Page 19 of Romeo
“I was at Connor House for a while, remember?” Glory reminded him. “I don’t think I will ever forget whoanyof you are. I talked to almost every Rebel Saint member there. I made it a point to do that. Asked about their families, their lives that they had put on hold to help the Walkers in this war. And I didn’t do that because I’m sweet and polite.” She snorted sarcastically. “Cuz I’m not. You all saved my ass from that fucking monster.”
“Amen to that,” Legend added as he glanced at Redemption. “I mean the Requiem was there too, but…”
Redemption nodded. “I have to say Liv and Talon led an army against Deacon and his men. Which was literally made up of Rebel Saints. It was magnificent to witness in person and be a part of. It went off so well and we got Glory back.” He looked up at Stephano to motion at Liv and Talon. “These peoplearethe ones you want at your back, Mr. Descalia.”
“I agree, Dad.” Legend nodded at his father.
“Bene, bene. I am glad to have them with me,” Stephano replied. “This will be what I call a Corsa al guanto… a Gauntlet Run. Be faster, grab the prize and duck so they do not cut your head off.”
We all stared at him. This was a brutal if not an apt description of what we intended to do. I believed it was the best way to go. I also couldn’t allow Deacon to go free. He was the only person I could ask about V.
“I’d call it theBait and Switch, Papa,” Romeo joked. “It’s cheating really.”
“Si, but you poke the bear and you get your stick shoved up your—”
“Papa!” Romeo cut into his graphic phrasing.
“…Stronzo, son. Stronzo,” Stephano said in defense as he smirked at him.
Dante and even Legend laughed at this.
Stephano had a quick wit. I’d already learned this by working with him. He was also a literal flirt. He loved sparring back and forth. I never took it seriously. It happened to me a lot in my line of work.
Stephano then went on with his rant, “This whacko sister and brother pair took on the Bad Moon, didn’t they?” he asked with a raised brow. “Like they just rushed in and did what they have been doing, thinking they were going to call the shots. However, you cannot do that to Familia.”
“Or you’ll be sleepin’ with the fishes, right?” Dante joked in a thick Italian accent.
Stephano looked over at him and shook his head. “The proper term is lupara bianca.”
“Yeah, you’ll be wearing cement shoes,” Romeo added in a mock accent as well.
“Taking a one way ride,” Dante said. “Or make one’s bones.”
Dante and Romeo both laughed loudly.
I chuckled too. Their overdone accents were hilarious and the bored look on Stephano’s face was priceless as they teased him about the mob. I gathered they did this a lot.
I looked over at their brother Legend and he was smiling, but he looked a bit uneasy by the teasing. Oh – I could clearlysee it now – he did not approve of this familia-mafia thing. I kept quiet as even I know you cannot deny where you came from. As I understood it, Legend or Gio as Romeo called him, just got home from a ten year separation from his family.
“I love the whole Italian genre,” Dante said. “It is so funny. I mean pops here doesn’t see it as funny but come on… A goodfella? When they aresooNOT a good fellow. Or when they say…Che figata! Which means that’s cool. Or one of my favourites is… Figurati! Which means no worries. Like oops, sorry I’m late and you say, Che figata, figurati!”
“Wow.” Romeo laughed.
I nodded. “Fuggedaboutit!” I bravely added in my best Italian accent, which really wasn’t a stretch as I did speak Italian.
The room fell completely silent as all heads turned and everyone there stared at me.
Romeo suddenly smiled hugely.
Dante was snickering loudly.
Nervously, I bit at my lip then I told Romeo defensively, “It just slipped out!”
Stephano actually leaned his head back and laughed.
We all stared at him.
“Minchia!” he exclaimed as he nodded at me. “I mean it. You need to be our consigliere.”
