“Michael, you’ve lost it. Miles doesn’t want to hurt you. He just wants to live his life free from under your control!”
“Clearly, I overestimated your intelligence then, Letty. He has hoodwinked you if you think that Miles is not going to take my life before this is over.”
“And would you blame him?” Letty spat as she fought to break free of Michael’s grip. “You, his own father, tried to kill him!”
“You’ll be sorry that you ever crossed me, Leticia. Guaranteed.”
Miles continued to shoot the shit with Landon at the counter when the sound of raised voices came from the parlor.
“What the fuck?” Miles said as he recognized Letty’s raised voice. She sounded upset.
Pushing out his bar stool, Miles ran from the kitchen with Landon on his heels. Rushing into the parlor, Miles sped to the sound of the noise. Their voices had risen to a fever pitch and as Miles crossed into the room with Landon, Letty screamed out, “Michael Capadonno get your hands off of me!”
Michael had Letty’s sweater clenched in his fists as he pulled her face close to his.
“You’ll be sorry, Alves! Just as sorry as my duplicitous son!”
“Your duplicitous son will kick your geriatric ass if you don’t take your hands off my woman.”
Michael didn’t do as he was asked though, only becoming more agitated by the second. Letty wasn’t exactly trying to keep calm anymore either though.
“And tell me, Michael, what is it that is so duplicitous about your son? The fact that he went to your dying wife’s side rather than picking up merchandise for you? Or the fact that he acted as a real man should?”
A smirk tugged at Miles’s mouth despite the seriousness of the situation.
Get ’em, baby.
“You know nothing about this life. You know nothing because you’ve lived a charmed life. Protected from all this…”
“A charmed life?” Letty spat. “My father is a plumber! There were times when my father had to dip into his 401K to pay the mortgage. Don’t tell me about charmed lives!”
“I loved my wife, Andie… But the fact of the matter is, business comes first.”
“Maybe to you,” Letty spat. “But to a red-blooded man with a heart, Miles made the right choice. Any sane person would have made the same choice!”
Michael still hadn’t taken his hands off of Letty, a fact that was not lost on Miles. Approaching the foot of his father’s bed, Miles placed his hands over his father’s and forcefully removed Michael’s hands off of Letty. As Letty was freed from Michael’s grasp, Miles motioned for Letty to step away. As she did, Miles gripped up his father’s shirt.
“Now let me tell you somethin’, old man… You crossed the line! I don’t care if you come for me. I can handle myself. Don’t you ever, EVER come after an innocent! Letty did nothing wrong! You cannot control and manipulate people! You wanna hold the fact that I went to my mother’s side when she was dying, that’s fine… but remember this… Andie Cormack was a fucking saint, and you… When you cross over that line, you’re going straight to fucking hell.”
Michael laughed in Miles’s face. “Smoking section, with all my friends.”
“Get your coat, Letty. She quits. Don’t call her. Don’t look at her. Don’t even mention her name!” Miles spat. “You and I have beef, old man. Don’t take it out on innocent bystanders!”
“She can’t quit!”
“Yeah? Well she just did! Sasha, you gotta hire another nurse. He just snapped on the wrong fucking one!” Miles spouted.
Sasha rushed in from the kitchen with a look of shock on her face.
“What is going on now?” Sasha demanded to know.
“Ask him!” Miles suggested.
“Letty? Where are you going?”
“I’m sorry, Sasha. I will not tolerate being threatened. Miles is right,” Letty said as she reached out to touch Sasha’s arm gently. “I have a son. As a mother, I’m sure you’ll understand.”
Sasha nodded gently before setting her sights back on her father.
“You can’t just attack people, Dad!”
“I can do whatever the fuck I want!” Michael spouted, his face turning red with rage. “I’m Michael fucking Capadonno, Butcher of Carrion, and these sorry assholes are going to see just how much power I have. You’ll rue the day you ever crossed me!”
Miles led Letty out of the room, and just before departing himself, Miles turned around and glared at his father. “I’ll pray for your eternally damned soul.”
Shaking his head, Miles walked out the front door with no intentions of ever returning.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
KNOX CAPADONNO SLAMMED his car door as he glared up at the Capadonno mansion with rage coursing through his body. Inserting his key into the front door, Knox twisted the key and pushed the door open forcefully.
“Pop?” Knox called out as he entered the foyer. He didn’t bother to take the edge out of his voice.