Page 100 of Toxic

Gianni shifts in his seat, sniffing hard. "She didn't turn me down. We mutually agreed not to see each other anymore."

"Is that what you call it?" I taunt.

"Change the subject," he warns.

We ride in silence for a while until Gianni pulls a case out from under the seat. He opens it, picks up a Glock, then shoves a 33-round magazine in it.

I choose mine, do the same, then sit back. "Been a while since we took out an Abruzzo. This should be interesting."

Gianni grunts. "I'm surprised Papà's letting us have all the fun."

I take a few calculated breaths, trying to soften my delivery. "If we had gone behind Papà's back—"

"Don't start with me."

"I'm just pointing out that even when we don't understand why Papà is doing what he is, there's always a reason. We need to remember that," I state.

Gianni turns in his seat. "We should have taken the Abruzzos out and secured our territory as soon as they crossed the line. I maintain that Papà isn't acting as fast as he should these days."

I sigh, wishing Gianni would give Papà the trust he used to. Lately, for some reason, Gianni seems to believe he knows better. While I did think Papà was making a mistake, today's events restored my faith that he knows what he's doing, and we still have a lot to learn.

Gianni adds, "At some point, we have to do what we think is best to secure the Marino legacy."

His comment irritates me. I snap, "So you still want to go against Papà?"

"No. But if he isn't going to eliminate threats quick enough, then we have to."

"Jesus. You should listen to yourself."

Gianni points at me. "No. You should step into your role."

"What's that mean?"

"It means that you're scared of Papà."

I snort. "I am not scared of Papà. I respect Papà, and you should, too. Not only as our father but the head of this family."

"I do respect Papà. But if he's not going to act as the head, then we need to."

"For Christ's sake. Are you going to go against me down the road, too?" I hurl.

"No. If you're fucking up, I'll punch you until you see the light."

The air in my lungs turns stale. "Not funny."

Gianni's face falls. He lowers his voice. "You know it's you and me, brother. Till the end, like it's meant to be."

"Then stop trying to go against Papà. We're all on the same team. And someday, we're going to have to make all these decisions on our own. Let's not act like we know everything we need to because I can assure you, like today proved, we don't."

Gianni turns away from me and stares out the window. "You know I hate those cocksucker Abruzzos. Especially after what that thug did to Arianna."

A pain shoots through my chest, remembering how her ex-boyfriend kidnapped and almost raped her before Killian killed him with his bare hands. The thug was secretly working for the Abruzzos. I quietly agree, "You and me both, brother. But don't forget, if anyone might hate the Abruzzos more, it's Papà. His revenge started way before ours, and Arianna is his daughter."

Gianni nods. "That's true."

The SUV pulls into the port and parks in a dark corner. I tap Gianni's thigh. "Let's take care of this and go home."

He grabs our night vision goggles and hands me a pair. We get out and weave around the containers until we get to the last one before the gray zone. It's always there and designed to monitor the area. Gianni and I climb inside, positioning ourselves in front of the small holes to see the gray zone.

---