Finally something, a little flash in his eyes of what appeared to be hatred before a simple nod was given.
Lucca flicked his Zippo open, revealing a flame to light the end of a cigarette he held between his lips. “That won’t be a problem, will it?”
“No, sir.” It was the first words he had spoken to him in a long time.
Unable to hold the words in any longer, the underboss whispered to him, revealing what he had known and what Amo thought he had gotten away with. “Does Angel know it was you?”
A hidden fear that was probably even hidden to Amo started to creep into his eyes. “What?”
“Don’t play dumb with me, Amo.” His voice became harsh and quick. “Does Angel know it was you who beat the shit out of him?”
Amo’s mouth opened before it snapped closed. He was clearly thinking about his next words before he spoke the truth simply with a word. “Yes.”
Good. So, he wants me to deal with him.
Placing his still lit cigarette in the glass ashtray, Lucca slowly stood, taking in right where he had Amo trapped as he walked to the other side of the desk and took a seat on the edge, so he could look down upon him. “I want you to know if I thought for one second you were One-Shot or had the ability to hurt a Luciano again, I would slit your throat right here and now and finally be fucking done with you… But I know you are not.” The boogieman started to rise with the cold words he spoke next. “Because you are weak. Too weak to carry a skill such as One-Shot’s and too weak to kill even if your life depended on it. You covered your face with a mask in hopes to hide your identity from a man you thought to be weaker than you even though it took three of you to take him down. When you hurt someone…”
Lucca stood once more, this time reaching out to grab Amo’s thick neck as he started to squeeze the life out of him. “You do so like this. Face to face. A Caruso never hides behind a mask. Those are for the weak.” Even though Amo was beginning to struggle for air and tried to fight him off, Lucca continued with his strong grip and words, “There is so much more joy to be had when there is nothing to hide behind as you watch life leave their eyes.”
Finally, his grip left his neck as Amo fought for air, but he didn’t yet relieve him of his scolding. “Until I release you, you will spend every day of your foreseeable future protecting the Luciano girl, the sister of the ones you hate so much. Do you understand?”
Holding his neck, he got his breathing back under control. “Yes, sir.”
Lucca went back to his desk and picked up the cigarette that was still lit. “You are dismissed,” he said before taking a long hit.
It took a moment for Amo to collect himself before he stood. Instead of walking out, he had something to ask, “Does Drago know?”
“No,” he answered, gravely seeing that he’d learned nothing of the last few minutes they’d shared. Amo was still afraid of removing that mask and revealing his crimes he had committed to his uncle. Still weak.
Amo went to leave, but it wasn’t before Lucca bestowed his wisdom on him once more.
“If anything happens to her in your care, it won’t be the Luciano brothers you will be answering to; it will be your uncle. You will come to find out he has grown quite fond of Katarina. Even if it was her father, Lucifer, who tried to kill him. Drago is coming to find forgiveness but… will you?”
Watching Amo walk out the door, he didn’t think that day would ever come by seeing the hatred he had built up in his eyes of everyone and everything. Amo De Santis had the right to hate only one person in the world, and that was Lucca himself. It wasn’t until he’d seen the hate he’d built for Chloe that he wanted the young man dead.
But everyone, even the ones he despised, has a part to play in the war.
Twenty-Five
Kitty Kat
“A part of me always hoped One-Shot was you,” Lucca spoke through the phone, “Dominic.”
The Luciano boss was very silent on the other end of the phone.
“But it looks like you’re not the only one who possess the skills that you have with a gun and a bullet in the chamber.”
He had to of been glad to hear his name was in the clear but it was obvious Dominic got the feeling that something bad might have happened for that. “What makes you finally say that?”
“Oh, you haven’t heard?”
“Heard what?” his voice demanded to know.