Then Dante leaned against the table, folding his arms and tilting his head to look at Lorenzo across the table. “So basically, my cousin and now his brother die ’cause you can’t get the fucking job done. Pezzo di merda, you’re not worth that.”
“My brother’s not dying,” Nova assured all of them. “We’re not gonna accept the vote. The Brambinos have manipulated all of you to stand against us.”
“Four against one. Cry all you want; there’s no debating that.” Enzo shook his head with an amused smile. “Go home, little boy. You can’t take all of us.”
“Two,” Dante reminded them and then finished his earlier statement, “If his brother doesn’t get a pass, it’s us against the rest of you. Still seems lopsided, but the problem is—”
“We’re the most powerful Borgatas,” Nova finished for him, unable to believe the stroke of luck. The De Lucas weren’t a natural enemy of the Morettis like the Brambinos, but they weren’t particularly friendly either. The De Lucas were formidable, but they were also very self-contained. While the Morettis worked with many facets of the underworld, the De Lucas deliberately kept to themselves, but Nova had to point out to the table, “Combined, the De Lucas and the Morettis have five times more disposable income than the rest of you, and more importantly—”
“We outnumber you,” Dante said slowly, raising his eyebrows like he enjoyed it. “You have four votes on this council. We only have two, but trust me, we could trim down the north end of this commission real fucking fast. We know what you think of us, but Siciliani started Cosa Nostra. This isn’t your thing. It’s our fucking thing. We tolerate you, but we can fucking end it for you.” Dante turned to Nova when everyone had fallen silent. “I think they’d like to hear a counteroffer.”
Nova looked around the table, searching for the right counteroffer. He instinctively looked back to Carlo, whose eyes were wide in horror like he hadn’t expected Tino’s potential execution to be an issue either.
Especially since Carlo would rightfully be the one to carry it out.
If a decision came down from the commission, their Borgata had the right to take care of it rather than leave it to the Savios, who might make Tino’s death more unpleasant than it needed to be.
Carlo looked like he might be sick.
He spent his entire life on the outskirts of their world.
Barely associating with other members of Cosa Nostra because anyone could end up being voted on at this table.
The only ones Carlo was ever guilty of letting in were Tino and Nova.
Carlo broke the rules.
He wasn’t supposed to have any friends.
Which really was a horrible existence when so much about Cosa Nostra revolved around banding together.
“We’ll make him an enforcer,” Nova decided, seeing Carlo blanch but ignoring it as he turned back to the table. “Give him a pass, and we’ll make my brother an enforcer. He won’t socialize with anyone whose wife he might have fucked. And if they do have to socialize with him, they’ve got bigger problems.”
“You’re gonna make a sixteen-year-old kid an enforcer?” Enzo laughed. “That’s insulting. Almost as insulting as letting an eighteen-year-old sit on the commission.” He gestured to Nova. “This one hasn’t even made his bones. He could be a rat for all we know.”
Nova snorted at that, because he was fairly certain everyone knew he’d been running the largest drug crew in New York City for the Moretti Borgata. Still, it was an oversight that he hadn’t made his bones.
He just hadn’t had time to kill anyone yet.
Nor the inclination.
But it was an absolute requirement to be on the commission. He had to complete a hit to prove he wasn’t a mole for the government.
No federal officer was going to blow out someone’s brains to save a case.
“It’s not really your business, Brambino. We can make anyone we want an enforcer.” Nova held up his hands and decided to ignore the bones issue. “But if anyone is interested, my brother is capable of holding that position. He’s been muscle on my crew for a long time. He’s a black belt. An extremely talented one.”
“Big fucking deal.” Maso, the Brambino enforcer, said from behind Enzo. “Your brother’s sitting in this cunt’s basement.” He gestured to Lorenzo. “He can’t be that goddamn capable.”
Nova turned back to Carlo, expecting him to defend Tino, because the enforcers did have their own code, one the rest of them weren’t a part of.
Instead Carlo still looked pale, and he shook his head slowly. “No.”
“They’re going to kill him,” Nova said quickly in Italian, even though most of the men at this table understood at least some Italian and most spoke it fluently. “Carlo.”
Carlo opened his mouth but couldn’t seem to find the words. Finally he said, “I’m sorry. I can’t, Nova.”
“Zu!” Nova corrected him. “And you better!”
“Let him choose,” Sergio, the De Luca enforcer, suggested to Carlo, sounding surprisingly understanding. “If he doesn’t want it—”
“I’ll do it.” Carlo choked on the words. “That’s our right.” He looked to the Savios. “Let me speak to Tino. Alone. If he doesn’t agree, I have the right to do it.”