Page 72 of Knocked Up by my Best Friend's Brothers

“Vince, let me put it in layman’s terms before my brother starts going into the technical details,” I say just as Nathan straightens his back ever so slightly. It’s enough for Vince to notice how hard my brother’s suit works to keep all of that muscle mass and pure fury contained at this point in the conversation. “We know who you are, who you’re affiliated with, and what you’re doingin Portland. We know about your family and your businesses, both legal and not-so-legal, and we know you’re looking to hurt someone for what happened in Los Angeles with Perry-Sage.”

His mask drops for a moment. It’s all I need to recognize the brutal side of this man.

He can tell we’re not playing around, so his demeanor changes. Slowly, he gets up from his chair but it fails to make him look bigger than Nathan or me. We have him at a physical disadvantage, and while it’s not enough to get a mobster like Vince Mancini to cower, at least he understands that coming after Christa won’t be as cut and dry as he might’ve thought.

“I think it’s my business what I’m doing in Portland, not yours,” he says.

“Normally, I would agree. But you’re harassing someone we care about, and it’s going to stop,” I reply. “Whatever you’re after, it’s better if you just cut your losses and back off.”

He chuckles nervously. “Oh, really? Or what?”

Nathan gives him a wry smile. “Or else you’re going to find out what it means to fuck around and find out.”

“This is our city. You may be somebody over in LA, but our ancestors were among the founders of Portland. We’re not some pencil pushers you can scare into a corner. A simple google search should tell you that much,” I add.

Vince looks at me and smiles a rather cold, unsettling smile. “I have a score to settle with some folks. It would be better if you didn’t get in the way. I know who you are, Mr. Cassius Hawthorne. I can only imagine what you saw while you were fighting on our behalf overseas. But this is America. It’s differenthere.”

“Consider this your only warning,” I reply. “Back off. Leave her alone. Otherwise, I will have no choice but to show you how we dealt with what we saw when we were fighting on your behalf overseas.”

Without another word, I motion to Nathan to follow me.

We leave Vince in his office and head out of the building, fully aware we have eyes on us from every possible angle. I spot the cameras recording. I see the Mancini goons disguised among the office mice working there. It’s a front for one of their money laundering businesses for sure, and now Vince knows we’ve got eyes on him, too.

“We have to put him under surveillance. You know that, right?” Nathan mutters as we get back in the car.

I look back and see Vince watching us from his office window. “Yes. We’ll be discreet about it. I think Jace and his crew can handle the assignment. They’ve been making a pretty penny out of their domestic private security business since they came back from their last tour.”

“They’re local, right?”

I nod slowly. “Yes.”

“Let’s do it,” Nathan says. “Whatever it takes, man.”

“I’m worried this will grow into something much worse,” I warn my brother.

He gives me a long, dark look. I know the shadows in his eyes. I’ve seen them before, years ago, when we were in the trenches together. “We can agree on one thing,” he says. “The three of us.We love her.”

“Yes, we do.”

“And we’re going to do everything in our power to keep her safe and happy.”

“Yes, we are.”

“That means we might have to operate outside the scope of the law at some point,” Nathan continues. “I’ll drop a line to my Federal buddies in the meantime.”

I let a heavy sigh roll from my chest. It doesn’t make the sullen ache go away, though. “I suppose it has to get worse before it gets better.”

“A hell of a lot worse if Vince Mancini intends to go all the way with whatever he’s planning,” Nathan replies. “You know, I just thought of something. River made a good point earlier.”

We’re driving back to town now. I know these streets by heart. This is my domain. My turf. And the presence of sewer rats like Vince on my turf brings out the worst in me. I fought hard to keep the people I care about safe. I did that overseas. I didn’t think I’d have to do it here, too.

“What’s that?” I ask.

“If we can figure out who Vince Mancini is and what his personal beef is with Christa, we might be able to understand what his plan are,” Nathan says. “I mean, it could be anything. Just pressure, pure psychic torture, or some personal revenge. Or maybe he’s trying to box Christa in so she can work for their family without any Perry-Sage-like intermediaries.”

“Learning his motive could help us identify his endgame.”

“River is already looking into that.”

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