Page 79 of The Last Ones Standing, Part Two

“Good, you are to be a force around him and make sure, like Don Ava, he’s always happy and protected. I’ve given my blood for this promise. Not to her people, but to her. We will honor this.”

I come back to the present and stop before a light. I didn’t know then about the Sicilian mob and their oath. It took years for me to understand Ava had been planning her ownla Cosa Nostra.

That is what my father gave a blood oath for. That is what I honor to this day. It will always be my life before Gio’s.

“Are you ready to listen to me?”

“No, but that never stops you when you decide to start talking. Just let me warn you now. Whatever you say had better be truthful.”

“It was a blow job. We didn’t have sex. She didn’t lie and because it was head, I didn’t say anything more. You never want to know about shit like that.”

“Public lewdness,” he bellows.

“You wanted our alibi airtight. It don’t get no tighter. Joey was the responding officer. A nosy old lady called it in. We were between parked cars, in the shadows.”

“Marone.” He shoves a hand in his hair.

“G, I don’t have it in me to hurt you or betray you. Papa made me promise to cover you with my life. It was the last thing he made sure I understood. I could never break that promise.”

He’s silent for a moment. I don’t think he’s going to respond at first. I pull up to our destination and wait for the valet.

“I’ll deal with the real issue later. We’re good. Let’s get this taken care of.”

Chapter 29

Seed Planted

Gio

This meeting will go one of two ways. Either one works in my favor. Either John is going to kill Jackie himself for betraying his son, or he’s going to promote him after I make sure Vito disappears.

I’d prefer the former. However, I could still use Jackie for a thing or two once he’s promoted. Either way, he dies. I’m here to plant a seed.

When we enter the suite at the casino John owns, he’s sitting in the middle of a card game. I note the faces at the table. I’ve done a favor for everyone in the room. John stands and holds his arms out.

“Gio, it’s good to see you. Get over here.”

I go over and he pulls me into a hug. I have nothing against John, but his son must go.

“Would you look at this guy? This is what I try to get out of that Vito, but no, his mother gave me astunad. I swear that kid belongs to the mailman.”

I laugh, as do the others. Jackie was right, John knows Vito is a fuckup. One too many mistakes has brought attention to the family. However, that’s still his son.

“You guys play without me. I need to have a talk with my friend here.”

Jace and I follow John to the adjacent room. There’s another table and chairs in here. I release the button on my suit jacket and sit across from John as he takes a seat.

Pulling the thick envelope from my inside pocket, I hand it over to John. He takes it, looks inside, then lifts a brow as he turns his gaze back to me.

“What’s this for?”

“Jackie came to me with a tip that saved me a loss. I wanted to bring you your cut personally,” I say with a smile.

He smiles back at me. “This is why I like you, Gio. These guys aren’t like the guys around in my time. No respect. They would have pocketed the profits and my cut would have been lost somewhere along the line.”

I pull a face. “You forget. I watched that happen to my mother more times than I care to count. Her jobs became the earnings of others until she had to show everyone who she was.”

His greasy as fuck uncle was one of those she had to set straight. I know where Vito gets it from—the superiority, the entitlement. I won’t lose any sleep over John’s loss.

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