“Leo Scavo is our best guess. Seems to fit the bill, but aside from that, we ain’t got shit on him.”
With that, Duke directs his attention back to the magnifying scope on top of his rifle and continues to watch the conversation between Jim and this guy Leo. I adjust the scope on my own rifle so that I can see what’s going down a little bit more clearly. Jim scuffles his boots in the dirt and places his hands on his hips. Ever so slyly, he adjusts the phone in his pocket. It almost goes unnoticed, but the sound in my earbud is so much clearer now. I can actually understand the shit they’re saying. I’ve never been good at distance or nothing, but from here it looks like we are probably a half mile or so away. Thanks to the phone, I can hear him like he’s a few feet away.
“Why the fuck are we so far away?” I hiss. Sure, I can hear and see everything from here. Fine, whatever. But I’d like to be closer just in case this fucking asshole tries anything on Jim.
Duke turns and glares at me. “The whole idea is to hide. How the fuck we gonna hide if they can see us?”
“Shit. Sorry,” I mumble. Fuck him and his attitude. I still want to be closer.
“Now shut the fuck up, and don’t shoot unless I tell you or there’s a bullet in my skull, okay?”
I keep my mouth shut because I’m not a fucking pussy, but I’m not cool with the image of my brother taking a bullet. Nic couldn’t handle that shit, and neither could I.
“None of this answers my question, Mr. Stone,” the Italian says.
“You been bullshitting me so fucking long, I forgot your question,” Jim says with a smirk.
“Sampling too much of your own product, then?”
“I’d give you a sample of our product, but we seem to have this issue about you and yours trying to take what belongs to me.” Jim’s tone is dark, and he’s no longer smirking.
“What’s yours, Mr. Stone? Alexandra was promised to me. That means she is mine and that she belongs to the Mancuso family.”
“So what you’re saying is Alexandra was stolen from you?”
“You transported her across the country without her father’s permission, did you not?”
“Don’t know how shit works in New York, but I’ve been trying to get my old lady to listen to me for years. Ain’t fuckin’ working. Got any tips?”
“If you’re unable to properly lead your woman, there is nothing I can say to guide you,” the Italian says. He rolls his shoulders. I can’t really see his face, as I mostly have view of his back, which is fine since it’s a wider target.
“Like your boss has control of his women?” Jim asks.
“Shit’s about to get ugly,” Duke says into the conference. When he lifts his finger off the button, he says only to me, “Ryan has a thing about people talking about his mom.”
“Got my target on his skull,” Ryan says.
“Stand down, momma’s boy,” Wyatt says. “Can’t shoot the guy unless he moves first.”
“Shit,” I say. “Good thing Ian’s not here.” If there’s one thing I’ve learned about Ian it’s that as attached as Ryan is to Ruby, Ian is worse. I wouldn’t call him a momma’s boy, though. I like breathing too much.
“Mr. Mancuso is a traditionalist,” the Italian says. “But your sergeant let on that you know more about Mr. Mancuso than you have lead me to believe.”
“I know shit about the cocksucker that would surprise you. The stories I could tell you about my old lady and Mike. Too bad none of them are happy.”
“Curious choice of words you’ve used, Mr. Stone.”
“Which one—cocksucker or Mike?”
“Nobody refers to Mr. Mancuso by his first name, much less such an informal nickname.”
“Well, I am his daughter’s stepfather. I don’t really think formalities are necessary.”
“You see, while you and your sergeant seem quite taken with this twist on reality, the Mancuso family buried Alexandra and Michael’s mother some years ago.”
“The woman who mothered those kids is not the woman who gave birth to them. The woman who had Princess and Junior stolen from her has scars you can’t possibly imagine, but I can because she’s in my bed every fucking night. I wouldn’t worry too much about your place on the totem pole, though. Mike kept that shit quiet for years. Unfortunately for him, he fucked over the wrong woman.”