Page 26 of Blood and Penance (The Puglisi Crime Family #1)

Chapter Twenty-Five

Gianni

So much adrenaline is moving through my system, it’s hard for me to sit still as one of Lorenzo’s men races toward our family’s cabin at the lake. We'll be lucky if the cops don't pull us over with the amount of traffic laws that we're breaking trying to get there.

“You good?” Lorenzo asks when he looks over at me.

“As good as I could be. Are you?”

Everyone knows I don’t get along with our father, but Lorenzo has always had a love hate relationship with him. I need to know if he’s willing to do whatever needs to be done to save my son.

His deep, dark chuckle resonates inside the vehicle.

“Of course. I’ve been planning to take over for the last year,” he says, surprising me.

“But I had to put my plans on hold because of Mama. It’s time for a new generation to lead the Puglisi’s.

His ways are too outdated for our family to flourish.

Just look at what he’s done to you and Phoenix. ”

“You were going to kill him?” I ask in disbelief.

“Yes. How else would I be able to take over, Gianni? He wasn’t going to hand it over to me because he's still determined to force you to do it. So, it’s the only way. I hope you don’t try to stop me.”

“Stop you? Why would I?" I ask. "As long as my son is safe, I don’t care what you do, Lorenzo. But what about Sergio?”

“What about him?”

He chuckles again, like he knows something I don’t. For as long as I can remember, being Don has always been Sergio’s goal. He doesn’t care who he hurts to get there, just look at the shitstorm he’s caused.

“Sergio won’t interfere,” he says with a little more confidence than I think he should have.

“How can you be so sure?”

“While he wants the throne, he knows once father is gone, he’ll have no choice but to fall in line because his only protection from me will be death. He has none of the men’s loyalty nor the other Families, but I do. The only question I have is will you be a problem for me?”

The throne is my birthright as the eldest, which is why he’s asking. And if I decide it's mine, Lorenzo will lose the backing of the other Families, but I never wanted it.

“The only thing I’ve ever wanted was my family, Lorenzo. You know this.”

He nods, then faces forward. “Good. Just making sure.”

His phone rings, and he pulls it from inside his blazer. When he answers, rage blankets his face before he ends the call.

“What’s wrong?”

“D’Amico hit the hospital. There was a shootout.”

An icy wave of terror washes over me, leaving me breathless and paralyzed with fear.

“And Phoenix?”

When Lorenzo blows out a breath and I already knew his answer. “She's gone. Sergio is hurt, and a bunch of our men are dead."

"Seraphina?"

"Still in surgery. Once they got Phoenix, they left. Now, we can get Giancarlo or go after Phoenix.”

“Ten minutes out, boss,” Lorenzo’s driver calls out from the front seat.

“Alright, Aldo,” Lorenzo says then he turns his gaze back to me. “Your choice. I’m with you either way.”

I don’t even have to think about it. I know what Phoenix would do in my shoes—her choice as well as mine is clear. “We go after my son, then her.”

“You sure?”

“That’s what she would want. We need to save my son.”

“Okay. So, how do you want to handle this?”

I shrug. “It doesn’t matter to me, Lorenzo. I just want my son.”

Lorenzo chuckles. “Are you sure you’re still a priest, big brother?”

“At this point, I don’t even know.” I blow out a long breath. Being a priest isn’t as important to me as it had been before. “My only concern is getting my son far away from Giovanni. I’ll deal with the consequences for my soul afterwards.”

“For what it’s worth, I don’t believe God will hold it against you, Gianni. Everything you’ve done has been for them. It’s what a good family man would do.”

The car comes to an abrupt stop, and we don’t waste any time climbing out of the car with guns in hand. I expect resistance, but there's none.

“What the fuck is going on?” Lorenzo asks, looking around confused, but I know what’s going on.

He’s not taking us seriously. When it comes to my son, I’m not the same man he’s used to dealing with.

“He expects me to go along with his plans. He doesn’t believe I'll kill him to save Giancarlo,” I say as I calmly walk toward the front door of the family lake house.

It’s one of the places I enjoyed with family when I was younger.

We were a normal family in my young mind.

Well, as normal as a crime family could be.

Our father would take us fishing at the lake in the back.

Me and my brothers would also swim in that same lake as our mother and father sat in lounge chairs laughing and talking like a loving couple.

Then the older I got, the more I recognized this place wasn’t real.

Our happy family was never real no matter how much me and my brothers, and even possibly our mother wanted it to be.

Giovanni knows nothing about family. All he knows is control.

I enter without bothering to knock. It’s not like he’s not expecting us. A wave of nostalgia washes over me, but I shove it down because I don’t have the time or the want to reminisce about shit that doesn’t matter anymore. It had been an illusion, anyway.

“Giovanni!” I call out, my voice echoing through the house. “Where is my son!”

“We’re in the study!” Giovanni calls out, and I look at Lorenzo.

His voice is calm. And a calm Giovanni is a very dangerous person.

Lorenzo shrugs and we both make our way toward the back of the house to Giovanni’s study.

When we reach the study, the door is wide open, and my step falters when I see my son sitting on his grandfather’s lap with a box of crayons, smiling like he doesn’t have a care in the world.

This isn’t how I wanted to meet my son for the first time, but of course Giovanni would want to take that experience away from me if it made me fall in line.

“Come in!” Giovanni waves us forward with a huge smile on his face. “Come in! I’ve been expecting you.”

Of course he has.

I place the gun in my hand behind my back, and Lorenzo follows. I don’t want my son to be scared of me because I’m carrying a gun. Giovanni’s eyes follow our movements, then he places his gun on top of the desk right next to my son.

“Look who it is, Giancarlo.” He ruffles my son’s curly hair, and I have to grit my teeth, to keep from screaming for him to get his hands off of him. “It’s your papa and your Uncle Enzo.”

Giancarlo’s gaze lifts to meet mine, and a slow, beautiful smile spreads across his face like sunshine. My heart clenches inside my chest. He looks so much like me when I was younger, but I can also see Phoenix in his features.

I still can’t believe I have a son.

His eyes widened. “You’re my, Papa?”

I take a step closer, as so many emotions clog my throat. However, Giovanni puts his hand on his gun, causing me to stop as I try not to glare at him. “I am, Giancarlo. I’ve missed you so much.”

Giancarlo tries to get down from Giovanni’s lap to come to me, but he holds onto him. Tears fill Giancarlo’s eyes. If my son wasn’t in the room with us right now, I would kill my own father for making him cry.

“ Nonno , I want to go with my Papa.” Grandfather.

“You will ll mio nipote . In just one minute.” Little grandson.

“We need to talk,” I say, looking at my father.

“The only thing I want to hear come out of your mouth is that you’re going to do your duty to this family and take over. If not, there’s nothing to talk about.”

“Let Lorenzo take Giancarlo, and we can come to some type of agreement.”

“Agreement?”

“Yes, father. Isn’t that what you want?”

“Hand Lorenzo your gun,” Giovanni orders after he looks at me for a moment like he’s trying to figure out if I’m lying.

Without hesitation, I pass the gun to Lorenzo who’s standing beside me. “Take Giancarlo.” Lorenzo looks at me, and I can see the question in his eyes. I’m not taking the throne. I want my son out of harm’s way. “You can trust me. Just take my son.”

After a brief moment, he gives me a nod. I turn my attention back to my son. “Hi, son. Could you go with Uncle Enzo, so I can talk to Nonno? Then I’ll come get you.”

I focus back on my father who narrows his eyes. “You have nothing to fear from me,” I say. "Let him go."

“Go with Uncle Enzo, and Nonno will get you some gelato as soon as I’m done talking to your papa," Giovanni says. "How’s that sound?”

The way he speaks to Giancarlo, you’d think he’s the most loving grandfather. However, we all know it’s a lie. He's nothing more than a snake, a pariah looking to destroy anyone he gets his hands on.

Giancarlo nods enthusiastically and jumps off my father’s lap. He runs around the desk, and I bend down, holding my arms out. He races into my arms, and I hug him so tight. I close my eyes, not believing I’m holding my child.

My son.

“I missed you,” I mumble against his head full of dark curls. "So much, my boy."

“I missed you, too,” he says, pulling away. “Can we go get Mama after I eat my gelato? I miss her too.”

My heart clenches inside my chest, and tears well up in my eyes as I gaze at my son, a forced smile touching my lips.

“Of course,” I say while trying to hide the fear in my voice. “Let me talk to your Nonno , then we’ll leave. That’s your Uncle Enzo.” I point at Lorenzo who gives Giancarlo a small wave. “He’s going to hang out with you until I’m done.”

“Okay,” Giancarlo says.

Lorenzo reaches out his hand to my son, and Giancarlo takes it like he’s known his uncle his entire life. I watch as Lorenzo walks out of the room with him, then closes the door behind him.

“I don’t like that bitch,” Giovanni says, “but she’s done a good job raising him. He’s very respectful. He acts like a Puglisi.”

I blow out a breath and face my father. “What the hell is wrong with you?” I sneer. “You kidnapped my son! Seraphina is fighting for her life all because of you!”

My father leans back in his chair, picks up a cigar from the ashtray on his desk, then relights it. He blows a billow of white smoke into the air like he has no care in the world. “Sit down. So, we can get this shit over with, Gianni. It’s time you come home.”

“Home?” I ask in disbelief. “This family has never been my home. Phoenix and my son are my home.”

He narrows his eyes at me. “You ungrateful piece of shit! I’ve done everything for you, and you turn your back on me for that bitch! Then to become some priest,” he says with disgust. “How’s she doing, anyway? I haven’t heard if D’Amico got what he came for.”

“That was you?”

I thought he may have been behind it, but I hoped beyond hope that he wouldn’t hurt me like that. I’m his son, but I should have known better. He’s shown me who he is. He cares about no one but himself.

“Of course it was me. I made a deal.” He says it like it’s the most natural thing for him to do. “My grandson for that bitch. He can have her. She's no use to me.”

“You son of a bitch!” I race toward him, but before I reach him, he grabs his gun, then points it at me.

“Sit down,” he orders.

“You gonna shoot me?”

“Sit the fuck down!” he shouts.

After a few moments, I do what he says even though I know he won't shoot me.

“Now we’re going to come to an agreement, Gianni. I’m tired of doing this bullshit with you. You’re my oldest son. You are my heir! Not Sergio, not Lorenzo, not Dante! You! Now fucking act like the man, I raised you to be and not some pussy whipped bastard!”

“There’s no agreement we will ever come to, Giovanni. I’m not taking over the family and my son will have nothing to do with you.”

“I don’t think you’re in any position to make that call, son.” He waves his gun in the air. “See, I’m the one holding the gun. I'm the one calling the shots because I'm the fucking leader of this family!”

“You won’t kill me,” I say, causing him to laugh.

“I don’t want to son because you’ll serve the family better alive.

But I always get what I want, Gianni.” He places his gun back on his desk.

“Either take what’s yours, or I’ll kill you and raise your son without you.

Those are your choices. You both are Puglisi’s and the only way not to be one of us is death.

You know this. So, it’s time to come home, son or go meet your God. ”

At this moment, I know there’s no reasoning with him. My decision has been made and so has his. My son will not be a part of this life. He will have to kill me before I let that happen.

I blow out a breath. “Okay,” I say, the lie easily slipping off my tongue.

“Okay?” he asks like he can’t believe the words that have actually come out of my mouth.

“Yes, Papa. I’ll take over. If it means that my son is safe, I’ll do it.”

I push myself up from my chair, the worn leather creaking beneath me, then slide my hand into my pocket, the smooth metal of the knife is cool against my skin as I pop it open.

I walk around his desk. He rises from his chair to meet me, and I extend my hand out toward him.

He looks down at it for a moment, then back into my eyes contemplating whether this is a trick.

After a few moments, he reaches for my hand, and I pull him in close at the same time, I pull my knife.

Then, I sink the four-inch steel carbon blade deep into his gut.

His grunt is muffled against my chest, but I feel his struggle as he fights against my grip.

My hold tightens on him as I twist the blade, hearing a wet, sickening sound as it slices through his flesh.

“You should have never come after my family,” I whisper in his ear, pulling the blade out before pushing it back in, and twisting it again. “I’m a Puglisi after all. This is the man that you raised me to be, and we always take care of our own.”

When I feel him stop struggling, I pull the knife from his stomach, then step away from him.

His lifeless body crumples to the floor in front of me.

I wipe the blade across my black slacks before putting it back inside my pocket.

Then, I look down at my father as blood blooms across his white dress shirt and his dark, soulless eyes stare back at me.

Do I feel sorry for what I’ve done? No. I don’t even feel the need to ask for forgiveness, so what does that say about me?

Maybe I’m no different from the dead man staring back at me.