“Do you know what I don’t want to be doing right now, Tommy?” I ask my brother.

“Taking this guy out with me?” my thickheaded brother answers. He used to be the muscle for the familia. Now he does hits with me. He just happens to fucking suck at some aspects. Give him a long-distance kill, and he’s fine. Up close though, and he’s sloppy as fuck.

I tap my pointer to my nose.

We’re in a car parked across from Barcode. It’s a dive bar on the strip and we’ve been waiting in the dark for a good two hours now. I keep looking at the monitors in the app on my phone. My kitten’s been lying in bed reading and stretching or doing some yoga shit on the floor. I want to get back to her. I want to hear her beg for me. Even more, I want to hear those soft moans from her lips as she cums on my dick.

Instead I’m doing this stupid shit 'cause Tommy didn’t want to do it on his own.

“Hey, I don’t wanna be out here either. I’ve got more important shit going on, but we need to take this guy and not just kill him.”

I can’t blame him for being hesitant to take over and do this without me. I grunt a response and then think about his wife and my sweet little niece as I say, “Yeah you do. You gotta be happy to not be hearing all that screaming for once.”

He smiles back at me. I don’t fucking get it. He’s overjoyed about that little bundle of high-pitched lungs. She is a cutie, but damn, if only they could come out already talking and walking.

“You know she’s adorable.” He smiles back at me, finally taking his eyes away from the bar across the street.

“She’s real cute, Tommy.” I can admit that. She’s adorable when she’s sleeping. “You did good. I’m proud of you.”

“I meant what I said, it’s gonna happen for you. You don’t have to be so fucking jealous all the time,” he says.

I hold in a deep laugh. Jealous isn’t quite the right word. I made up my mind a long time ago. That world isn’t for me. I’m not meant to be a husband or a father. I don’t have that ability. I know I'm capable of love, because I truly love my familia. But I’m fucked in the head. I know I am. They know I am.

There’s no reason for me to ever think about taking that path in life. Even with my sweet Catherine.

My thoughts are interrupted when I notice the movement from across the street. I lean forward in my seat as the fucker on our list exits the bar, nearly stumbling as he lights a cigarette. Tommy starts talking, but I simply nod my head and keep my eyes on the dumb fuck who skimmed off the top of our shipment. He fucking knew better. He’s been on the inside for a while now. He's almost a made member. Maybe he got tired of waiting. Maybe he just wanted the money. I don’t know, and I don’t care. I just need two pieces of information from him and then we can get this shit over with.

Who’d he sell it to, and where’s the money?

Louie leans against the wall, taking a few puffs of his cigarette. I’m sure he thinks he got away with it. He looks like he doesn’t have a care in the world.

I take a look down the street and it’s busy as fuck. There’s a narrow alley in between the two shit buildings. I’m sure we could take him for a walk. I’ve gotten away with that shit before, and I know I could keep his ass from screaming too loud.

“Let’s do this shit,” I say.

Tommy looks at me anxiously. “Out in the open?” he asks.

“Yeah, quick and easy. Let me show you how it’s done,” I reply.

I step out into the street and walk quickly, keeping my head turned to the right. The only camera is on the side of the street where we parked. But it’s angled so they shouldn’t get shit. Better safe than sorry though. I already messaged Tony about it. I’m sure the owners won’t have any problems erasing the feed tonight. Not when the orders are coming from the Valettis, and their business has been going steady on the loan we gave them.

That’s one good thing about the familia. We want this town running like a well-oiled machine. And it does.

“Louie.” I let a grin slip into place as he kicks off the wall and walks toward us like we’re his pals. Like he didn’t steal from us.

“Anthony, Tommy, what’s up guys?” His words are slightly slurred and it pisses me off. I find when they’re drunk they’re more likely to piss themselves. More than that, they scream louder, sooner. Tonight that can’t happen. “You here for a drink?” he asks.

“Nah,” Tommy says and he starts to say something else, but I cut him off. I want him to watch this time, so he can see how it’s done and be able to do this shit himself next time.

“Louie, we gotta talk.” I say the words firmly and hold his eyes. The fucker holds his breath and I know he’s scared shitless. I need him scared, but more than scared, I want him willing to talk and wanting to make me happy. I want him to think I need him.

I lean forward and lower my voice so it seems like I’m letting him in on intel. “There’s someone,” I start talking then look to my left as a group of young women dressed in sequined, glittery dresses that ride up their asses pass behind us. The street’s not packed, but it’s busy enough to want to get out of the open so we can have some privacy. I make it a point to look at the entrance to the alley and nod my head. “Let’s go down there for a sec.”

He starts to put his cigarette down with a look of dread on his face. But I don’t want that. I don’t want him thinking anything’s wrong.

“No need, I don’t mind the smoke,” I tell him as I start walking ahead of him. “You first, Tommy.” I need my brother to catch on to the fact that you don’t intimidate targets in public. Not till you have them where you want them. Tommy walks ahead of me with a nod. My brother’s smart, even if he does do dumb shit sometimes. He’s good at reading people. My back’s to Louie. It’s a sign that he’s not a threat to me. The two of us walk quickly while Louie stays behind for a moment. I keep walking. I know I don’t have to tell him twice.

It only takes a minute for Louie to follow us down the alley. It’s a few feet wide and blocked off at the back entrance by a dumpster and a chain-link fence. That’s not good for the clean-up crew. They’re going to have a hell of a time getting the body out without anyone seeing, but that shit’s not for me to worry about. Tommy stops about halfway down the alley and leans against the wall. I put my hands in my pockets and face the entrance, waiting for Louie to catch up. He’s walking slow, but he sure as fuck isn’t stumbling around anymore. Having the feeling you’re about to get caught by the mafia for stealing from them is a surefire way to sober the fuck up.

“What’s going on?” He tries to keep his voice from wavering, but he’s shit at it. To be fair though, I’ve tortured a lot of men. And almost all of them are scared at first, even the ones that didn’t have shit to tell because they were genuinely innocent. Poor fucks. But this prick is dripping with sweat and his shifty eyes are looking all around us for some hidden door that will lead him to safety. There’s no safety here though. Just me, my knife, and Tommy's gun.

I want Tommy to stay out of this one. There’s no need for him to get involved beyond keeping this fucker here.

“Listen, Louie. There are some things I need to know before I kill you.” His eyes go wide and he takes a step back. He’s closest to the entrance, so he’s thinking of running.

Tommy’s already got his gun on him and we all hear the click of him cocking it back. Louie’s eyes lock on the barrel and he nearly tips back as his legs go weak.

He shakes his head and I know he’s getting ready to deny it. His hands are raised in the air. “Hey. I wanna make this easy on us all, Louie,” I say as I reach into my pocket for a rag as I slowly walk toward him. He takes a step back and I shake my head. His breathing comes in short breaths as he starts spewing off, “Whatever you heard, it wasn’t me. I didn’t do it.” The desperation is clear in his voice.

I wrap the cloth around my fist a few times. It’s thick; thick enough so he won’t be able to bite down on my hand. The thought reminds me of my kitten. My sexy-as-fuck little minx, scraping her teeth down my finger. I close my eyes and will the images away. It only fuels my need to get this shit over with. I walk around him and let him retreat until his back is against the wall. We’re still almost halfway down the narrow alley. It’d be hard as fuck to see or hear anything from us, as long as he doesn’t scream. I look at my left fist, wrapped tightly with the rag and back at Louie.

“You’ve got one chance. Who’d you sell it to, and where’s the money?” I ask him clearly, but I already know I’m going to have to ask again.

He’s shaking his head, thinking he can talk his way out of this.

I’m quick to shove my fist in his mouth. He only gets a partial scream out before the rag mutes his frantic screams. He struggles against me, his hands wrapping around my wrist, trying to rip my fist from his mouth. I push my fist harder into his mouth, stretching his jaw. I need to be careful not to break it though. I need this fucker to talk. He’s a pretty decent-sized guy and he’s doing a good job of throwing my body off of him, but I pull out my knife and hold it to his throat, my forearm bracing his shoulders against the wall. That makes his entire body still. Tommy comes up to my right and holds the gun to Louie’s head. Louie looks between the two of us and starts fucking crying. It’s pathetic.

“It’s just two questions, Louie, then we get to move on from this. You had a chance. You should’ve taken it.” I gave him a warning, and he chose to ignore it. Now he has to accept the consequences.

I nod at Tommy. “Get his hand.”

Tommy grabs Louie’s right arm, still holding the gun to his head. Louie’s quick to pull his arm away, but I dig my knife into his neck, slicing his skin to make a point of what will happen if he keeps this shit up.

He tries to speak into the rag, but it’s too late for that. I’ll give him a chance in a minute, once the screaming is over with. Louie’s got his fist balled, which is a bad move on his part. It would’ve only been one finger, but with them all bunched together, I slice into his middle finger and thumb as I cut off his pointer. Tommy struggles to keep the fucker’s wrist up as I cut his finger off and the dumb fuck screams into the rag.

I let the finger fall and the blood drip down onto the ground as I wipe my knife off on his jacket and push it up to his throat again. I choose a new spot, one an inch up from the first cut. “Stop your screaming,” I growl out as I push my fist deeper into his mouth. He whimpers in response, tears flowing down his cheeks as he cradles his arm in his hands.

I talk while I wait for him to calm down. “We have you on tape taking the product, so there’s no backing out of this one. You know it. There’s only one way out. You just tell me who you sold it to and where the money is, and it’s all over.”

He cries out something muffled by my hand, but I keep it there until he’s calm.

I hold his eyes and wait.

When I take my hand away, his body sags and he closes his eyes. “The Cullums, they bought it.”

“Did they know it was ours?” Tommy asks.

Louie shakes his head no.

“Where's the money, Louie?” I bet the fucker’s already spent it, but Tony couldn’t find it anywhere in his bank accounts.

“I gave it to my brother.” Hearing his confession makes my heart sink. I know his brother has a problem with alcohol. They both do. His brother’s also a gambler though. And that’s not a good combination. I nod my head and wait for him to look me in the eyes.

“You stole from us to get your brother out of debt?” I ask him and I see a flash of hope in his eyes. Like maybe that’ll save him. But it won’t. As he raises his head to speak, I stab the knife through his neck until it comes out the other side and quickly push it up toward his face, splitting his throat open. It’s a silent kill, efficient and quick.

Once his eyes glaze over and his hands fall to his side, I let him drop to the ground. I shake my head as Tommy dials up the crew to come clean this shit up.

He should’ve known better. No one fucks with us for a reason.

“Damn, Anthony. I need to practice with a knife.” I turn around to look at my brother. He’s looking at me the same way everyone always has. Like he fears me, because I do this shit without thinking twice and without feeling remorse. It’s simple. He had it coming. It had to happen. Catherine used to look at me like that too; only sometimes though in the beginning. Not anymore. She would if she knew I did this shit. If she really knew who I was. When people break the rules, they die. That’s just what happens. Just like my mother. I’ve come to terms with it long ago. I don’t get why everyone else gets so shaken up over it.

I don’t feel any different than I did when we walked back here. A little bit of a high on adrenaline, but I just want to get the fuck out.

Tommy says, “I don’t think I could do that shit.”

“Sure you could, anyone’s capable of it.” My words remind me of my kitten. Her patiently waiting for me, and telling me all the things I want to hear. I don’t think she would ever hurt a fly. That’s just not the kind of person she is. But if she wanted to kill me, she could. I still expect it at some point. If I was her, I’d try to kill me. The thought makes my blood run cold. At some point she’s probably going to try to kill me.

“You alright?” Tommy asks. “It’s alright, Anthony. He had it coming to him.”

He had it coming to him. I bet that’s what she’s going to think when she gets the courage to try. I want to believe in her, but ever since that night with Vince, all I keep thinking is that I’m fucked up. That I was wrong. That this is destined to fail.

I school my expression and look at Tommy as I say, “Let’s get out of here.”

It’s late, but I need her right now. Even if my little kitten wants to sink her claws into me. Even if it’s all lies. Even if it’s completely fucked up. I want her.