Chapter 97: Off
Nico
I quit smoking about a year ago, but with every day that went by, I felt the itch a bit more.
Staring at Vito and Carmen banter back and forth made me wish I had even half a cigarette to smoke.
They seemed to have a lot to say. Vito was lying through his teeth, and he could, since we had no evidence, while Carmen was insistent on us taking the less violent route.
I was still convinced that she had rose-colored glasses on, something I had every intention of ripping off, but I couldn’t be too forceful.
It would be best to let her see the results with her own eyes, as Vito lay on the bed and continued to scream, clearly still having enough energy within him.
"...Is this your plot? Instead of us banding together to catch this person, you’re trying to take my territory while I’m down? Does Gotti know about this?" His voice was loud, but I guess VIP rooms had their own perks.
"Does he know what the both of you are trying to do!" he added, meeting my gaze, but not for long before shifting back to Carmen like a scrawny mouse looking for danger as it scrambled around.
"If indeed I was with the enemy, do you think I would have been attacked to this extent? My body is in a much worse state than even Gotti," he snapped in anger, and I almost found it laughable as I stared at him.
"So how do you explain the contracts?" Carmen snapped, clearly at the end of her patience.
"How do you explain how you’re the only one whose companies have been assigned such contracts!" she added, meeting his gaze as he responded without missing a beat.
"I’m a mafia Don! I don’t manage my companies like Nico here. It’s not my fault if my managers are too good at their jobs!" he continued.
"You come here accusing me, that’s fine! But if a war is what you want, then you better be ready for it!" His eyes blazed with an almost manic air that said that if he was going down, then he was taking everyone else with him.
Carmen glared at him, clearly done with his lies, and he glared right back, while I leaned more comfortably against the wall.
I had no intention of taking part in the conversation beyond the bare minimum. Carmen said a couple more things that were obviously threats, but he simply waved them off.
He was aware that Carmen might own the north as her birthright, but most of the men weren’t loyal to her. Moreover, with the visible hatred toward Bianca, why would she still allow her to have free rein if something wasn’t off?
"I have nothing more to say to you! I’m innocent, and if you know what’s good for you, you would allow us to band together before all of us are destroyed," his gaze turning toward me.
Anger brimmed in his eyes as he spoke. "Nico is the only one that’s completely fine. Maybe he’s the rat. Did you ever think about that?" he snapped, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.
It was clear that he really hated the fact that I was completely fine and he wasn’t.
"I’m the one missing an arm and a leg! He’s completely fine! If I speak to Gotti, what do you think Gotti would say!" he snapped, making it clear that Gotti would believe him, and he wasn’t wrong.
At that point, Carmen had run out of patience and made it clear that she had no interest in continuing to speak to him.
I, on the other hand, continued to stare at him as I spoke.
"...Do you at least know what he looks like? Seeing the condition you’re in... clearly, he would want to finish you off," I said, satisfied to see a flicker of fear in his eyes before he hid it with confusion.
"...he? I have no idea what you’re talking about!" he snapped, anger filling his gaze as he held mine.
I simply nodded and smiled.
"We’ll be taking our leave then. I’m sorry to have disturbed you," I told him, watching him frown but otherwise do nothing except settle back into his bed.
The drugs were definitely working to dull the pain, but it was obvious that it wasn’t enough. Still, I didn’t feel the slightest bit of pity for him as I headed toward the door.
I pulled it open for Carmen to walk out before following behind her, closing the door softly.
The door had just closed behind me when I heard Carmen speak, her expression heated.
"...that ignorant, lying son of a bitch!" she swore, clearly pissed off. "He deserves all that he got," she continued as she walked beside me.
We entered the elevator side by side, with Martin and a few other bodyguards walking behind us.
"Do you know why he was attacked?" she asked me the moment we stepped into the elevator.
I simply chuckled, shaking my head as I pushed both hands into my pockets.
"There should be only one reason. He’s a tool to be used and discarded. He can’t even be a proper underling," I said, watching the elevator move up toward the upper floors where we intended to meet Gotti before leaving.
"What about Gotti? Do you think he’s going to believe that Vito is a rat?" Carmen asked.
"It won’t matter. If the benefits outweigh the risks, then he’ll agree," I responded.
She looked unconvinced, so I went ahead to explain as we stepped out into the corridor and headed straight toward the room number that had been given to us.
"...If we offer more than an equal share of Vito’s territory and mention the mivite which Vito is trying to hoard, wouldn’t it be foolish not to agree?" I asked, glancing at Carmen, who slowly nodded.
"...So whether or not he’s a rat doesn’t matter? I thought they were friends?" she asked.
I had to suppress the urge to laugh as we stopped in front of the door, with two guards standing outside.
"You can go in. He’s expecting you," one of them said.
Carmen moved toward the door, but I stopped her. Something was off... Gotti’s men? Didn’t look like the ruffians he loved to hire.
