Page 4 of His Vicious Vow
When he hangs up, I wonder who I’ll have to marry. Would Carlo let me pick? It didn’t matter who I had to marry, if it meant I got to run Vegas, I’ll do it.
* * *
Sandro
“We’re short. By two kilos.” Gaetano says through clenched teeth.
I look over the men and women in the warehouse who are now lined up in a row in only their underwear—no clothes are allowed to keep thoughts of stuffing anything down their pants and walking out with it from becoming a chance they were willing to take. The warehouse isn’t a cozy set up. However the place was updated for air conditioning. There were also coolers for water and other drinks while they work, no limit. Heat in the desert was no joke. We even tossed rubber pads on the floor so they didn’t have to stand on concrete for the long hours they worked.
They are here to breakdown the ton of cocaine we received into kilos. The ton isn’t hyperbole, we buy in the metric ton. We get this shipment twice a week and we distribute in nothing less than fifty kilos, except for our ears and eyes to keep our relationships strong. Money on these purchases move by wire, we don’t do cash. We are a line item on an expense report.
Anger surges through me. No one has tried stealing from the warehouse in years. Yet Luca is gone for three days and our people think because it’s me, they can try it. It compounds the resentment already growing.
There hasn’t been a single call or text from Dominic or Tony about my status. It’s been three days. I’m trying to think of it as no news is good news but my nerves are stretched tight. Can Tony and Dominic really get Carlo to agree to me taking over?
Carlo Toro is a racist fucker who hadn’t wanted me as Luca’s number two when my father died six years ago. He assigned Luca his own number two Gianni Bruno. Gianni was weak and only added to Luca’s stress, instead of lowering it the way a number two should. All because my mother was half-Filipino. It didn’t matter I barely look it, since my father was one hundred percent Italian. I even inherited his blue eyes. I can’t shake the thought Carlo won’t give me the title for something people can’t see in me.
I pull my gun from the holster at the base of my spine. It’s a Walther P22 with a less than four-inch barrel. I’m a big guy at six two and two hundred and thirty-five pounds of pure muscle. In my hand the gun is almost comical. No one is smiling.
Keeping the gun pointed down at my side I walk across the front of them. “I’m going to make this offer once. You have thirty seconds. The person who rats out the one who stole from me will be allowed to live. You can walk away. It will be with a limp but you’ll still be able to walk and breathe on your own. If the person who stole from me admits it now. I’ll make your death quick and easy. If no one comes forward, I’m going to start using bullets. I will go all the way down the line of you until I get to the end.”
The man closest to me falls to his knees in tears. His name is Gustavo. He’s one of the few employees I know well. I made it a point to never become friendly with these employees. They were disposable, they had to be. There were too many who tried to take advantage. This is not the first time I have done this.
I keep walking until I stand at one end, farthest from Mark. His body language tells me it’s him. He’s new. He came in three weeks ago with Dustin. I know everyone’s name, their home address, their cell phone number, and where the person they cared for most lived. These people think I don’t see them. I see everything. I remember everything. It’s a gift and a curse. I didn’t even know what it was called until I was nineteen. An eidetic memory. I see something, hear it and can recall it instantly.
“A gut shot is not a way you want to go. It’s painful as fuck and it’s going to take a while to die. If someone else has to out you as the one who stole, you are going to wish you had the gut shot instead. Your death will be long, painful, and very bloody. It will be drawn out over several days and your body will be delivered to your family.”
The woman I’m standing in front of pees down her leg. Now that I have to kill her, I don’t think of her by her name. I look down at her. “Do you know who took the coke?”
She shakes her head and begins crying. “I don’t know. I don’t—”
The gun shot is nothing more than a pop. She goes down with a scream, writhing in pain. I don’t allow myself to look at her, only at the man who is beside her. Tears are running down his face. “Do you know who took the coke?”
“I swear I don’t know.” He’s shaking his head.
I fire the gun and from the corner of my eye Mark flinches. He bites down on his lip and blood runs down his mouth. His eyes are on the woman and man screaming in agony.
“It was me. It was me and Dustin. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Please stop.” Mark begins sobbing.
Returning to the man and woman on the floor, I aim carefully and fire on the woman. Her scream is cut short. The man understands, closing his eyes, I end his suffering.
I nod at Gaetano. He grabs Dustin by his hair and drags him toward the back of an SUV. Another of my men grabs Mark, zip ties are on him in seconds. They’re both crying and pleading. I hear none of it.
Using the gun to motion at the remaining employees in line. “Go back to work.”
They run back to their places. Gaetano is in front of me. I nod down at the woman and man dead on the concrete floor. “Make them disappear. She has two kids. They’re with her mom in Reno. Get the kids set up with twenty grand for each in college funds with our lawyer and a trust fund that will pay their grandmother two grand a month for the next five years. He has no one who will miss him. Close out his place.”
He nods. “I’ll have Danny clean the mess up. I’ll call the lawyer and set the appointment for tomorrow.”
“Leave the blood on the floor until everyone else leaves.”
The order stops him, but he doesn’t question it.
I take the two bags for delivery. The only ones Luca ever delivers himself. Since he’s not here it falls to me.
Bobby heads for the door of the car, he’s my usual driver and security. I shake my head. “I need a minute.”
He steps back with a nod. “You want me to stay or head back?”