He looked at the others standing around, and they each avoided his gaze. Not good. My hands twitched. I’d be having fun later tonight. I could picture it now, the blood and screams of the truth finally coming to light. It usually filled me with a cold excitement that would last hours but it felt like nothing more than a fizzle at the base of my spine.

“So no one here knows?” Benito asked.

No one spoke up and Gin Rolled his shoulders back, looking just as angry. It took quite a bit to secure the guns and even more work to make sure they were delivered uninterrupted.

“Boss, I’m telling the—” Benito pulled the trigger, inevitably silencing Benjamin for life. His body slumped back against the ground. His legs fell at awkward angles as the bleeding slowed on its own. No one dared move.

“Anyone want to come up and talk, or is this going to be our night?” Benito asked calmly. His gaze swept over our men. There were a few who looked as if they were ready to bolt at the first chance they got.

“Try it and it will be the last step you take,” Gin threatened.

A fuck up is a warehouse being found, but this was deliberate. The amount of money we’d just lost was a heavy blow. First, the warehouse with the drugs, and now this.

“Who was under Benjamin?” Gin asked.

Two men stepped forward. “We were.”

Benito put his gun away. “The rest of you clean this shit up. You two, let’s have a chat.”

They nodded and followed my brother. I caught Benito’s gaze and knew to follow behind them. Gin stayed to oversee the cleanup. We wove through countless shipping crates, some belonging to other families. The two in front of me glanced around nervously.

“I wouldn’t try it,” I said as the one on the right’s steps faltered. He glanced over his shoulder, and his eyes widened as if he noticed me for the first time. He audibly swallowed.

“Boss, we only did what Benjamin said. We don’t—”

“Good, then this will be a quick chat, and you can go home to your wives,” Benito said.

It was a lie. He wasn’t letting them out; they'd never see tomorrow’s sun. They’d fucked up, and they knew it.

“Really, boss. I’ve given my whole life to the Vitale family. The organization is all I have.”

I tuned out the guy’s pleas; it was falling on deaf ears. Benito gave his all to the family and what we’d built, but he didn’t tolerate anyone trying to fuck over our family.

The guy on the right twisted his body slightly and if I hadn’t been watching since the moment we walked away from the docks, I wouldn’t have noticed. As his buddy pleaded their case, he made a run for it.

“Don’t kill him,” Benito said.

I sighed as I chased after him, the cool New York air crashing against my face. My lungs burned with the frigid air sawing in and out of them as I gave chase.