Page 19 of Dreadful
“Actually, Claudio thinks you’ve gone back on a bender in Atlantic City. Orazio?”
Raze retrieves Vinnie’s phone from his own leather jacket and shakes the blank screen in our direction. We won’t risk turning it on longer than to send text messages. As long as we keep it off, Claudio won’t be able to search the location.
Vinnie’s eyes pop out of his head, and he stutters his objections. But upside down, he can’t seem to form two sentences together and his face purples. I sigh and nod to Raze.
He hops up from his chair and presses a button on the wall, instantly loosening the chain from the ceiling. I use the end of my cane to shove Vinnie on his way down, forcing him to land on his back instead of cracking his skull on the ground. The air knocks out of him, and he wheezes a groan. While I give Vinnie time to recover, I drag Raze’s chair closer and settle into it. Once I’ve propped my leg out, I steeple my fingers on top of the curved handle.
“Many people can’t handle inverted suspension comfortably for longer than five minutes. Those with heart and lung problems are especially at risk and can die just as quickly,” I inform him. “You’ve drugged and drank your heart nearly to death already, so who knows how long you’ll last? If I don’t get answers, up you go. The longer I don’t get answers, the quicker I’ll forget how much time has passed while you’re up there,hai capito? Do you understand?”
He coughs and glares up at me. “Is this really because I cheated at that McKennon card game? I paid for that already!”
He twists to show me the hole in his hand where a member of one of the families stabbed him with a roulette rake. My lips twitch at the memory. Seeing Vinnie get his ass handed to him was a beautiful thing, but I couldn’t let Kian McKennon have the pleasure of finishing the job.
“And the only reason you weren’t killed that day was because of me, don’t forget that.”
“Thank Severino for his kindness, Vincenzo,” Raze orders with a cheeky grin.
Vinnie scowls but forces out a halfhearted thanks.
“Oh, no need to thank me. I was betting you’d screw up. But doing it in front of the men who run Vegas was a fatal mistake. If I tell Claudio what happened, he’d have no choice but to get rid of you. I kept your indiscretion to myself, waiting for the right time. Claudio’s out of Boston, so he can’t save you, and I don’t give a shit what he does to me later as long as I get answers now.”
Vinnie’s forehead prickles with sweat despite the chill in the room.
“It shouldn’t be this way. I-I’m the capo…you’re just a soldier, no better than one of his guard—”
“Guard dogs, yeah, I know. I’ve heard that one before. But you know what came out of those meetings with the Vegas families? I’ve secured them tomyside, which means I have allies and your thief of a boss doesn’t. Whatever I do next, I’ll have their support. And once I make my case, I’ll have the support of the rest of our Boston syndicate, too.”
“You want those Vegas Irishmen as allies?” Vinnie spits out the words. “You’re just as weak as your father thought if you believe you have any power—”
I slam my cane into the fucker’s stomach again, thrusting new squeals from his diaphragm.
“You want the tools?” Raze asks, flipping a knife from the old butchers’ tray into the air.
Vinnie’s eyes widen at the shiny weapon. “No! Please!”
“I think he’s motivated now. Aren’t youporco schifoso?” I use my cane to pat his flaccid cheeks, and he nods quickly. “Now…you’re going to tell me what I want to know, or I’m going to use those tools Raze so helpfully offered.”
Vinnie’s bloodshot eyes widen. “I-I’ll tell you anything!”
“Bene. Good.” I lean back and tap the handle of my cane, deciding to test him with a question I already know the answer to. “Fifteen years ago, you took me so my uncle could lock me up. Why?”
Vinnie’s black, bushy brows curve high up his forehead.
“Your father didn’t tell you?” He barks a laugh. “That’s rich.”
Annoyance bristles under my skin.
“Orazio. Cleaver.”
“It was over this place!” he rushes out, making Raze grumble over not getting to use the tools yet. “Your father wanted this location and ordered Bianchi the butcher to let us rough people up here in his meat locker. He was an associate, but after getting wifed up and having a kid, theidiotadidn’t want to play anymore and told us to stop.”
My forehead wrinkles. This is the first I’m hearing of any of this. I thought my kidnapping was a simple squabble between brothers and that the butchery had been leased to my father, fair and square.
“This…Bianchi? He said no to the Family? Ballsy motherfucker.”
“Claudio threatened his wife and kid, and Bianchi did what he had to do to make them happy. That was good enough for Leto, but not Claudio. He took the matter into his own hands.”
“How?”
