Page 65 of Unforgivable Ties

“The other three families are going to be so pissed,” Ettore hissed, mostly talking to himself.

He was referring to the other three Italian families that held power on the east coast; The Coscia’s, Tomasino’s, and Salvaggio’s. Starting shit with a neutral party such as the Pampuri’s was certainly frowned upon, and it would not sit well with the other families. Friction within our ranks was the last thing we needed right now.

“Let them be pissed,” Emilio said, he and Rocco picking up another body.

“You know it’s not that simple,” Ettore said, rubbing his temples. “Not now that I’ve taken Leone’s place.”

There used to be five families, and Leone Alto was the most powerful out of all of them. He was recently murdered, and Don Ettore had married Leone’s daughter and taken over his empire. It was very unfortunate timing, with many eyes still scrutinizing Ettore in his new role.

“We’ll figure it out,” I said as Felix and I loaded the last body. “Right now, we need to get back to the warehouse.”

We all went to load into the van, Ettore hopping in the driver’s seat as I hopped into shotgun.

“C’mon man,” Felix said, leaning against the van. “You know I get carsick. Don’t make me sit in the back.”

Normally I would have told him to toughen up, but I didn’t want to risk his vomit getting on the bodies. Cesare would murder me if we accidentally contaminated something and he wasn’t able to extract an organ for such a stupid reason.

“Fine,” I grumbled, unbuckling my seatbelt. “Take it.”

I hopped in the back with Rocco and Emilio, crammed next to the lifeless bodies piled haphazardly over one another. The smell of blood mingled with the stale scent of old cigarettes in the van, and I would kill Felix myself if he threw up and made the stench worse.

Luckily, we made it back to the warehouse with no mishaps. Ettore backed the van into the loading dock and we began thetedious process of unloading the bodies and taking them one by one to the morgue Cesare had set up in the back room.

“The Pampuri’s?” he asked, looking down at the bodies with an expression that was more annoyed than shocked.

Ettore shot him a glare that silently said he better not say another word. Cesare raised his eyebrows, and began drawing on the bodies, likely making notes on what could be harvested.

After confirming Cesare had everything he needed, I wanted to head to the showers ASAP. I was covered in blood, dirt, and motor oil from the day’s job, the grimy fluids making my skin itch. As if reading my mind, the other men were having a conversation about the same thing, and how they wanted to shower pronto.

I followed them out of the morgue and down the hallway towards the shared locker room, if you could even call it that. It was a few shower heads haphazardly installed with old lockers the men could shove their things into.

Suddenly, Stephanie emerged from the medical room, looking down at her phone, a habit she really needed to break. Emilio and Rocco were in the front of pack, and they almost barreled right into her.

“Eh?” she said, confused at why she had almost been run over. “Eh!” she said again, looking at the five of us covered in grime and blood.

“Are you hurt?” she asked, immediately inspecting the giant blood stain on Rocco’s stomach.

I didn’t like that Stephanie’s hands were on him. Even though Rocco was my friend, my immediate urge was to punch him. Her hands should only be on my body.

“It’s not mine,” Rocco replied, his tone flat.

Her eyes scanned over all five of us before the realization set in. None of us were hurt; we had hurt people.

“Right, sorry,” she said, and stepped out of our way.

Her gaze averted my friends as they passed her, but as I walked by she quickly snuck a peek at me. Her face was painted with a mix of uncertainty and nervousness. But I could have sworn I also saw something else in her wide brown eyes—fear.

I squeezed her hand, certain none of my friends would see as I was in the back. It was a silent, reassuring squeeze. I hoped she would interpret it as such.

She jumped a little, but didn’t pull away. Instead, she nervously glanced at me, then quickly looked down at her phone again. I held onto her hand for a moment longer, trying to say everything I couldn’t out loud with just a squeeze of my fingers.

Inside the changing room, I peeled off my dirty shirt and threw it in the trash can. It was beyond saving.

“So, how is it banging the doctor in training?” Felix asked with a smirk as he yanked off his own grimy clothing.

I turned sharply, feeling the flames of irritation lick my gut. Felix was the kind who loved stirring the pot, and I was usually good at ignoring it, but he had annoyed me today.

“Shut up,” I said, turning away from him.

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