I promised her, and I’m going to keep the promise.

The thing is, I know that deep down, family is important to Bella. She can say now that she wants to run away from them forever, but I know she’ll live to regret it. Especially if Yuri ends up killing her family, and she can’t change her mind later. When our kid’s first birthday comes around, and none of her family is there to celebrate, she’ll wonder if we couldn't have done things differently. Besides, I’m just going to talk. Nothing dangerous.

When I reach Big Tony’s house, I’m surprised to see no extra cars in the big-ass driveway. No foot traffic. Nothing.

After I’m buzzed in through the gate, Tony opens the door, and even though it’s 3AM, he’s fully dressed. He looks like he’s been awake for some time.

“I got a lot to tell you,” I say, “And not much time.”

Tony holds up a hand. “Stefano told me.”

“So…”

“So the way I see it,” Tony says. “The man who killed my son, Michael. He’s dead.”

“You’re not going to go after Yuri?” I ask.

Tony waves me in and shuts the door behind us.

“You want a drink?” he asks.

I shake my head, and Tony pours himself a drink, then sits down across from me.

“Don’t ever tell no one I said this to you,” Tony says, jabbing a finger at me. “But I think I might have learned a thing or two from you and Bella. No, I’m not getting out of the game, it’s too late for me to do that, and I wouldn’t want to anyway. But I realized that if I do go after Yuri, even if I kill him, some fucker named Vladimir or Theodor is going to come after me for revenge, and maybe he’ll kill my nephew, or–”

“You’re seriously not going to kill Yuri?” I ask, feeling completely taken aback. I thought I’d have to convince him, beg him, and use his daughter and our unborn kid to convince him. But he decided not to...on his own? Before I even got here?

“Nah,” Tony says. “Like I said, the one who pulled the trigger is dead. That’s enough for me. Little Tony would want me to be a grandpa, to take it easy and watch my family live on. He wouldn’t want me to get all medieval about this.”

“What did Stefano say when you told him this?” I ask, suddenly regretting not taking a drink.

Tony bounces a few times in his chair. The ice clinks, and the brown liquid sloshes around almost enough to spill. “It don’t fucking matter! I’m the boss of this family, so he does what I say, whether he likes it or not.”

“He didn’t like it?”

“Of fucking course not!” Tony shouts. “I almost took a swing at him for some of the shit he said to me–called me a pussy, can you believe that? But soon enough he bowed his head, kissed my ring, all that shit. He does what I say. He doesn’t have to like it.”

I remember everything Stefano said back in that basement. I remember how ready he said he was to betray Tony and take over. Should I tell Tony all that now? It’s not my place to, and Stefano only said he’d do it if Tony had ordered the hit on Vinny. Was that just an excuse? A justification? I got the impression that Stefano thinks he should be in charge either way, and he might just use Tony’s reluctance to take revenge as his next excuse to take over.

“Tony,” I say. “I know this is none of my business…”

Tony smiles and gives me a knowing look. “You’re gonna be my son-in-law–wait, you are gonna fucking propose soon, yeah? What are you waiting on?”

“Soon,” I say. I have the ring already, but I wanted this shit all cleared up before I spring it on her. “Tony, what are you planning? You’re getting older…”

“Yeah and my health is shit,” he says. “If I weren’t such a fat piece of shit, I might live another 20 years, but that’s not likely, huh?” He shakes his glass for emphasis.

“Are you going to put Stefano in charge?”

He shrugs. “Ehh. He’s got what it takes, I guess, but he’s a risky choice. He could bring the whole family down, the way I see it.” Tony stares into his glass deep in thought, as if he’d never really considered this at all. “Maybe I’d pick someone else.”

I start to wonder if I should say something. What will Stefano do if he figures out that Tony doesn’t really want him to take over? Even after he dies.

“Maybe keep that close to your chest,” I say.

“I know how to boss my own people around,” Tony says, grinning at me. “Focus on your own shit, Luca.”

I show him my palms and smile. Relief is washing through me either way. This was way easier than I thought it would be. I can keep my promise to Bella now, and I can give her the good news that we don’t have to cut ties with her family. Her father is still Big Tony of the Rielas, but he’s at least a good enough man to be a grandfather to our children.

Tony shows me out, and I get into my car.

I don’t drive off right away. I still need some time to think. I thought I’d have a lot of other shit to do tonight, but now I’ve gotta figure out how to bring down my own damn empire. If I put someone like Leo in charge, there’s a risk he’ll just undo everything I did. He might go after Tony, or Yuri, or both. If I put Gio in charge, well, he wouldn’t want to be in charge. Then someone who did want to be in charge would probably take him out.

Fuck it. I’ll take enough money for Bella and me. Enough that I can still build something legit for us, but not enough that everyone will want to come after me for fucking them over. Then I’ll give Gio a fat chunk, let him retire and do whatever the hell he wants. The rest of the shit I’ll just find a way to sell off and distribute. High ranking guys like Leo will get a big piece, but not big enough that they will really be dangerous. If all the high ranking guys wanted to pool their resources together and pick some new kingpin, they could, but I don’t see them agreeing on who that would be. They’ll go their separate ways, and the Gallos will hopefully go from being a family, to just a normal fucking family.

I call Gio.

“Fuck, Luca,” he says, groaning. “It’s late. What is it?”

I start to talk. I start telling him everything that happened. I don’t tell him everything I’m planning, because I don’t trust him to keep it secret until it’s already done.

Then I see headlights behind me. I get a really bad feeling as soon as those lights hit me. My car isn’t on, so I just duck down as fast as I can. I hear the car move past, and the glow from the headlights goes away. I peek up and see the red of the taillights in front of me, and the car pulling up toward the door.

It’s late. Who the hell–

I hang up the phone while Gio is still in mid-sentence. I grab my gun as I watch the car.

I expect to see Stefano, but I fear I’ll see Stefano and three or four other guys he’s convinced to help him take over.

The driver’s side door opens, and Stefano steps out. I see him crack his neck, and lazily walk toward the door. He’s not holding a gun, and no one else is with him as far as I can tell.

It might not be what I think it is. Tony might have called him back, or he might just be trying to convince Tony that they need to kill Yuri.

Or, if my gut is right, he might just be here to take Tony out.

I can’t just jump out now and shoot. I have to prove that Stefano is intending to do what I fear before I take any action.

I watch as the door to the house opens. Tony is in a robe now, and he looks surprised to see Stefano. Stefano’s shoulders are hunched, and his body language suggests he’s somehow apologetic. If he were going to kill Tony, this would be the tone to take. Try to get Tony’s guard down before he strikes.

I wait until the door shuts, then I jump out of the car and run up to the side of the house.

I peek in through a window, and I see Tony grabbing two glasses. He sets them down on the bar, and his lips are moving. He’s talking to Stefano while Stefano stands behind him.

Stefano goes from slouched to stiff as a board, and he thrusts his hands into his jacket pockets.

I feel myself pulling my own gun up just as Stefano unsheathes his from his pocket.

My gun is too low caliber to shoot straight through a window from this distance with any accuracy so I aim high to avoid a ricochet going into Tony, and I shoot the window out.

Tony turns around to see Stefano holding the gun up at his back. The angle I’m at makes the chance of missing Stefano and hitting Tony negligible. Not impossible, but unlikely.

With the window blown apart and my angle clear, I squeeze the trigger two or three times. In my mind’s eye I can see the surprise on Stefano’s face, even though he never turns around. Each bullet hits him in the back, right around his spine, and he goes down before I can take a fourth shot at him. Tony looks up at me with wide eyes, his mouth hanging open, but to his credit, he didn’t even drop his fucking drinks while all those shots were going off.