Page 1 of Forbidden Property
Prologue
Renzo
Our first month back in Buffalo, NY
Gino speaks some of the worst Italian I’ve ever heard in my life. We spent the past four years away at university, and his Italian is still horrific to the point of embarrassing. I can barely understand what the fuck he said about dragging my brother’s pregnant slut into the back of the 4Runner.
It doesn’t matter. This plan is brilliant.
“She’s passed out,” Gino says – in Italian, or some variation of the Italian language that I can mostly understand.
“Once we take care of this problem, dad will understand that we didn’t just waste our money on booze and strip clubs in Sicily.”
“Isn’t that exactly what we did?”
“Shut up, Gino.”
I bought an apartment close to the harbor with half the money Nonno gave me for my twenty-first birthday. The harbor has to be one of the easiest places to dump a body in all of NewYork State and none of the bodies I’ve put in the harbor have ever been found.
The goal tonight is simple – punish Luigi for his transgression against our family’s honor by cutting the baby out of his slut’s womb and torturing her to death on video before dumping her corpse into the harbor. Or something like that. My private parking spot at the harbor apartment allows me to back the 4Runner right up to the front door. You would have to be on my property to see us transporting our ‘cargo’ to the front door.
“Are you sure this is going to work?” Gino asks with his typical lacking confidence.
“Shut up before you wake her up.”
He stays quiet long enough for us to trap this slightly larger woman in my guest bedroom and lock the door. If she dares to climb out the window, she’ll come face to face with my pair of uncut Cane Corsos, each about 150 lbs. It won’t take her long to realize her mistake.
Once we’re alone, I can reassess the plan with Gino. He doesn’t seem happy.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?”
I have to admit that I didn’t come up with the plan entirely on my own. I know my father would prefer Delphine dead.
“Yes. He approached us with an offer, and everyone wins if we go through with this…”
He might take some convincing, but I maintain the belief that Gino will eventually see some sense.
How much could Luigi care about one woman?
“Listen, Gino. We’re not just solving a family problem, we’re helping prevent future attacks. Think about how pissed dad waswhen he found out her skin color… Do you really think he would be angry with us?”
Gino’s eyes meet mine and he holds onto his typical skepticism. If he would take more bold actions in his life, perhaps he would have the riches or the women that he wants so badly. Regardless of his illogic, Gino argues.
“That doesn’t mean he wanted her dead,” Gino says. “He just wants to scare Luigi, right? We can’t actually kill her. We just need footage of us knocking her around a bit.”
My twin brother can be so slow sometimes.
“She won’t die.” I reassure him with a platitude I’m not sure that I mean.
She won’t dieright away, at least. She’ll have a chance of survival and I’ll have a chance of plausible deniability in case the entire situation falls apart before it plays out.
“So what?” Gino says. “We’re going to sell her to a bunch of creeps from Pittsburgh? How do we know what they’re gonna do with her?”
He’s asking more questions than I thought he could possibly have about this situation. It’s in my best interests to change the subject quickly or say anything that garners Gino’s agreement.
“You’re a pessimist, Gino,” I say with a casual shrug, hoping to encourage Gino to dismiss his concerns. “She could be a smooth talker and work her way out of the arrangement.”
“Be realistic,” Gino says. “Likely, they want to punish Delphine, not take her off your hands out of the goodness of their heart.”
