Page 82 of Inherting the Mafia

"So, let me guess. You're the idiot Romano that harassed Nico at the last conclave, right? Is that why you kidnapped him?"

Geno's eyes became hooded by his prominent eyebrows as he glared at me. "That disgusting little brat deserved it."

"You're pissed because you turned him down?" I glanced at the woman who had given birth to me, the only good thing she had ever done in her life. "My mother getting too old for you?"

When my mother raised her hand to smack me again, I grabbed his wrist as it came down. "Fuck you, you two-bit whore! It should have been you that died that day."

I pulled my knife out of my pocket with one hand and yanked down on my mother's arm with the other. When she stumbled and started to fall, I gave her a good shove and leapt at Geno, driving the knife into his chest as hard as I could.

I was very aware of the fact that this would probably get me killed, but if I could create an opportunity for Vito to escape, it would be worth my life.

"Vito, run!" I shouted as I yanked the knife free and jumped toward the next guy.

"Not on your life," Vito called back. "You go, we both go."

Damn fool.

I swung my leg around, kicking out and slamming it into one of the guards while swiping the knife blade across the throat of another one.

When I heard a gun go off, I was pretty sure my life expectancy had just been shortened by a lot. Still, I refused to go down without a fight.

I darted for the next guy, but instead of stabbing him I grabbed the strap of the automatic rifle in his hand, looped it over his head, tightened it around his throat, and then I started spinning him. Every time I needed him to pull the trigger, I jerked on the heavy canvas strap.

Worked like a charm.

Within moments only me and Vito stood on the beach. Everyone else was either dead or dying.

I glanced at Vito, my eyes instantly dropping to the blood dripping down his arm. "You've been shot."

"It's nothing," he said. "Just a flesh wound."

"Nothing?" Were those spots dancing in front of my eyes? "You've been shot!"

Hysterical mode engaged.

"Tony, I'm fine. I promise."

I wasn't buying it.

I walked over to him and started to pull up his sleeve when Vito pointed to the bodies on the ground a few feet away. "Don't you think we'd better deal with them first?"

Oh, right, them.

I picked up one of the dropped guns off the ground and walked over to my mother, pressing the tip of the barrel againsther forehead. "Look, Ma, Santa brought me a nice new gun for Christmas. It comes with shiny bullets and everything."

God, I wanted to pull the trigger so damn bad.

"Since I like shiny things, I kind of want to keep them all. So, why don't you start talking so I don't have to put one of them in your fucking head?"

"You can't kill me," she protested. "I'm your mother."

"Funny, that mother son bond never seemed to bother you when you were knocking me around or locking me in a closet for days on end with no food. It certainly didn't bother you when took off with one of your customers, taking all of the money my father had sent me."

She looked a little more wary now. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Then let me remind you." I pointed the rifle at her arm and pulled the trigger.

My mother screamed and grabbed her bleeding arm. She stared up at me with shock in her wide eyes. "You shot me!"

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