Page 43 of Labria

“Unlawful.” Gianni laughed out again and I’m sure it irritated Lord. From the other side of the closed door, I thought the man had a lot of nerve.

His callous behavior was irritating me. Gianni seemed to be a stupid man. Lord was clearly running the mafia human resources department and Unc was about to lose his job. I could be wrong, but I thought the only way out of the mob, if you were a made man, was death or prison. Neither one of those options sounded good to me, but threatening my man and talking shit about me was not cool.

“Gianni, you’ve been warned, too many times. This is it.”

“You young motherfuckers think you can just get rid of me. I’ve been here since the beginning. I know all the dirt. I know where all the bodies are buried. I can end all of this with a snap of my fingers.” Oh, this mofo thinks he’s Thanos.

“I’ll be sure to share your sentiments with the Don.”

“Give me his number and I’ll tell him myself.”

“If Nicco wanted you to have his number, you would have it. Speaking to the boss is a privilege you lost a long time ago.”

“Nicco is my fucking nephew. He’s my family. I helped raise that kid, you illegitimate punk.”

“That hurts.” Lord joked.

“If you think you’re going to get rid of me, you got another thing coming.”

“What are you going to do if I get rid of you?” Lord goaded.

“You blonde bitch. I can fuck your whole life up and send you back to that old hag in Chicago that raised you. How would you like it if I paid that old bitch a visit?”

“You’re a relic. You belong with the ruins. The organization has no use for you. I have no use for you. I have no connection with you. I could kill you and not bat an eyelash. You have been warned. The Don is fed up with you, just as I am. You are disobedient and you’ve brought shame to the family name. Your brother is no longer here to clean up after you, and your nephew refuses.”

“Fuck you! Fuck Nicco! Fuck this shit family! You disloyal cocksuckers! You’re not even a full-blood Sicilian. Nicco is running this ship into the ground. I helped built this entire empire. My brother didn’t do it by himself.”

“Your brother is dead. He can’t help you. Your time is up.”

“Succhiami il cazzo!(Suck my cock!)”

“You’re dismissed. I have nothing else to say, you cannoli eatingbastardo.”

“Fuck you! You’re just an Irish bulldog sniffing up Nicco’s ass.”

“Leave town and stay out of trouble.”

“Fuck off!”

There was silence. I believed the call was over because I didn’t hear anymore chatter. It ended with a fuck off, the last thing I heard before I scurried my ass down the hallway. I didn’t go up the stairs because I knew my heels would make noise on the staircase. That was a whole knockdown drag-out fight. Is this why Lord had to fly back to Chicago?

Gianni always gave me the creeps, but his son, Maurizio, was nothing like him. Zio must take after his mother. Or maybe he was just one of the normal Bregoli’s.

I was hiding in the laundry room when I heard Lord’s office door open. I heard him walk out into the hallway. I hoped my cell phone was on silent because I hadn’t even think about that the entire time I was listening in.

When the coast was clear, I slowly crept upstairs. I quietly made it to the bedroom.. I bet this wasn’t what Lord bargained for. He was turning into one of them. I wondered what would happen if he turned on me. He wasn’t violent. Fuck! I just lied to myself. I literally saw this man kill two people. He is very violent. I suspect he’s killed more than two people. I can’t even talk to anybody about this mess. My sister would freak out.

Was Lord like this back in Chicago? Maybe he hid it well.

Chapter Fourteen

LABRIA

That was a lot to hear, even with my worldly ears. I made it up the stairs without running into Lord. Who knew what his mood would be after that conversation? I poured another glass of wine but didn’t take a sip. My muscles felt tight and achy. I removed all my clothes and took a quick, hot shower. The water felt euphoric. I didn’t want to leave the pulsating strain of water. I couldn’t stay under the jets forever, so I cursed life, and I stepped out of the shower.

I slowly toweled off, lotioned up my entire body, and put on my silk pajamas. It was too early for pajamas, had to be somewhere around 6PM. I didn’t care. I was done with this day.

I only heard Lord while he was in his confrontation. I hadn’t led eyes on him since he’d been back. He would probably realize I was home soon enough. Maybe, Punchy informed him. I didn’t have proof, but I’d bet his security would snitch on me if Lord asked.

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