CHAPTER SEVEN: VITO
Idon'ttrustMaximo and Lucia Costa as far as I can throw them, which isn't far considering their weapons account for over half of their body weight.
And I know those two are currently up to something and if they're working together, we may as well go into DEFCON 1. Maximo is unhinged and dangerous on his own. But Lucia is worse in some ways. She has more sense than her cousin, has more of a hold and awareness in everything she does.
And she's the most respected woman in the family.
And women don't earn respect around here unless they're truly dangerous.
Lucia is a different breed.
There's a reason Giovanni keeps his cousin close, and frankly, I don't blame him.
From the time we were kids, Lucia was one of the boys. She never wanted to go to teas and luncheons with the women and girls in the family. The first and last time she went to one, she kicked one of the waiters in the balls for touching her a little close to her chest. And so, her daddy made a deal with her uncle, Vincenzo Costa, to allow her to sit out until she was a teenager and understood a woman's place.
But as far as Lucia was concerned, women had one place and one place only, and that's at the front of wars.
So, when her teenage years came around and it was clear she was better at shooting than being a socialite, they decided she was an asset. She'd never be a made man, but she wouldn't be a stay-at-home wife either, or traded into marriage.
It wasn't until years later when Vincenzo Costa had too many of the old heads in his ear telling him that Lucia was a disgrace, that he tried to force her into a traditional role. It resulted in Lucia leaving.
And committing the ultimate betrayal in Old Man Costa's eyes.
She became a freelance hit woman.
If there was money, she was down with no loyalty to one family or organization. Old Man Costa killed her father, his brother, after he was unable to get Lucia to turn herself over. And before his brother’s blood had even run cold, he’d put a hit of his own on Lucia's head. No man he sent after her ever returned alive.
Some of their heads were left on Vincenzo’s doorstep.
I’d thought she’d shown restraint by not killing Vincenzo herself and to this day, I don’t know why she didn’t. She certainly was capable.
But Vincenzo didn’t die at her hands, and it wasn’t until he was six feet under that she returned to the family. And with Giovanni in charge, things changed, a lot of it having to do with Maximo pleading his cousin's case. And by pleading, I mean he laid the facts in front of Giovanni.
Lucia was the best hitman or woman on this side of the coast, or any other coast for that matter.
Lucia was an asset.
Lucia was going to keep doing what she was doing, whose side she was on would be determined by Giovanni, but she wouldn't quit.
For Giovanni, who wasn't completely wrapped in the old ways, it'd been a no brainer.
The only con: Lucia was Maximo's favorite cousin for a reason, and vice versa.
Maximo was the fuse and Lucia the lighter.
Giovanni thought he could tamper them down by keeping Lucia on assignment constantly. But every few months, there's a small down time when Lucia doesn't have an assignment and Maximo is always happy to blow off his own duties.
And in that very unfortunate time, they make sure to set the town on fire.
Lucky me, we seem to be right back at it again. Lucia returned a few months ago, right after New Year’s, showing up at a dinner, uninvited, with Maximo.
Giovanni had been quick to give her a new assignment.
But it seems Lucia is already done with it, because she’s been back for a few days now. Giovanni has been far too distracted with the cartel and hasn’t bothered to find a new assignment for her.
And now trouble is brewing.
Lucia has been locked in Maximo's study with him for the last forty-eight hours. Every now and then they've called down to the kitchen for food. Otherwise, they’ve been scarce. Maximo hasn't even left to fuck around with Enzo, which is the first true sign that something is up.