Page 165 of The Slayer
“That makes you useless,” Tino said in a singsong voice. “Not a good place to be in this particular game.”
“What did they want?” Nova asked in a calm, even voice. “How’d they threaten you? Tell me what you know, and maybe we can make a deal.”
“What?” Tino snapped at his brother.
“Let me do my thing, Valentino.” Nova gave Tino an annoyed look and then gestured to Angel and said in Spanish, “You can lower your hands. Look at me, cabrón.”
Angel lowered his hands and looked at Nova. “I swear, they threatened me, Moretti. I didn’t have anything to do with this.”
Chuito let out a low, bitter laugh and glanced to Nova, who held up a hand to Chuito and then turned back to Angel. “You gotta give me more than that.”
“We’re not making a deal,” Chuito assured all of them. “He doesn’t know anything.”
“They said they needed you.” Angel made a point to look at Nova instead of Tino and Chuito. “They knew you’d muscled in on my business, and they thought I’d help them.”
“You have no honor.” The Russian from upstairs finally spoke. His hand was pressed to the wound in his thigh that Alaine had left him with, but he was sitting up, clearly determined to face this like a man. “You betray us? You better hope the Italians end you. It won’t be so easy if we deal with it.”
“You’ll get your turn,” Tino growled. “You motherfuckers like being silent. Own your shit and shut the fuck up.”
The other Russian was sitting up too, his voice tight as he said something to his friend in Russian that made them both clam up.
“And don’t worry,” Chuito promised both of them. “It won’t be easy. I think I can give you comrade motherfuckers a run for your money.”
“I didn’t know!” Angel shouted. “They forced me! You hear how they are?”
“I helped your business.” Nova’s voice got icy. “I made it more profitable. Do you recognize I made it more valuable for you? That you were pocketing more green with me than without me. I gave you protection. From the heat. From other crews. I made you invincible, and you made a deal with these motherfuckers to whack me? You could’ve called me. You allied yourself with them instead.Against me.”
“I didn’t know they wanted to whack you,” Angel argued, his voice shaking. “How was I supposed to know that’s what they wanted?”
“Really?” Nova laughed. “What did you think they wanted to do?”
“I don’t know, bro.” Angel glanced to Chuito, his face noticeably paling. “I can offer you something. I can do something. Just keep him away from me and—”
“What can you offer me?” Nova countered, the underlying vein of fury slipping into his voice. “This is my brother.” He pointed to Tino. “We came out the same fucking womb, and seeing him hurt makes the only calm gangster in this room a little fucking irrational. So what are you going to offer to make up for helping these motherfuckers put him on his knees? For filming him? For making him do things that are going to haunt him?” Nova bent down and got in Angel’s face. “What are you going to give me to make up for it? I’m justdyingto hear it. Make it good, ’cause you got one shot.”
“I have money.” Tears welled up in Angel’s dark eyes. “I’ll give you everything I have.”
“You think I’d sell my brother’s dignity for money?” Nova let out a bitter laugh and then turned back to Chuito and Tino. “Draw straws. He’s useless.”
Chuito didn’t want to debate with Tino on who got the chance to kill him. He kicked Angel in the face and knocked him to the floor. Angel screamed and tried to scramble to his feet, but Chuito kicked him again, catching him in the side, and growled in Spanish, “Try to run away, and I’ll make it worse. Go ahead. I dare you.”
Angel was never the smartest gangster. Chuito let him get to his feet and halfway to the door before he shot him, catching him in the back of his thigh.
Chuito wasn’t as good a shot as Tino, so he walked around and got to his knees as Angel screamed and writhed on the floor. He wanted to make sure he didn’t miss as he looked him dead in the face and held his gun to his crotch.
He didn’t even hesitate before pulling the trigger.
The sound out of Angel was earsplitting, making it obvious why the Italians favored this particular threat.
“Chu!” Tino shouted over the screaming. “Shut him up.”
Chuito sat down and pulled off one of his shoes, and in that time, Angel had the gall to try and scramble away again, so Chuito shot him in the balls once more.
Then he tugged off his sock and shoved it into Angel’s mouth, muffling his screams. Chuito just sat there, looking at his face contorted in agony. When Angel tried to pull the sock out, Chuito slapped his hand away and said, “Touch it again, and I’ll put another bullet in you, motherfucker.”
“You’re not gonna end it?” Nova asked, and Chuito turned to see him looking at Angel trapped on the floor, Chuito’s sock shoved in his mouth, the crotch of his pants coated in blood that was pooling around him.
“Nope.” Chuito shook his head as he went back to staring at Angel. “I like to watch.”
