Page 31 of Vito

Massimo switches to the knife. I suspect what he's about to do; when he 'plays' it's gruesome as hell.

"Shit, he's gonna do it," Raf hisses. Not because he's averse to what's going to happen, but because it makes a fucking mess.

Massimo slams the knife into Havel's stomach, right under his ribs. Havel is losing consciousness, but when Massimo forces his hand into the wound, ripping the delicate tissue, he wakes and screams again. Massimo breathes like an enraged monster as he forces his hand in deeper, then yanks his hand out, pulling whatever organs and tissue he can grab to the outside of Havel's body. Havel's shrieking screams quickly die out as death rushes to claim him.

"Burn in hell, you fucking pig." Massimo slashes his throat, finally ending him. The smells of death permeate the air and his massive frame heaves as he gets his rage under control.

"That's why I don't wear the expensive monkey suits, brother." I smirk.

Massimo twists his head to look at me. "You're a cunt."

My body instantly reacts, associating that with my forbidden fruit, Eden, but I ignore it like I always do.

Massimo straightens up, adjusting the soaked bloody cuffs of his shirt. Everything will have to go in the incinerator. I have a specially formulated soap that destroys the blood from the skin and hair, but I don't have clothes here that fit him. I'm slightly taller than Massimo and more chiseled, but he's a beast in the width department.

"You need to keep clothes here."

He shrugs. "I'll get Gabe to go grab me some."

Raf takes his toothpick out of his mouth and grins. "It's always a pleasure to watch you work, Mass. I'll get Mario started on cleaning this mess." He leaves through one of the hallways that lead deeper into space.

"You took away all my fun," I taunt, but I'm not serious. "You gonna make this a regular thing now that you're Don?"

Massimo doesn't take my bait. Instead, he regards me with a brooding expression. "This situation with the Czechs is exactly why I need you as my second, Vito."

"No, this situation is why you need me in the role I've always played, Massimo. On the streets, finding our enemies, protecting our family, not behind some desk and just talking about shit."

We've been having this argument for months.

"My second wouldn't be stuck behind a desk just talking about shit, and you know it." He places his bloody hands on my shoulders. Brothers bounded by love, loyalty, and blood. "I need you by my side, Vito."

I grip his shoulders back. "And I am by your side."

"We can make this work. It doesn't have to be the conventional roles and how it's been done in the past. We can carve it out for how we'd want it to work."

I scoff and shake my head. "You're the most conventional out of all of us, you grumpy motherfucker."

A smile tugs at his mouth, but it fades quickly. "I'm trying not to be so conventional and traditional—for you, for the family. But I need you, Vito. I don't want to play the Don-card, but if I'm forced to, I will."

I hiss out a breath.

His eyes have a quiet resolve in them. "Raf can take a larger role on the streets—here in the city and in our broader territory. I'm not asking you to give that up; I'm just asking you to fit in some additional roles by my side.ZioMarco is willing to absorb some, too, along with his consigliere role."

"So we're going to job-share the second-in-command?" I scoff. "It already sounds like a fucking office gig."

He smirks and squeezes my shoulders, then releases me. "We can tailor it to how you want." He points a bloody finger at me. "Within reason."

I grind my jaw. "Two men doing the job of three… that sounds like a risk to the Don and family, Massimo—"

"Not when it's you and Marco. It's quality over quantity." I grunt, but he continues, "Our surveillance and gathering intel teams are the strongest they've ever been. Our security team has always been top-notch under you, and you can expand however you see fit. Raf is more than capable to take on more. We'll make it work, I promise."

I stare at my brother. He's a strong and capable leader. His nature is to be rigid and conventional; however, he really is trying. My brother needs me. My family needs me.

After I nod, he pulls me in for a hug. "You go shower first," I tell him. "I'll help the guys with the clean-up."

Then, after I'm scrubbed clean and have fresh clothes on, I need to get to Gilly's.

I'll tell myself it's to meet Hugo, Dom's second-in-command, because we're helping the Saints with a rival gang problem. However, I know that's a bald-faced lie.

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