A slick smirk grew from Dustin’s mouth. He had a feeling that Knox had some bad news for him, but he couldn’t resist an opportunity to break the tension.
“You’ve got erectile dysfunction, don’t you?” Dustin asked, the sarcasm dripping from his voice.
Knox glared at his younger brother, his hostility coming in check.
“Quit fuckin’ around. This is serious,” Knox barked.
Quickly Dustin leaned back in his chair, wiping his smirk clear off of his face.
“Sorry. I hate when shit gets too serious. So what’s the matter?” Dustin asked, finally taking his brother’s plea for help seriously.
Knox cleared his throat as he adjusted his tie. Looking up at his brother with an intense gaze, Knox replied, “Hell has finally frozen over. The old man has aligned himself with Nunzio Rigatti.”
Suddenly Dustin’s eyes hardened as he heard the name of the Brooklyn mob boss who had been his father’s blood enemy since before he was born.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Dustin spat. “This has to be a joke. There’s no way in hell…”
“He admitted it to me about an hour ago. I came straight here.”
“Rigatti is going to make a move on Miles.”
“Innocent people are going to get hurt. This changes things, Knox,” Dustin spat as he stood up from his office chair.
“He has no intentions of telling Miles that he’s been boosted to the seat of acting boss. He plans to let him find out when Rigatti comes at him.”
“This is going to be a blood bath.”
“You ain’t kidding. And everybody knows the way to draw Miles out…”
“Letty…” Dustin said plainly. “What are we going to do?”
“For now? Play it cool and stick to the game plan.”
“Have you talked to Miles?”
“Why? So he can break my fucking nose again?”
Dustin laughed as he pointed at Knox’s nose.
“Guess you gotta go back to the plastic surgeon…” Dustin quipped.
Knox gave Dustin an annoyed look. “What the fuck? Why does everyone think I have a plastic surgeon?”
“Because every time Miles sees you, he breaks your fucking nose,” Dustin replied as he shook his head.
“So he dimed out his own son. I wonder why, though?”
“Over a woman, I’m sure,” Knox explained. “At least that’s what I gathered from Letty’s voicemail.
Dustin sat back down in his chair as he pondered the situation at hand.
“Nunzio Rigatti,” Dustin said, as the wheels in his head churned. He had a faraway look in his eyes as he slowly put the puzzle pieces together.
“Father of Gino Rigatti who tried to execute Uncle Sonny after he knocked up Aunt Stef. Dad got his vindication by shooting him dead in the middle of rush hour traffic in Philly. Nunzio is also the grandfather of Giancarlo Rigatti, the murder of whom Miles served seventeen years for. Our father is up to his old tricks. The Butcher frames Miles, and he is going to let Nunzio Rigatti get his revenge. As for Letty, I think the old man was fond of her because she took such good care of him. I think Letty is just a pawn that Michael will use to take Miles out.”
“And that right there is why I fucking love you,” Knox said with a gleaming smile. Shooting out of his chair, he reached across the desk and messed up Dustin’s head of well-gelled hair.
“Aye!” Dustin yelled.
“Wrap this up. We have a dinner to go to.”
“Ah, yes. Dinner. Let me grab my gun,” Dustin said with a dark smile growing across his face.
Knox turned on his heel and with a serious look on his face, he replied, “You might need it.”
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
THE CRYSTAL CHANDELIER that hung in the massive dining room of the Capadonno mansion twinkled gently, catching the burning flames of the candles that were set upon the dining room table. The long table was set for sixteen dinner guests with the Capadonno fine china and silver carefully placed at each setting. A Perry Como CD played at a soft decibel as Sasha smoothed the damask champagne-hued table cloth once more. Wearing an elegant cream dress with exquisite beading across the bodice, Sasha was the picture of natural elegance. With her makeup perfectly applied, and her dark hair pulled back into a sleek high bun, Sasha was barely recognizable. She had stepped out of her yoga pants and track shoes and high-toed it into the world of Italian couture. Behind her, the antique grandfather clocked boomed three times loudly, announcing that it was three o’clock. The dinner party would be starting soon.
Sasha appeared nervous as she placed a variety of piping hot dishes on the table. Every few seconds she peered up at the doorway of the dining room checking to see if anyone had arrived yet. With the exception of Michael and Arianna, Sasha was alone in the house. When the last entrée was placed in the center of the dining room table, Sasha let out a deep breath as she smoothed down her dress. Rushing out of the room, she retrieved a crystal vase from the china cabinet. She quickly filled the vase with tepid water and placed it in the center of the table. Traipsing back to the kitchen counter, Sasha unwrapped two dozen white English roses from their plastic sheath and carried them out to the dining room to be placed in the vase. As the last rose was carefully arranged, Sasha took a step back and admired her hard work. All that was left to do was sit back and wait for her family to arrive. Although most dinner hostesses would relish in the calm before their dinner party arrived, Sasha could feel herself becoming more nervous. Wringing her hands together, Sasha let out another deep breath. The sound of her exhale was drowned out by the loud shrill of the doorbell.
Sasha’s heels clicked loudly against the marble floor of the foyer as she rushed to answer the door. Swinging the massive oak door ajar, Sasha welcomed her cousin, Rumor, warmly with a kiss on each of her cheeks. Dressed elegantly in a red knee-length dress with her black curls falling over her shoulders, Rumor smiled at Sasha. Behind her, Ruin Rizzolli was pushing Rumor’s father, Sonny, in his wheelchair, both men looking dapper in black suits. Admittedly, Ruin was a tad more alert than old Sonny was, who appeared to be in another dimension entirely.
“Rumor,” Sasha said as she kissed her cousin back, “You look gorg.”
“So do you, Sash! We brought the Cristal!” Rumor said as she passed the bottle of expensive champagne to Sasha.
“Oh, my God. You didn’t have to do that!” Sasha said exuberantly as she placed the bottle down on the console table in the hallway.
Bending down to her uncle’s level, Sasha placed a caring hand on Sonny’s shoulder. “Hi Uncle Sonny, how are you feeling?”
Sonny muttered something incoherent to which Ruin replied, “I have no idea what he’s trying to say. He’s been mumbling like that all day.”
Sasha gave her uncle a sympathetic smile as she patted his hand. Unfolding back to her full height, Sasha approached Ruin to give him a friendly hug.
“So good to see you again, Richie,” Sasha said politely as she gave him a chaste kiss on his cheek.
“It’s Ruin now. Everyone calls me that,” Ruin replied. “And you look very nice as always.”
“Oh stop,” Sasha said, blushing as she waved Ruin off. “You are the first to arrive. Let’s go get Uncle Sonny set up in the dining room.
Ruin wheeled the aging gangster into the dining room and sat him at his usual place near the head of the table. Sonny sat slumped over in his wheelchair, muttering something entirely indecipherable. Catching a worried look from Sasha, Rumor waved her off.
“Don’t worry, Sash. It’s normal. He does that all day long.”
Raising her eyebrows but keeping her mouth shut, Sasha battled whether to speak up for the old man or not. Much like her father, Sasha had always been fond of her uncle Sonny. Although the media made them out to be monsters, Sasha had never witnessed it herself. Sure, she knew both men had a temper, but mostly, Sasha only knew the side Michael and Sonny wanted her to know—that of the kind, genial family man.
“All
right, guys. Take a seat. I’m sure everyone will be in shortly. I’m going to go check on Dad,” Sasha explained. As Sasha exited the dining room, Rumor and Ruin took their seats at the other end of the table near the foot, far away from Uncle Sonny. This move was not a slight. There was a hierarchy to the seating arrangement. Michael would sit at the head, Miles at the foot, and everyone else would fill in the middle, with Michael’s consigliere sitting at his left, and his brother on his right.
As Sasha traveled down the long hallway that led to the parlor, she heard the front door open. Rushing into the foyer, Sasha met Knox with a nervous look upon her face. He looked as dashing as always, wearing a black pinstriped suit and a brand new pair of grey Ferragamo shoes. Sasha kissed Knox on his right cheek. Knox lingered for a moment and whispered something into Sasha’s ear before making his way into the dining room. Sasha retraced her steps to the hallway and made her way into the parlor.
“Dad?” Sasha called from the doorway expecting her ailing father to be resting in bed, but instead, he was attaching a cufflink to his shirt sleeve as he stepped out of the powder room. Dressed handsomely in a white dress shirt and a pair of grey linen slacks, Michael was the picture of sophisticated style. Smiling that her father had managed to get himself dressed for dinner, Sasha gushed, “You look very handsome!”
Michael grinned at his daughter, but the smile quickly faded. “Thank you. Is everyone here?”
“Not yet. They are slowly trickling in. Uncle Sonny is here.”
“Oh, good,” Michael replied, as he slowly walked across the room, his shoes clicking against the floor. Sasha followed behind to make sure he didn’t need any assistance.
“I’m fine, Sasha. You go check for the door,” Michael instructed.
Letting out a sigh, Sasha nodded, and departed the room.
Knox took a seat directly across from his Uncle Sonny at the table as he stared at the old man with a solemn look on his face.
“Uncle Sonny…” Knox said plainly.
“Uh?” Sonny muttered, looking up at Knox for a moment before his thoughts trailed off again. A few moments later, a snore rattled from the old man’s nose.
“This was a great chat,” Knox said sarcastically, as he peered across the table. Knocking twice on the wood table. “Always good talking to you, Uncle Sonny.”
Sasha opened the front door as a sea of people flooded through. Family matriarch Aida, Sonny and Michael’s mother, was being assisted up the front steps with Landon on one arm and Dustin on the other. Raine trotted in loudly behind them with her cousin Sonora. Right on their heels was Sonny and Michael’s sister Gloria and her long-time boyfriend Luke “The Face” Demograzzi. As everyone took their seats, it became abundantly obvious that two seats remained empty. The foot of the table, Miles’s chair, and the one directly to his left, remained unoccupied. To the right of Miles’s chair, Landon sat looking worried as he tapped his fingers against the table. But then, as everyone chatted loudly amongst themselves and waited for dinner to begin, Landon heard a ferocious roar come from the driveway.
Happily, Landon announced, “Ah, that would be Miles and Letty,” with a broad smile on his face.
Michael who sat at the opposite end of the table rolled his eyes at his youngest son as a grim look overcame his features.
Corina’s tires screeched up the long driveway with an on-edge Miles behind the wheel. Quickly eyeballing the parking lot for an empty space, Miles didn’t find one, so he parked directly behind Knox’s car, boxing him in.
“So bad,” Letty said as she flashed Miles a smile.
Miles shrugged. “We won’t be staying long. He’ll probably not even notice.”
The two exchanged a heated glance. Breath rushed from both of their mouths as they tried to calm their heart rates before entering the mansion. A moment later, Miles and Letty opened their car doors and made their way to the front door.
Dustin took a seat next to Knox at the dinner table as he adjusted his crimson tie against his crisp white dress shirt. Shooting a dull look at his sister, Raine, they both looked bored to tears at the prospect of a family dinner. Sasha navigated around the table making sure everyone’s wine glass was filled and everything was in its perfect place. She doted upon her grandmother, Aida, and kept a close watch on her father and Uncle Sonny. Michael sat at the head of the table like a king on his throne. With a malcontent look upon his face, he glared down the length of the table at the two empty chairs. One, at the foot of the table, and the other on the left-hand side of it. Looking over his family members like subjects, even in his quiet moments, Michael Capadonno appeared to be filled with rage. Everyone turned in the chairs as the front door groaned open. The heels of Letty’s boots clicked loudly against the floor as she and Miles made their way to the dining room. Sasha rose from her chair and quickly went to meet them halfway. Leaning to kiss Letty on her cheek, Sasha greeted her warmly.
“Letty,” Sasha said kindly. “You look beautiful.”
Sasha looked at Letty’s ensemble up and down, admiring the elegant lines of Letty’s black pant suit. She wore her blazer open with a cream satin top underneath with a strand of long pearls falling gracefully from her neck. Letty’s long curls fell down her back, and her shadowy eyes and deep ruby lipstick gave her a very sophisticated appeal. Letty smiled politely back at Sasha, but her eyes quickly diverted to Miles’s face as he stepped into the room behind her. Dressed from head to toe in black, Miles was wearing a perfectly tailored black Valentino suit that he had purchased the day prior on his shopping trip with G. He wore a slate dress shirt under his jacket and secured his tailored pants with a sleek black leather belt. Despite his formal dress, there was no taking the bad ass out of the boy, because the tattoos on his neck and hands had caught his relatives’ attention, and the skull ring on his finger was a constant staple of Miles’s wardrobe. Gently, Miles reached for Letty’s hand as he smiled genially at his relatives. Bending down to kiss his sister Sasha on her cheek, Miles looked around at the dining room and smiled.
“I see some of Mom’s old lessons did stick with you,” Miles said warmly.
“Just a few,” Sasha said with a smile. “When you’re ready, Miles, I have you sitting at the foot of the table, with Letty on your left, and Landon can be on your right.”
“My right-hand man…” Miles said with a wink as the kid waved at him.
“Miles,” a tired voice called out.
Miles’s grandmother, Aida, gingerly stood up from her chair. Slowly making her way around the table, she bypassed her grown sons and clutched onto Miles’s bulky arms. She whispered something into Miles’s left ear which brought a smile to his face.
“Good to see you too, Nonna,” Miles said as he hugged her gently.
As his aging grandmother made her way back to her seat, Miles’s eyes fell upon his father’s face, and as the pair exchanged an icy glance, Michael leaned back in his chair, revealing the sleek body of a black Smith and Wesson handgun sitting on his lap. Miles, smiling broadly with an arched eyebrow, pulled his jacket back, and placed his hands on his hips, showing that he too was packing. There was a black holster on his hip, with a small black handgun resting inside. Shaking his head, Miles grabbed Letty’s hand and walked off to find their seats.
Letty led the way, saying to hello to anyone that she knew. When she came to Landon’s seat, Letty kissed him on his cheek. As she broke from the exchange, Letty looked up, only to be met with an uncomfortable gaze from a very familiar face.
“Ruin,” Letty said as she looked up at the man who had evaded her since their son was born. A hostile glare burned from her eyes as she bit bottom lip.
Before Letty could even say a word, Miles did all the talking for her.
“Not here. Not now. But you and I are gonna have words,” Miles spat angrily as he gave Ruin a cold look.
Ruin didn’t say anything as the other Capadonnos looked their way. Clearly, the paternity of Letty Alves’s little boy was a mystery.
“Baby,
what’s he talkin’ about?” Rumor asked as she pointed a perfectly manicured nail in Miles’s direction.
“Nothin’. I have no clue what he’s goin’ on about,” Ruin said as he gave Miles a look of warning.
Letty scoffed under her breath as she glared at the man who had fathered her child. Letty’s stomach turned, and it wasn’t so much the surprise of being in Ruin’s presence, or the words that he spoke, but the fact that she could be so stupid to think that a man like Ruin Rizzolli had any merit.
“Yeah,” Miles said as he sucked air in through his teeth. His cold glare hardened as he stared Ruin down. “You’ll find out. No doubt about that.”
Landon and Letty’s eyes met nervously for a moment, both exchanging a look of fear and uncertainty. It didn’t last long though, as Miles took his eyes off of Ruin’s emotionless face, and placed a hand on the small of Letty’s back.
“Come, let’s get you seated.”
Miles was prepared to sit between Ruin and Letty, but as Miles pulled out the chair at the foot of the table for Letty, she protested.
“No, Miles. You were intended to sit there. It’s fine.”
“Are you sure?”
Letty nodded as she met Miles’s intense gaze. Taking her word for it, Miles pulled out the empty chair next to Ruin as he helped Letty get seated. As Letty scooted in to the table, Miles growled at Ruin in a muffled tone, “Don’t even fucking look at her.”
“Hard not to. There’s so much of her,” Ruin said with a raised right eyebrow.
It took everything in Miles’s power not to knock him straight through the wall. Hearing the growl from Miles’s throat, Letty placed a gentle hand on his arm.
“It’s not worth it, Miles.”
“Yes. You are. You are worth it, Letty.”
“HE is not. You love me, right? Curves and all?”
“Fuck yes.”
“Then fuck him.”
Running his tongue over his teeth, Miles snapped his eyes off of Ruin as he went to take his seat. If Ruin knew how close he came to getting his neck snapped, he might not look so smug. In typical Ruin style, he never knew when to shut up.
Miles Away (Carrion #1) Page 24