exhaling.
“He’ll get one, but he needs to suffer first. He needs to know that his actions caused her to die, and he needs to grieve over her corpse.” I drummed the edge of the chair and then puffed my own cigar.
“You’re a man who has felt pain, Braden. Most would settle for just revenge, but you know what it is like to lose someone close.” He shook his head back and forth. “It has turned you into a sadist.”
“If you tell me to spare her life, I would do that. I respect you as much as I respected my own father.” I stared at him and narrowed my eyes.
“You know I can’t do that. It is a violation of the code. If this starts a war, we will handle it just like we’ve handled it since our father’s fathers stepped foot on American soil.” He shrugged. “He spilled your family’s blood, so our Family will respect your decision, whatever it is.”
“Thank you.” I let smoke roll out of my lips.
“Your father didn’t want this life for you. You know that, right? He was proud of the soldier you were in Uncle Sam’s army and hoped you would choose a different path.” Don Abrami tilted his head and nodded.
“I would have chosen a different path, too. Mary’s death changed that…” My words trailed off.
“Yes it did. It changed things for you and for Stefano. I’m proud to have both of you in the Family. I could see either one of you sitting at our table one day.” He continued to nod. “Things didn’t use to be like this. We used to get respect. Harlem’s trash didn’t used to spill over to our streets. These common thug gangs like the Eight-Ballers used to stay out of our way and settle for whatever we didn’t want. All of the years the Five Families spent warring against each other made us weak.”
“We’ll get that back. You’re the first man to be called Don in a long time.” I nodded my head in respect.
“The unification of the Families kept them pacified for a while, but as we bicker among ourselves over territories and money, they get stronger. It is only a matter of time until they hit us again like they did the day Mary died.” He stood up.
“I’ll kill them all before I let that happen.” I stood up and took his hand.
“Now that is something all Five Families will support you on.” He clasped my shoulder and walked towards the door.
The day Mary died was still burned in my memories as if it was yesterday. The heads of all Five Families were having the first sit down discussion in a long time, hoping to find some sort of common ground. Just when the talks looked like they were headed in the wrong direction, the Eight-Ballers drove by the restaurant and opened fire. I saw the van coming, but I didn’t realize what was happening until it was too late. I was a different man then, still fresh from my last tour of Iraq and ready to begin a new life with Mary. She was smiling at me when the first gunshot rang out, but her smile quickly faded and was replaced by blood. She wasn’t a part of their war; she wasn’t a part of any war. I was the soldier, and I was supposed to protect her. It was that failure which brought on my rage, turned me into a monster, and pulled me into the Family. Five years later, my father faced the same fate, a victim of a war ignited by Angela’s father. I decided that I needed some distraction, so I picked up the phone and called downstairs.
“Hey, this is Braden. Send a girl up to my room. How about the one from last night, the blonde? Thanks.” I ended the call as they were going over details; I didn’t need to hear the details. Pussy was pussy.
After the Five Families found common ground following the attack, Dario Abrami, the head of our Family, was named Don. Everyone agreed that he would lead and make the final decisions regarding the direction of our cause. Our compound, a house with a large underground network, became
“He’ll get one, but he needs to suffer first. He needs to know that his actions caused her to die, and he needs to grieve over her corpse.” I drummed the edge of the chair and then puffed my own cigar.
“You’re a man who has felt pain, Braden. Most would settle for just revenge, but you know what it is like to lose someone close.” He shook his head back and forth. “It has turned you into a sadist.”
“If you tell me to spare her life, I would do that. I respect you as much as I respected my own father.” I stared at him and narrowed my eyes.
“You know I can’t do that. It is a violation of the code. If this starts a war, we will handle it just like we’ve handled it since our father’s fathers stepped foot on American soil.” He shrugged. “He spilled your family’s blood, so our Family will respect your decision, whatever it is.”
“Thank you.” I let smoke roll out of my lips.
“Your father didn’t want this life for you. You know that, right? He was proud of the soldier you were in Uncle Sam’s army and hoped you would choose a different path.” Don Abrami tilted his head and nodded.
“I would have chosen a different path, too. Mary’s death changed that…” My words trailed off.
“Yes it did. It changed things for you and for Stefano. I’m proud to have both of you in the Family. I could see either one of you sitting at our table one day.” He continued to nod. “Things didn’t use to be like this. We used to get respect. Harlem’s trash didn’t used to spill over to our streets. These common thug gangs like the Eight-Ballers used to stay out of our way and settle for whatever we didn’t want. All of the years the Five Families spent warring against each other made us weak.”
“We’ll get that back. You’re the first man to be called Don in a long time.” I nodded my head in respect.
“The unification of the Families kept them pacified for a while, but as we bicker among ourselves over territories and money, they get stronger. It is only a matter of time until they hit us again like they did the day Mary died.” He stood up.
“I’ll kill them all before I let that happen.” I stood up and took his hand.
“Now that is something all Five Families will support you on.” He clasped my shoulder and walked towards the door.
The day Mary died was still burned in my memories as if it was yesterday. The heads of all Five Families were having the first sit down discussion in a long time, hoping to find some sort of common ground. Just when the talks looked like they were headed in the wrong direction, the Eight-Ballers drove by the restaurant and opened fire. I saw the van coming, but I didn’t realize what was happening until it was too late. I was a different man then, still fresh from my last tour of Iraq and ready to begin a new life with Mary. She was smiling at me when the first gunshot rang out, but her smile quickly faded and was replaced by blood. She wasn’t a part of their war; she wasn’t a part of any war. I was the soldier, and I was supposed to protect her. It was that failure which brought on my rage, turned me into a monster, and pulled me into the Family. Five years later, my father faced the same fate, a victim of a war ignited by Angela’s father. I decided that I needed some distraction, so I picked up the phone and called downstairs.
“Hey, this is Braden. Send a girl up to my room. How about the one from last night, the blonde? Thanks.” I ended the call as they were going over details; I didn’t need to hear the details. Pussy was pussy.
After the Five Families found common ground following the attack, Dario Abrami, the head of our Family, was named Don. Everyone agreed that he would lead and make the final decisions regarding the direction of our cause. Our compound, a house with a large underground network, became
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