Page 6 of Crazed

Tully adds, "Now that you've taken out the authorities, we're going to have to clean up your mess."

Brody blurts out, "What mess? I made sure there was nothing left of any of them. We distributed the ashes at the docks. Any DNA from those bastards is spread out all over the Atlantic."

Papà's face turns redder. He seethes, "You're all ignorant. You can't kill authorities right after they question you. Who do you think they are looking at now?"

I shrug. "Who cares. There's no proof. This isn't an issue."

"Idiot! Of course it's an issue. And now it's going to cost your father and me more with the guys on our payroll," Tully admits.

"Why? There aren't any bodies. No DNA. No proof. Why would you pay those bastards any more than they already get?" I question.

Papà roars, "Who do you think the top suspects are?"

"So what? No proof," I restate, then grind my molars.

"So what? Are you that naive?" Papà accuses.

I glance at my brothers. The look in their eyes tells me they feel the same way I do. This isn't a big deal. We have other issues to attend to, but this isn't one. This entire conversation is wasting our time.

Dante interjects, "Massimo is right. No proof. This is like any other thug we've taken care of in the past."

Papà spins toward Tully. "I've failed. My successor can't even see the damage he and his brothers have caused."

Gianni comes to Dante's rescue, confessing, "He wasn't there."

It only upsets Papà further. He points at Dante. "You may not have been there, but you knew. You said nothing to me. Did you give Gianni the go-ahead, too?"

Gianni snorts. "I don't need anyone's approval to take out someone who harasses and threatens my wife."

"The man's got a point," Brody offers.

Tully snaps his head toward him. "Apparently, my successor isn't ready to lead, either, Angelo."

Brody sniffs hard. He locks eyes with Dante. "Have you lost track of the number of times your father has said that to you?"

"Yep," Dante replies.

Papà steps closer. He shakes his head at Dante and Brody, then declares, "Grow up. Both of you. We have real issues. The Feds are looking at us closer. Every move we make is getting scrutinized. You all did this. When I'm dead someday, you're going to inherit these issues. Mark my word, you're going to regret making these amateur moves."

"I don't consider elimination an amateur move," Gianni cockily claims.

Rage flares on Papà's expression. He roars, "Did you like being arrested? Was it enjoyable for you to be locked in a cell, with no idea when or if you were getting released?"

Gianni grinds his molars, staying quiet.

"Yeah. I thought so. You put both our families at risk," Papà insists.

"And you two," Tully seethes, motioning to Brody and Aidan.

Tense silence hangs in the air. Every moment that passes gets more uncomfortable. Tully and Papà leer at all of us.

Dante runs his hand through his hair. "We need to move forward. What's done is done."

Tully's lips curve into a tight smile. My gut flips. Every time I've seen that expression, it means he has something up his sleeve we aren't going to like. He replies, "Oh, we're going to move forward all right. Everyone in this room owes us."

"What? Devin and I weren't even part of this," Tynan asserts.

"Way to have our back, bro," Aidan mutters.

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