IT TOOK LESS than twenty-four hours for Nix to get a call from Tony Belinelli. When Nix answered the phone, I was sitting right next to him on my couch in the loft. When it rang, we knew who it was, and we knew what they were going to say. Ironically, Nix and I were discussing what our next move was going to be after everything that happened at The VP. We had a plan, and when the call came, the adrenaline built up in my stomach like volcanic lava, and in that moment, I knew our plan was going to be put into place. According to Nix, Tony Belinelli kept it brief, and he had the tone of a man who knew he was in control. All Tony said was the time and location of our next sit-down with Dante Rossi. “Tomorrow, seven PM, La Famiglia Ristorante.”
Tomorrow is now today, and seven PM is now five minutes away.
And I’m going to kill Dante Rossi and Tony Belinelli.
I thought long and hard about what it is I’m going to do, and Nix was there to be my angel on the other shoulder, but in the end, even he agreed that we can’t allow Dante to get away with what happened at The VP, and Tony will try to defend Dante, so he’ll die too.
Donny Fontane died for nothing. Detective Mason knew Donny had nothing to do with the robbery of Hyperion’s truck, because he’s on Angelo Scarfo’s payroll, and he knows it was them who pulled off that job. So, his actions two nights ago got Donny killed, and for that, after I kill Dante tonight, I’m going to Mason’s house, and I’m going to kill him too. Not his family, just him. I want them to feel the pain of losing him, so I’ll spare all of their lives, but I’ll make them watch for what he did to Donny and Ricky. They need to know how crooked their husband and father is. I don’t care if it was Angelo himself who put Mason up to it. Every one of them will know not to bring war to my house.
Contrary to popular belief, I’m not completely insane. I know what this will do. You can’t kill the underboss of any Italian mob family and get away with it unscathed. There will be blood in the streets, and we’re ready for that. Regardless of how long the seventy-one-year-old boss of the Scarfo family has been in the life of crime, I’m smarter than him. I’m smarter than all of them, and this war will go on for a century before I let them get me or Nix. This will put us at war until either Angelo or me is dead, because there’s no way Angelo is going to forgive me for killing his underboss. So be it. Such is the life of a gangster. Regardless of the drama and danger this act will bring to our lives, I will not give them a pass on this. No man will ever hit me or my operation and go unpunished. Ever. Tonight, Dante Rossi will die. The war will begin.
As we sit at the stoplight just a few hundred yards from La Famiglia Ristorante, I hold my chrome nine millimeter pistol in my hands. It’s a beautiful weapon, and I smile at the thought of using it again, knowing it will rid the world of another one of my enemies. Tonight, I’ll use a black silencer on the front of the barrel to keep people from rushing outside at the sound of gunshots. I turn it clockwise, putting it in place just as the stoplight turns green and Nix steps on the gas. Once it’s firmly attached, I tuck it into the holster that’s slung inside my black leather jacket. Ready.
Nix rides in the driver’s seat next to me wearing navy blue jeans and a jacket to match. His long facial hair is perfectly edged and touching his chest as he lowers his head and raises his eyes to drive. He’s pure focus. He has his own gun under his seat, but he won’t be using it tonight. The honor of avenging Donny is mine, and Nix will simply drive us away from the scene when the deed is done.
Just a few seconds later, we’re pulling up to the curb in front of the restaurant. The lights inside are on and there’s obviously plenty of people in the place, but there’s only two people sitting outside. Dante and Tony. Two dead men.
As we park behind their black Mercedes, I see Tony wearing his usual double-chin and a gray suit. He’s fancier than when we met a few days ago, and so is Dante, who’s wearing a black suit and a white button-up with no tie. Both of the men look happy and proud of themselves as they sip wine from crystal glasses. I guess I can understand that. I’d be chipper too if I knew my power extended into the police department and criminal justice system in all of Philly and then some.
As we get out of Nix’s SUV, I can’t help but notice there is a third seat on the left of Dante this time, closest to the entrance door. There’s a wine glass too, but it’s empty, so maybe it’s just an extra setting.
When the two of us approach the tables, Dante and Tony raises their wine glasses to us, as if toasting to our arrival.
“Ah, Solomon King and his partner, Nix Malone,” Dante says, smiling from ear to ear. His confidence is definitely up since our last visit. “Please, come have a seat. We’re just getting started having some drinks. Won’t you join us?”
Nix and I sit down—me in front of Dante, Nix in front of Tony. I see Dante’s scruffy bearded face and I want to skip the BS and start pulling the trigger now, but I’ll humor the situation. After all, it’s my game.
As soon as we sit down, a waiter comes rushing out with a bottle filled with dark wine and two more glasses. He doesn’t use the one that’s sitting next to Dante.
“Please, have a drink,” Dante says, waving his hand at the waiter to pour each of us a glass. “This is special edition Bolgheri Superiore, nearly three hundred dollars a bottle. Enjoy.”
The waiter pours our glasses and quickly leaves, making sure to avoid eye contact with me. I watch him leave before addressing Dante.
“I’m glad to see you’re in a good mood, Dante,” I say as I lift my glass and sip the wine. It’s disgusting, but I’d expect no less from a snake like Dante Rossi.
“I am in a good mood, Solomon,” Dante replies, setting his glass down. “I’ve had a good few days, and now I’m here about to have dinner with friends.”
“We’re not friends,” I snip.
“No, we’re not. I wasn’t talking about you,” Dante answers. “Speaking of friends, though, I heard you lost one of yours. Very sad. My condolences.”
He’s talking about Donny, and my blood immediately heats up, shooting warmth throughout my entire body. I shift my position a bit just to feel the sway of the gun in the holster under my jacket. Their arrogance in assuming we wouldn’t do anything to them in public will cost them tonight. No one in the Scarfo family will ever have a sit-down without searching their guests ever again. The fact that they’ve never patted us down is an insult in itself. I’ll fix all of that tonight. When the first shot rings out, that’ll be the first thing they think, “Why didn’t we pat them down?” Then, the rest of the shots will follow, and they won’t be able to think at all.
“Your condolences,” I say, repeating Dante’s words. “I assume you’d like me to believe you had nothing to do with that, huh?”
“You can assume whatever you want,” Dante spits back. “It’s just a shame it had to end up that way. One of your friends being killed by police, his brother being arrested for assaulting police. People in your crew have had a rough few days. After a while, no one will want to do business with you two.”
“So, that’s your plan then?” I ask, shifting again. “You wanna pick off my associates one by one, until there’s no one left, or you scare them all away, and poor Nix and me are all alone and forced to leave for greener pastures. An elaborate plan, Dante. Might take a while to complete.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I simply noticed the difficulty you and your friends are going through right now. But since you brought it up, have you given any thought to leaving for greener pastures? Our offer?”
I look over at Nix to let him know I’m running out of patience, and that the end of all of this is coming. His face tightens in anticipation.
“Your offer,” I say. “Remind me, what was that offer again?”
“Short memory, Solomon? No problem, I’ll repeat it for you. You get all of the money from the Hyperion robbery—we both know we don’t need it—as long as you and your partner move out of Philadelphia. Go burn down another city with your loud antics.”
I shift again.
“So let me make sure I’ve got this right,” I sit up straight and lean on my right forearm, positioning it close to my body. The leather of my jacket brushing lightly against my skin. “First, you send a mole to infiltrate my outfit, then you steal my plans and use them to rob me of my own heist. Then you ask me to leave the city I’ve lived in my entire life. Then you send cops to Nix’s restaurant and get my associate killed and another arrested for the robbery you committed. Now you’re asking me again about leaving everything I know behind, simply because you and your boss can’t handle a little competition. I get all of that, Dante?”
Dante shifts in his seat now, suddenly uncomfortable with my words. Imagine how uncomfortable he’s going to be with a bullet in his head.
“I’d be careful with my words if I were you, Solomon,” he snips, his muscles tightening under his fancy Italian suit.
I shift again. This is it.
“That’s the thing, Dante,” I snip, my nerves sharpening under my skin as the moment approaches. “You’re not me. I think that’s why you hate me so much. You’re not me, you don’t run shit like me, the people in this city don’t fear you the way they fear me. You wish you were me, but I’m too big for you to even come close. I do wreak havoc. I do cause chaos, and the worst thing you could’ve ever done is . . .”
The door to the restaurant opens, and my words catch in my throat. I suddenly can’t breathe as a woman steps through the doors, followed by the waiter who poured our drinks when we arrived. She sits down at the table in the empty seat next to Dante without saying a word, and as I stare at her, I feel Nix staring at me, just as confused as I am.
“Ah, there you are,” Dante says as he throws his arm on the back of the blonde woman’s chair. She scoots a little closer to him and flashes a smile that shatters my heart into a million pieces. “What took you so long in there?”
“Had to freshen up,” she says in a voice that I could never forget, not even if an entire millennium passed. “You wouldn’t want me to look bad in front of company, would you?”
I can’t move.
I can’t breathe.
I can’t think.
My brain is scrambled and moving a million miles per second.
All I do is stare at her. Dirty blonde hair that stops at least midway down her back, icy blue eyes, thin nose, and beautifully full lips. This isn’t some knockoff version walking the streets. She’s wearing a tight black dress that shows just how much she’s grown up since the last time I saw her—when she mouthed the words I love you from the window of the train as it pulled out of the station and she disappeared from my life.
“You couldn’t look bad if you tried,” Dante says, and I’m frozen in place as I watch him lean over and softly kiss her on the cheek. She looks down at the floor as he does it, but she doesn’t shy away. The waiter who followed her out pours wine into the glass I’d noticed when I first arrived, and she immediately sips it, still not looking to our side of the table. “Like I said before, Solomon, I’m having dinner with friends. Allow me to introduce my date for the evening. This is Reina. Reina, this is Mr. Solomon King. He’s an acquaintance, of sorts.”
Her blue eyes finally rise to meet mine, and I feel all of the blood leave my face and flood into my feet as she reaches across the table and offers her hand for me to shake.
“Hello, Solomon. It’s nice to meet you.”