12. Nico

Chapter 12

Nico

I’m usually up early in the mornings. It doesn’t matter how late I was before going to bed, the dawn chorus is usually all the alarm bell that I require.

Today is no different.

Except the only difference is that instead of taking my time with my usual stretching and core workout, I’ve headed straight out for an emergency meeting with Rico.

The Luca Conte situation is getting out of control.

I know it. Rico knows it. And so to do our senior bosses in the family.

‘The word has come from up top,’ Rico says as he sips on his espresso. ‘Conte has to be eliminated. The family is concerned that Conte doesn’t know what his boundaries are.’

‘Fuck, Conte went beyond the acceptable boundaries some time ago,’ I say, shaking my head. ‘It should never have been allowed to get this far.’

Rico and I are sitting outside Strong Bean, one of our favorite early morning hangouts.

With a selection of some of the best roasts in the city, Strong Bean is a great place to down some seriously good espressos – oh and the fact that the baristas are cute as hell isn’t exactly a bad thing either!

But I’ve got no interest in casually checking out the sweet baristas today.

I’ve only got eyes for Eddie now – and in a totally different kind of way, Luca Conte too.

‘I’m some fucking angry at Conte,’ I growl. ‘The city has been in peace for so long. Sure, there’s the occasional beef. Maybe sometimes a man has to be taken out. But what Conte is doing could provoke all out war.’

‘Tell me about it,’ Rico says, his voice serious and pensive as he stares out onto the park opposite us. ‘But it is what it is. This is what we do, brother. We need to act quickly, and make sure there is nothing left to doubt. You’re not going soft in your old age, right?’

‘Ha! I’m younger than you!’ I laugh. ‘And to answer your question, no I absolutely am not going soft. I’ll blow that sonofabitch away without giving him a second thought. I just…’

‘Speak it, brother,’ Rico says, seeing that I’m holding back on something.

‘I just have Eddie to think about now,’ I say, dropping my guard for a moment. ‘I have to make sure that I keep myself safe for him too. I’m not afraid of dying. Never have been. But now that I’ve got my baby boy, I guess I’ve just got a lot more to live for.’

‘Damn, you’ve got it bad,’ Rico says, a wry smile on his face. ‘But I respect what you’re saying one hundred percent. We’ll make sure this job is clean as clean can be. I’ve got your back, you know that.’

‘Speaking of the boy…’ I say, my eyes distracted by my phone flashing up a message from Eddie…

EDDIE: Daddy, I’ve got BAD news. Mitch is sad because the horrible landlord is selling the bakery to a mean Mafia man. There’s no way he’ll let Mitch keep the bakery open and that’ll mean no more East Side Sugar! XoXo

NICO: Boy, do you know the name of the Mafia man? This is important. Find out the name and tell me ASAP. Daddy.

EDDIE: I already know his name. It’s Luca Conte. Have you heard of him? Is he one of your friends??? Please help, Daddy! East Side Sugar is so important to not just me and Mitch, but to the community too! XoXoXo

I put the phone back down after the rapid-fire messages and the look on my face tells Rico that something is up.

‘What’s happening?’ Rico says, finishing off his espresso.

‘You’re not going to believe this,’ I say. ‘Conte is buying my boy’s bakery. This shit has to end. We have to act now.’

‘Agreed,’ Rico says. ‘Listen, I’ve had a tip-off that Conte is using an office above a restaurant as his base over on this side of the city. How about we pay him a visit?’

‘Let’s go,’ I say, wasting not a single second as I down the rest of my espresso and stand up from my chair. ‘It’s time to end this. I’m parked round the corner, let’s move.’

My blood is boiling.

It was one thing Conte buying up random property and breaking the Mafia territory peace deal – but trying to fuck with my boy’s bakery is one step too far.

I’m going to put a bullet through Conte’s heart.

This will end today – as far as I’m concerned, there is no other option.

On the drive over to the restaurant where Conte is supposedly using as a makeshift base, the atmosphere is very much game mode.

I look across to Rico and see him checking his gun, making sure that everything is correct and in place.

‘You good?’ I say, bringing the SUV to a standstill as I park it round the corner from the restaurant.

‘All good,’ Rico replies.

I can tell that Rico is ready to kill.

It might be a Mafia thing, but the bond between two Mafia men is something very much unlike anything else you would get in so-called polite society.

Rico and I know that taking a life is a big deal, but we also know deep down in our hearts that this is what we were born to do.

Rico isn’t tense or nervous in the way a regular Joe on the streets would be – far from it.

Rico knows that it’s business time.

And the same goes for me.

‘Okay, I think it’s time,’ I say, taking my gun out of the glove compartment and placing it inside my jacket. ‘We go in. We do the business. We bounce. Right?’

‘Right,’ Rico replies, a steely determination on his face that I feel coursing through my own veins too. ‘This asshole is experiencing the final moments of his life right now. He might not know it, but he soon will do.’

We don’t waste a single second.

Silently and with total focus, Rico and I get out of the SUV and approach the restaurant from the side alley.

It only takes a moment to overpower and eliminate the thug on the door.

We’re inside the building and stealthily climbing up the stairs at the rear to gain access to the office.

‘Okay. On three,’ I whisper, my ear momentarily pressed up against the office door. ‘One… two… three!’

With that, we burst into the office ready to unload our guns into Luca Conte’s helpless body.

But there’s one big motherfucking problem…

‘Where’s Conte?’ I say, a look of shock on my face.

‘Wherever he is, he’s not here,’ Rico says, slamming his fist down on the large mahogany desk at the center of the small office room.

This isn’t good.

We’ve made a play against Conte and taken out one of his thugs – it won’t be long before this gets back to Conte, and he could use it as an excuse to start a war.

But just as my mind is beginning to wander toward all the worst-case scenarios, I get a message on my cellphone…

EDDIE: Daddy, please come quickly. That mean Mafia man is here at the bakery! This could get bad, I don’t think he likes me or Mitch. Please come and protect me. XoXo

I don’t reply to the boy. Not because I don’t want to, but because I don’t have time.

‘We need to move,’ I say, shooting a look over to Rico as he inspects the desk and picks up a laptop.

‘You have intel on Conte?’ Rico says.

‘Yeah, you could say that,’ I reply. ‘He’s at East Side Sugar.’

‘You’re fucking kidding me?’ Rico replies, a look of concern on his face.

‘I wish I was,’ I say, grave concern in my voice. ‘We can’t waste a second.’

With that, Rico and I exit the office and make a beeline back to the SUV.

As I jump into the driver’s seat and turn the engine on, my mind is awash with possibilities.

This isn’t a routine Mafia killing any longer.

This is personal now in a way I never imagined it would be.

My baby boy’s life is in danger, and it’s down to me to show him that as a young Mafia Daddy I can protect him.

Eddie is going to see things he’s never seen before, and it might just change his perception of me forever – but I have no choice.

Soon enough, Eddie is going to see exactly what it means to be a Mafia man, and all I can do is hope that it doesn’t put him off me forever.

It’s time to head over to East Side Sugar and fire off a round of bullets faster than my baby boy can gobble down a donut…