Michael’s jaw ticks as he fights back a response that will no doubt make everything blow up. Ryan’s not been quiet about how he feels about Michael, and his insistence to remind everybody of that fact has created a pretty severe rift between the two. Not that I like what Michael did to my sister, but if she can get over it, then maybe we should too. Then again, if it were Mindy . . .
“Good question. Guess we should pay Segreti a visit and have a little talk,” Grady says with a nod and a dark smile. Half the table grins, getting excited at the idea of busting into the city and fucking with Segreti’s shit.
“Wait, Segreti?” Michael’s brow is furrowed. He looks to Leo in confusion. “Is this the same family?”
Leo nods and folds his hands in front of him on the table.
“But how? Segreti’s not strong enough.”
“He used to be. The more business Mancuso scooped up, the less Segreti invested in New York. Took his business west and started building in San Francisco. Now he’s got the city.”
“Great. So a dude our friends in New York pushed out has a beef with our new friends in California. Fucking fantastic,” Michael gripes and rubs his hands over his face.
“Watch your fucking mouth!” Ryan is tense beside me and shakes his head.
“You’re starting to piss me the fuck off, dude. First, I know you’re the one who’s stopping me from seeing my sister. And second, I know she’s over the shit we went through, so maybe you need to fucking let it go already.”
Ryan stands up quickly, his chair sliding back and hitting the wall behind him. If I thought he was angry before, I was wrong. I don’t stand up, because I’m tired of my brothers fighting. Plus, maybe if they beat the shit out of each other, we can move the fuck on already. Instead, I look to the middle of the table and grab the full bottle of whiskey and a glass. I pour myself a sizable amount as I watch the action. It’s all so predictable. Michael stands up, and then Diesel does since he’s in between the two morons.
“Be clear about one fucking thing, little boy. The woman you beat the shit out of is my woman. She’s under my care, my protection, and my fucking body every night. Somebody fucks with what belongs to me and I’m going to get pissed. Don’t like it? Maybe you should take your anger out on your daddy’s dick instead of mouthing off to me in my fucking clubhouse.”
Oh, for fuck’s sake. I take a sip of the whiskey and eye Michael carefully. Just when I think all hell is going to break loose, baby brother breaks out into a smug grin.
“If you know your woman as well as you think you do, then you at least know not to say that shit to her face. The last thing my sister appreciates is being treated like property. And make no mistake about it, you white trash asshole, if you fuck her over and treat her like she’s something you own rather than treasure, you answer to me.”
“Enough!” I shout as loud as I can. Most of the men in the room look bored and annoyed by this little dick-measuring contest, but I can tell by the looks on Pop’s and Leo’s faces that they’re not enjoying the show. From my right side, Grady snorts.
“You’re adults, not fucking children. Sit down, shut the fuck up, and learn to get along.” Both Michael and Ryan narrow their eyes at me and open their mouths to speak, but I slam my fist into the wooden table top so hard that my fucking arm throbs. I can’t even feel my hand. “You’re both my brothers, and you both love my sister. This family is incestual enough without you two shoving your dicks up each other’s asses. Now knock it the fuck off. We have a call to make. Fuck.”
“Not so easy dealing with a couple of immature assholes, is it?” Pop says from behind me. I turn to the head of the table and shake my head. I know he’s referring to how difficult Ryan and I were when we were kids, but now is so not the time. Asshole. Shit. No wonder Ma stays high all the time. She’d have to be high to put up with this bullshit.
Diesel pulls out the three phones he confiscated from Michael and Leo and Leo tells him which one to use. Leo directs Diesel which contact to pull up, and while they get the phone ready, I set up the speaker system I just acquired. It’s nothing fancy, just a one-way speaker that allows the entire room to hear the conversation through the headset Leo will use. It’s not fool-proof. If the room gets too loud, the person on the other end will surely hear the commotion, but it’s the best we can do while not fully trusting Scavo’s motives. Once Leo has the headset hooked up into the phone and adjusted to his liking, he lifts his head and looks to the other end of the table.