Page 79 of Vicious Impulses (The Capo and Ballerina)
“I would say even with the cut, it’s a decent profit. What do you think, Carmine?”
Pa slops down another mouthful of wine. “Nero, be reasonable. Cutting our profits on the… distribute… distribution…”
My sigh is audible as he struggles to piece together a basic thought.
“Then you want to… to take away Zinc Co.”
Nero sits relaxed in his chair, his expression thoughtful. He’s nursing his drink while Pa’s already gearing up for his second.
“Tell you what,” he says after a moment goes by. Everybody else has started focusing more on the appetizers as they’re delivered to us. “Because I like you, Carmine, I’m going to let you remain as partner of Zinc Co. You’ll share running that operation with my underboss, Leonardo. You can’t say that’s not a good deal, because it is.”
“I guess that’s… alright…” Pa blinks with difficulty, his eyes bloodshot.
I pinch the bridge of my nose listening to this so-called negotiation. Pa’s too fucking pathetic and drunk to realize he’s being played. He’s not only lost out on a large chunk of profits on drug distribution, control of the company itself is being taken away.
Our family will not only lose out on millions of dollars, we’ll lose what little power we have in the city and crime world.
“Good, we’re on the same page. That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Nero asks.
“Nope. But when’s more coming?” Pa holds up his wine glass and glances around for the nearest server.
Nero laughs. “Somebody get this man a drink! Or heads will roll.”
Several of Nero’s men laugh along with him. It’s a chorus of cocky laughter that competes with the accordion sounds coming from the music.
Carmelo finally gets his head out of his ass and leans over to Pa. “You sure about this deal, uncle? We’re not keeping anything that we wanted to keep.”
“You challenging me,goombah?” he slurs.
“You can’t have that,” Nero says from his end of the table. His hazel eyes shine in the restaurant lighting as finally he directs his gaze onto me. “There’s just one more matter to discuss. The ballerina.”
“She’s mine. That matter is closed.”
“I’m afraid not. If you’re unwilling to give her up, then we have no deal. Which means we’re still in conflict. Which means that’s very bad news for some of you,” Nero says coolly.
“I hope you include yourself in that assessment. Because I can assure you, you will regret coming for what’s mine.”
“But she’s not yours. She never has been. She is owned by my family.”
“I paid for her. That contract is null and void.”
“I’m afraid not,” Nero says. “The sale was never approved. You’ll return her or there will be much trouble for your family.”
“Caelian,” Pa hiccups. “Give up the girl.”
I’m sitting with my fists on the table, veins throbbing in my neck. “I said she’s not being returned. She’s fucking mine. The matter is closed.”
The heads of everybody else at the table swivel from left to right as they watch the verbal confrontation go down.
Nero loses the humor in his gaze. His stare becomes icy, his smirk gone. “You seem to not understand the situation, Caelian. The girl was never up for sale. You may think you’ve purchased her, but what you’ve really done is steal her. She was not Ignazio’s to give away. Are you saying you are unwilling to give back what you’ve stolen from me?”
“We’ll… hic… we’ll buy you a new ballerina,” Pa slurs. “One with a… bigger… hic… ass.”
“You want her returned so you can have her?” I growl across the table. My chair crashes to the ground as I rise to my feet and stand at my full dominant height. “That is what’s going on—you didn’t want anyone else to marry her. You claimed her for yourself.”
Nero releases a cold laugh. “Hardly. The girl serves another use. Or has she never told you of her and her family’s dealings with me? Has she never told you of our bond?”
Uncertainty flickers in and out of my clenched expression. “Whatever bullshit you’re talking about, I’m not interested.”