Page 54 of Southie
Agostino chuckled, but his eyes held no laughter, only misery, at the mention of my aunt.
I dragged my hand over my face. My frustration rose along with my anger. Everyone in my family knew the Rizzos had something to do with my aunt’s murder, and for the head of the family to sit here and invoke her name so cavalierly was infuriating. It took everything in me not to reach across the table and put a bullet in his head. However, I knew if I did that, both Gerald and I would be dead before Rizzo’s body could hit the floor. And while Paddy had no clue about this meeting with the Rizzo family, a war between the Irish and Italians would result from my death.
“Let’s not mention my family, Don Rizzo,” I gritted out. “Why am I here?”
This was my first-time meeting Antonio Rizzo, but his reputation of being a no-nonsense type of man preceded him. I knew it was best to be as straightforward with him as possible while keeping my guard up. He’d be more respectful of me that way.
“Your family is the reason you are here. Samantha is the reason you are here, Liam.” Don Rizzo looked over to his brother. With a slight nod, Agostino turned his attention back to me.
He ran his hand through his thick, curly salt and pepper hair. “The Rizzo family didn’t harm Sam,” Agostino said.
I leaned forward, planting my elbows on the dining room table. “And why do you think I would believe that bullshit? Her husband told my grandmother before his death, at the hands of the Rizzo family, that the Italians killed Aunt Samantha because of him. He owed your family a lot of money.”
His head shook vehemently. “It’s not bullshit, Liam. I loved Samantha. I loved Samantha very much. No harm would come to her, by my hands or anyone else in my family. We also had nothing to do with the death of that no-good motherfucking husband of hers, although I would’ve loved ending him.”
Agostino sneered.
“If anyone in this family had laid one finger on Samantha’s head, Liam, I can assure you, they would have been dead,” Don Rizzo confessed.
My brows pinched together. That couldn’t be true. My father, uncle, and her husband said she’d been killed because of her husband’s dealings with the Rizzos.
“What kind of shit is this? What the fuck do you mean you loved her?”
His head fell backward and he released a sigh before he focused back on me. “I met Sam when she was in college in Chicago. I was visiting from Italy but stayed in America because of her. We were young and in love, but she didn’t like the lifestyle and we parted ways on acceptable terms. We spoke to one another even when she married that asshole against my wishes. Then we had a little falling out but reconnected a few years into her marriage.”
“What does your relationship with her have to do with her death?” I asked.
“Her husband knew about the affair, but he didn’t care as long as we supplied him with drugs. I made sure that motherfucker stayed high twenty-four seven if it meant I could have Samantha. After Eric was born, he saw Samantha as an opportunity to cash in. The bastard sold her to Paddy to settle his debt with him, and he knew Paddy would agree because he had a thing for Sam.”
“What? He sold her? Wait, Eric is Aunt Samantha’s son?”
“Yes, he sold her. Eric is our child.”
“What the hell?” I mumbled under my breath.
I had no idea if any of this is true, or if Eric Rizzo and I were cousins. When we crossed paths, even as recently at the police station, he never said one word. Him being Aunt Samantha’s son must have been the reason he requested to be on my grandmother’s case. I wondered if the rest of the family knew about him.
“So, when Paddy found out about Eric and her affair with me, he killed her in a jealous rage before I could get to her. He killed her husband to cover up the actual reason behind her death and blamed everything on us.”
“If this is true, why didn’t you do anything about it then?” I asked. “You claim you loved her. You could’ve used the full weight of the Rizzo family on Paddy. She was the mother of your goddamn kid, but you let that motherfucka walk the streets, still breathing, like my Aunt didn’t mean shit to you!”
“You know how things work, Liam,” Don Rizzo said. “I forbade Agostino from doing anything about it. So, if you want to blame anyone, you blame me. Not Agostino. He loved her. More than anything.”
“Make it plain, Don Rizzo,” I seethed. “I want to understand why in the hell Paddy O’Connor is still breathing if the Rizzos were so connected to my Aunt.”
“Samantha was not a Rizzo by blood or marriage. I could not sanction the death of a Boss for those reasons regardless if that Boss is an enemy. Only blood can exact vengeance.”
“What about Eric? He’s a Rizzo and her son.”
“Eric doesn’t deal with the family business,” Don Rizzo said.
Under the old traditions, Don Rizzo was right. He couldn’t go after a Boss of any family for those reasons. When it clicked why they’d summoned me, I leaned back in the chair. Because Eric was by the book, he wouldn’t avenge his own mother’s death unless we did it the legal way. Since that wouldn’t happen because Paddy had officers like my Pops under his control and judges on his payroll, it fell to someone who was blood-related to Samantha. Someone who was Daugherty by blood. Specifically me, the Enforcer.
“You want me to take out Paddy?” I already knew the answer before I asked, but I wanted to hear them say it.
“Out of respect for your grandmother, Eric’s grandmother, I waited until she passed before I approached the subject again with Antonio. But now, Mrs. Daugherty’s gone, God rest her soul.” Agostino made the sign of the cross across his chest. “I want vengeance for my Sam. I’ve pleaded with my son to do this for me and he won’t. So, now I am begging you, Liam. Avenge my Sam.”
“I understand what you get out of this.” I pointed to Agostino. “Revenge against the person who killed the mother of your child, the woman you loved...but what do you want out of this, Don Rizzo? You have no connection to my aunt, other than your brother loving her and her being the mother of your nephew. What do you gain from me killing Paddy?”
