CHAPTER 10
“You were supposed to get rid of Lucchesi. Not lose your wife to him!” Carlo exploded, his eyes narrowed on Vincenzo.
“Do you think that was the plan, Zio?” Vincenzo hissed.
Carlo stared at Vincenzo, a bit impressed by his anger. So he has the balls to challenge me. He looked over at Dario, who was watching the two of them with seemingly nothing more than mild interest. How I wish my own son had a set like Vincenzo’s.
Carlo smoothed his hands down the front of his shirt while he considered his words. He wouldn’t apologize of course, though he did soften his tone. “What then is the plan?” He knew full well his nephew had none. But a good capo always rose to a challenge. This would be a fine test.
Vincenzo rubbed a hand through his hair and paced across the room, stopping by the windows and looking out at Carlo’s view of the lake. If his nephew looked far off to the west, he could see Lucchesi’s villa. Where his fascinating red-haired strega was even now, with her lover. Vincenzo leaned against the sill, staring out. After a while he turned to face Carlo. “I got some ideas.”
“Are you perhaps hoping Lucchesi will let down his guard? That will not happen, now that you let him know we are watching.”
Vincenzo couldn’t conceal his shock. “What about the box you sent him in Rome?”
“Ah, but Lucchesi did not take that seriously. He thought I was teasing.” He chuckled.
“He might’ve thought that if Massimo hadn’t shown up at his hotel.”
Carlo shrugged. He rather preferred Lucchesi to know. He’d suffer from the anticipation of the blow almost more than the blow itself. “How many men did he have with him yesterday?”
“Four.”
“Hardly an army.”
“But more than he’s usually got, if your guys are right.”
Carlo patted his jacket pockets, looking for a cigar. “Still, you got around them.”
Vincenzo smiled. “That was easy. His guys seemed more for show than anything else.”
“And they say his man Ruggero is so good. His father Livio, he was good. He saved Rinaldo enough times.”
“You had a guy inside Lucchesi’s organization, right?” Vincenzo asked.
An interesting change of subject. Carlo lit a cigar and nodded. “Unfortunately, he was stupid. Lucchesi caught on to him. But a little too late.” He studied Vincenzo through the smoke curling up from his cigar. “So that is your new plan? Get someone on the inside?”
“What about his accountant? What’s Trucco told you?”
“Nothing much. He seems to think I will kill Lucchesi over his puttana of a daughter.”
“I thought you was pissed about that.”
Carlo stared at Vincenzo, his face growing hot. “I am. The insult to Toni... I will not stand for it. But I do not care to avenge Trucco’s daughter. It was his fault for letting the troia run around.”
“Trucco’s got to know more. He’s got to know a way into Lucchesi’s house.”
Carlo puffed on the cigar. It was a decent place to start, one he should have thought of himself. “Talk to Massimo. He knows how to contact Trucco.”
Vincenzo nodded, a big smile on his face. His nephew was up to something. “You are not to do anything without my approval. Capisci?”
“Sì, sì,” Vincenzo said.
Carlo bristled at the dismissive tone. Time for a reminder. He stepped closer to Vincenzo, lowered his voice to a snake’s hiss. “You remember when Giorgio and Giotto caught that squirrel in the garden?” The dogs had ripped it to pieces in front of them.
“Yeah.” Vincenzo looked away from him.
“Imagine what they will do to your balls if I let them.”
His nephew blanched, and Carlo smiled. Things always ran best if everyone remembered who was capo.
After Vincenzo left, Dario turned to Carlo. “Are you truly going to marry Delfina to Lucchesi?”
“I want them to think I agree. I will die before marrying that family to ours again.”
“A war with the Lucchesis will be costly. Just like the last one.”
Carlo looked at him, surprised he had an opinion. “What of it?”
“It would be cheaper to agree to the marriage as long as they lower the rate on the wash. And perhaps we can gain some territory too, to save Vincenzo’s face.”
On the surface, Dario was right. But he fundamentally didn’t comprehend what it took to be capo. Carlo’s hands itched to grab his son and shake him until his head rattled. “Where are your balls? Think about what Lucchesi did to your sister. To us. He spat in our faces. On our name.”
Dario shrugged. “I thought you didn’t like to waste money.”
“I do not consider this a waste of money.” He shook his head. “Will you never understand what it takes to run things? Cristo, if you’re in charge, everything will be a shambles in weeks. Will you let all the other capi shit on you?”
“If we force Lucchesi to yield, to sacrifice his principles, is that not a victory?”
Carlo took a long drag on his cigar, studying his son. Why hadn’t Toni been the boy? “Only for a coward. It is time to crush the Lucchesis for good. I will not see Enrico Lucchesi parading around an Andretti woman as his puttana, flaunting his cock in our faces.”
No, he would see him dead. The woman too. And Vincenzo would be the sharp knife between the ribs.