Page 72 of The Don

“A rest?”

“Si, si, butonlya rest. Pedro,” Andrea calls. The other man walks away from Tommaso’s gun without a care in the world. “Take some time. Do some research. And then we can begin again. There is still so much work to be done. Work your father started, and now we get to finish.”

“Andrea,” I groan.

He stands from the table slowly, batting his name away. “Before you go, you will need to name your successor.”

“Andrea.”

Pedro says something to the old man.

“I was wondering why Luca was not here!” Andrea’s laughter sounds exactly how I remember it. “I’ve been waiting years for that. Don’t worry. I already have someone in mind. Tommaso, I am sorry for your loss. Let us have a chat.”

I watch in shock as Andrea, Pedro, and Tommaso walk slowly from the room.

I shake my head and look at Giulio.

Abruzzo clears his throat to get my attention. “Are you done?”

“Oh, yes. Thank you,” I say, holding my father’s gun in the air. I don’t know how he got it into this room; all that matters is that it was here when I needed it. “Does this mean we have a deal?”

Abruzzo and Molise stand at the same time.

“We have our own reasons for supporting you here,” Molise says.

“I’m sure.”

“But yes,” Abruzzo adds. “We have a deal. And you know Andrea is the head of The Board now?”

I sigh in exasperation. “I know.”

“Was that your plan?”

I think back to the message Andrea somehow left in my office days ago. I don’t know how, and Andrea has never been a man to share his secrets. Not even with me. “Not exactly,” I say. “I just knew that I needed all the allies I could get.”

“True. He is right, you know. You will need to choose your successor and appoint your proxy.”

“Proxy?”

“For The Board. You’re a don now.”

“Welcome,” Molise says, a wry smile on his face.

“Does it never fucking end?” I groan, glancing toward Giulio, who will not be happy with me soon.

“No,” Molise says, and the two of them walk slowly from the room, with the last of The Board rushing after them.

When it’s just Giulio, Aldo, and I, Giulio finally drops his arm.

“What do you want me to do about him?”

“Where is Shae?”

“With Alfonso, Lorenzo, and Federico waiting for us.”

“Waiting?”

He rolls his eyes. “If she’s anything like Zahra, I thought she wouldn’t leave here without you. Anyway, Federico looked like he’d rip anyone who got too close to her into small pieces. So, I assume she’s safe.”

---