CHAPTER 9
1330 Words
The rain outside had completely stopped, it's thin droplets slid down the window in uneven trails. The city lights beyond were muted, blurred through the glass like smudged memories. Inside the room, Enzo and Vito sat, still drinking and discussing;
Vito swallowed the last of his drink then set the glass aside. “You know,” he said, voice easy but his eyes sharp, “you’ve been carrying that look for weeks now. The same one you had after the Rizzo deal went south.”
Enzo didn’t answer, he just reached for the decanter and poured himself another. “That’s different.”
“Yeah?” Vito arched a brow. “How?”
Enzo took a slow sip, letting the silence stretch. “Back then, I knew who had stabbed me in the back. Now, I don't and I’m supposed to eat with them, toast to loyalty, and pretend everything’s fine.”
Vito studied him. “You’re not good at pretending.”
“Yeah, that’s why I pay others to do it.”
Vito twitched the corner of his mouth. He leaned against the desk again, crossing his arms. “You know, sometimes I think this whole empire of yours is built on anger.”
Enzo met his gaze. “It’s built on survival.”
Vito shook his head lightly. “You survived a long time ago, brother. The rest of us are just trying to keep you from drowning in what’s left.”
That drew a faint, almost imperceptible flicker of emotion from Enzo, a shadow in his eyes, gone as soon as it appeared. “You think I don’t know what I’ve become?”
“I think you don’t remember why you started,” Vito said. His tone wasn’t sharp, but there was weight behind it. “Back then, you wanted to make something better. You wanted to prove a point that nobody gets to step on you, that you could take care of yourself and your own, but somewhere along the way, it stopped being about ‘that’ and turned into about ‘them.’ The ones who cross you. The ones who might.”
Enzo stared into the fire. “That’s the only way to survive in this world.”
“Maybe,” Vito said softly. “But surviving ain’t the same as living.”
Enzo’s expression hardened again. “You’re saying I should sit back and wait?”
“I’m saying you should watch, not react,” Vito said. “You taught me that once. Remember? You said a man who moves too fast is a man who dies too young.”
Enzo gave a small nod. “And here I thought you only listened when you felt like it.”
“I listen,” Vito said, tapping his temple. “I Just don’t always agree. Someone's gotta oppose you sometimes, and I have humbly taken up that role”
That drew another faint smirk from Enzo. The air between them softened again, their rhythm returning, the way it always did, after the worst nights.
Then Vito’s tone shifted, lower, thoughtful. “You really think that girl, Riley and her boss might be connected?”
“I don’t know,” Enzo said. “But she’s not some random street rat. The way she moved, the timing of it… Someone either sent them or they're chasing something they don't understand.”
Vito tilted his head, studying him. “You almost sound… curious.”
Enzo looked up, his gaze steady. “Maybe I am.”
Vito grinned. “Don’t tell me the great Enzo Deluca is losing his edge over a girl with sticky fingers.”
Enzo gave him a flat look, but there was amusement there too. “You think this is funny?”
“I think you need to smile once in a while,” Vito said. “You used to laugh at things like this. You would have turned it into a game.”
“That was before people started dying over them.”
Vito’s grin faded. “Yeah,” he said softly. “I know.”
Silence fell between them, it was broken by Enzo “You ever think about leaving?” He asked suddenly, his voice low.
“Leaving?” Vito echoed, blinking. “You mean walking away?”
Enzo nodded, still looking down. “All of it. The money. The blood. The ghosts.”
Vito leaned back, crossing his arms again. “You’d never walk away. It’s not in you.”
“I didn’t ask about me,” Enzo said quietly. “I asked if you've ever thought of leaving”
Vito hesitated, caught off guard by the rawness of the question. He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “Sometimes,” he admitted.
Enzo smiled faintly, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “And what stops you?”
Vito’s answer came without hesitation. “You.”
Enzo looked up.
Vito met his gaze, steady. “You think I’m still here because of the money? The power? Nah. I’m here because you’re my brother. We're not blood, we're better than that. We’ve been through things nobody else could’ve survived. And I’m not gonna let you face this alone.”
That cracked the tension. Enzo chuckled softly, shaking his head. “You’re impossible.”
“And you’re welcome,” Vito said, clinking his empty glass against Enzo’s half-full one. “Now, how about we focus on the real issue, the mole. Any suspects yet?”
Enzo’s expression hardened again. “A few.”
Vito watched him carefully. “You thinking Luca?”
Enzo hesitated, then nodded once. “He’s been… different lately. Nervous. He stumbles when he talks about schedules. Avoids eye contact.”
“Maybe he’s just scared,” Vito said. “You do have that effect on people.”
“Not on him,” Enzo replied. “Luca’s seen worse. He’s loyal, or he was. He's the one who brings in the jobs, the deals, it's easy for him to sell out our information, and his love for money..... Enzo paused .......it strengthens my suspicion, if he’s the one feeding information, then it’s not just fear, it’s betrayal.”
Vito’s jaw tightened. “You want me to talk to him?”
“No,” Enzo said quickly. “Not yet. Let him think we don’t know. If he’s guilty, he’ll slip up.”
“And if he’s not?”
Enzo’s eyes met his. “Then someone else will.”
Vito turned toward the fire, the light casting his face in warm orange. He sighed “You know, sometimes I wonder how long we can keep doing this.”
Enzo leaned back in his chair. “Until we can’t.”
“That’s not much of a plan.”
“It’s the only one I’ve got.”
Vito sighed. “You need better plans, Enzo.”
“Maybe I need better luck.”
“You already have it,” Vito said. “You’ve got me.”
That made Enzo laugh, quiet, genuine. “That’s highly debatable.”
Vito grinned. “You love me. Admit it.”
“Not a chance.”
“Liar.”
They both smiled, the heaviness between them easing again. But underneath the laughter, something unspoken still pulsed, the tension of what was coming, the quiet awareness that their world was beginning to crack.
Enzo’s gaze drifted back towards the window staring into the darkness beyond. “You think she’ll come back?” he asked suddenly.
Vito followed his line of sight. “The girl?”
“Yeah.”
“Is that a question Enzo?” Vito asked “You know you're gonna make her even if she doesn't.”
Enzo’s voice softened. “Yeah.”
Vito studied him for a moment, his grin fading into something gentler. “Just… don’t let curiosity turn into something else, brother.”
Enzo didn’t reply, but the look in his eyes said enough, curiosity had already turned into something. Something dangerous.
- Writer
