My instincts were always off with her, always had been, always would be.
“Do you truly enjoy this little act?”
“What act?”
“This.” The man finally turned and pointed at my smile. “And do you think you could fool me, of all people?”
“Well, considering I don’t really know who you are,” I said with a shrug “I guess you have your answer, and honestly…” I leaned forward so I was inches from his face. “I don’t give a flying rat’s ass what you like or don’t like, take it or leave it.”
“You should.”
“I should… what? Hmm, Grandpa?”
“You’re funny. “He chuckled throwing back his drink. “And you should… care that is.”
“Give me one good reason.” I let my knife fall into my hands from my sleeve and hovered over his femoral artery, ready to cut within seconds.
“Only a very desperate or very stupid man would kill me. Which are you, I wonder?”
Taken aback that he even knew I had the knife hovering near his leg, I pulled back and answered honestly, “A little of both.”
“This time next month—” He finished his drink. “You’ll be dead.”
“Cool, you telling me ahead of time so I can plan my funeral, or do you just like giving people good news?”
His cold grey eyes looked me up and down. “I expected you to be smaller. Your father, he was a small man.”
“Probably why I killed him. I hate small men. How tall are you?”
“Again, clever act. It would work on anyone but me…”
“Because you’re stupid or… ?”
He leaned forward, the knife dug into his thigh but he didn’t wince. Instead, he chuckled. “Don’t you think your uncle should know these things?”
“Uncle? Wow.” I laughed. “That’s rich. My family finally claims me after I kill the Cappo. Nice, let me guess I’m next on the hit list.”
“Funny that you didn’t even know…” The man tilted his head. “Or maybe just sad?”
“Know what?” I kept my smile firmly in place even though I was so curious I itched to torture him so I could find out.
“Your family… the ones you’ve been protecting? They’ve ordered a hit on you worth ten million.”
At that I laughed.
“You’re a loose end.” My Uncle smirked. “And we hate loose ends.”
“So, I’m a wanted man? Cool, maybe they’ll get my picture right this time when they send that text around. Last time they had my hair so freaking dark, well, I mean, to be fair the lighting was horrible and—”
“Listen to me.” He sneered. “And listen very carefully.” His breath smelled like rum. “Kill or be killed. Those are your two options. Be who you were born to be and The Abandonatos, The Alferos? They will kill you. But, if you decide to disappear, then I’ll pretend this little conversation didn’t exist.”
“So.” I laughed to cover my intense irritation, also knowing it would piss him off, possibly giving me more insight into his character. “Let me get this straight. You want me to be a good little boy, stay put, not talk, and not claim my birthright. If I do all that, not only will my own family hunt me down, but my adopted family will as well, leaving me basically without anything? Am I right?”
“Yes.”
“Awesome, so here’s the thing.” I moved my knife lower and made a slice, cutting through his pants then covering the cut with my right hand. With my left hand I grabbed one of the limes from the bar and crushed it, allowing the drips to fall into the cut.
He winced and tried to move out of my grip but I had at least fifty pounds on him, so it was pointless.
“I have no family. Never have. Never will. So when you threaten me, come at me with something bigger than that. Come to me when you’re ready to kill me, not when you want to threaten me, because next time I see your shit-eating face…” I dropped more of the acidic fruit onto his cut. “I won’t just slice you here.” I chuckled. “I’ll slice you everywhere Uncle, but I’ll keep you alive when I do it, and it won’t be fruit but actual acid I drip into each wound until you beg for death. I have no family. And by the looks of it, you like it that way, because it gives you adequate time to take over as Cappo, but this is where I want you to listen very carefully.”
His entire face was filled with rage.
I leaned forward like I was going to kiss his cheek, give him the respect he deserved, and instead I whispered in his ear, “The next Cappo has to be strong enough not to piss his pants when someone a third of his age makes threats. I don’t just own the families here in the U.S., and if you push me, I will step up and I will own the Campisi clan. I’ll cheerfully take my place and make you look like the little, pathetic bitch that you are. So if we’re done here, why don’t you run along, hmm?”
I reared back and slapped him on the face twice, then motioned for his two men to come help him up.
“You’re a stupid, stupid boy,” my uncle spat.
“Hey, I think there’s a song with that title in it!” I chuckled loudly, so pissed off that I was ready to pull my gun on him. “We’re done here. Oh, and next time you step into my bar it better be with a bomb chained to your chest. Or I’ll kill you.” I smiled viciously. “Capiche?”