked urgently. "What about Anthony?"

"No, no," I said quickly. "Everyone is fine. We found the bomb before it went off."

"Oh, grazie a Dio."

"I need you to check the video surveillance at the hangar and see who had access to the plane. We didn't find anything here so the bomb had to be put on the plane before we left Italy."

"Yes, of course," Carmine replied. "I'll look into it right away."

"Vinnie Borelli is sending someone over to disarm it and get it off the plane," I explained. "I'll call you when it's over."

"Borelli, huh? Be careful of him," Uncle Carmine warned. "He's not as easy to deal with as his grandfather. I've also heard some disturbing rumors about him."

"Rumors?" My eyebrows lifted. "What rumors?"

Was this something I needed to be aware of?

"They are just rumors, Vito, and I don't like spreading rumors without proof."

"Just tell me," I insisted.

"The rumor floating around is that not only is Borelli gay, but he married a man. I guess they allow that in America now."

I rolled my eyes and refrained from huffing in disgust. I knew my uncle was old school and believed only a man and a woman could get married. He also wasn't that much in favor of people that were gay, although he mostly ignored it, but this?

"Yes, Borelli did marry a man," I said. "I met with them both earlier."

"You met him?" he asked. "So, it's true?"

"Yeah, it's true."

There was silence for a moment and then Carmine asked, "And his grandfather allowed that?"

"I guess," I replied. "I didn't ask."

It was really none of my business.

"I see," Carmine replied.

I clenched my jaw, trying to hold back my biting words. Carmine was old school. I got that. He was also straight as an arrow. I got that, too. But that didn't mean I agreed with anything he said.

Except for this one little thing, my uncle was a great man and I admired him a lot. I grated on me every time it came up simply because I was gay. I'd never told my uncle because he'd been spouting this garbage since the time I was in diapers.

To give him some due, it had been that way in the mafia for decades, maybe even centuries. It wasn't until the last few yearsthat being gay in the mafia became accepted, and then only by a few.

That was the culture my uncle grew up in.

"Who Vinnie Borelli is married to is none of our business," I stated firmly.

"Well," Carmine said, "I guess nothing can be done about it now anyway. We just need to steer clear of him."

I winced at those words. "I'm afraid that might not be possible."

"Why not?"

"Because Borelli wants to discuss a deal with us," I replied. "He's looking into new shipping to Asia and wants to talk to us about it."

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