DRAMA NOVEL ONLINE Belonging to the Italian Mafia Boss: Chapter 9
The debate grew more heated the longer we sat together and talked about what we’d do about claiming the territory. I thought we’d all agreed that Sabrina was an asset—one we were all beginning to trust. Karsen, though she couldn’t attend this particular meeting, made it abundantly clear that Sabrina was her new and untouchable friend. If any of us laid a finger on her, Karsen would snap.
Nobody wanted that.
“This issue has been settled,” I told Tucker. “And if you bring it up another time, you’re out of the room and out of this conversation.”
For the first time in almost an hour, Tucker shut his mouth and leaned back in his chair, and I wondered if he realized how big of an ass he’d been during this entire meeting. Jamison had given plenty of helpful ideas on how to convince some of Sabrina’s people to join us, but the only thing Tucker had to offer was Sabrina’s death, and that had been long ruled out.
If we killed her, we had no leverage. The few people who did decide to join us amicably had done so only because of her, and Tucker knew that.
Even if her death would have served a purpose, that thought was far out of reach now. I couldn’t imagine hurting her the way I’d once planned to do.
“The casino,” I said, crossing off the last business. “They get a lot of business that comes from the Rizzo supporters specifically. We stand to lose significant assets if we lose the support of the casino, and I can’t outwardly attack the place. It’s a legal front for the Rizzo’s money laundering, and it will be an asset.”
“They don’t support Sabrina’s claim?” Jamison asked.
“Women have never held roles of power over the casino like they have in a handful of the other businesses,” I told him, clicking my pen. “This is a difficult one.”
Tucker, as expected, decided to chime into the conversation again. “I know you don’t want to hear this—”
I cut him off. “Out,” I said, pointing to the door.
He stood, his anger finally spilling over. “You’ve always been weak like our father. Never knowing what needs to be done for the best of our territory.”
Our father hadn’t been weak, and we both knew it. He had run things with a firm hand, though he had allowed far more to slip through the cracks than I ever would. I leaned forward and locked my fingers. “I’ve heard all your arguments about killing her, and none of them outweigh the good that keeping her alive will bring. Get the fuck out.”
“I’m trying to protect us.”
“You’re trying to put yourself in a position to take Bruce’s role,” Jamison said, standing alongside Tucker. “He lets us make decisions as a team, and you make them yourself, consequences be damned. There’s a reason you weren’t named boss, and this is it.”
Tucker couldn’t have looked more outraged at the accusation.
“There are times when being a good guy will get you killed, and this is one of them. You both have big aspirations, but none of them will come to light if you can’t take the necessary steps.”
“Being a cold-hearted, egotistical killer isn’t a necessary step. It makes you a shit leader who can’t get his priorities in line,” Jamison said coolly, leaning across the table.
Tucker didn’t hesitate to grab the gun at his hip and level it at Jamison, and my friend grabbed his gun in return, doing the same. “Don’t talk shit if you can’t back it up,” Tucker snarled, looking Jamison over predatorily.
“The same goes for you, man.”
They stared one another down for a long moment before I finally slammed my hands into the table, gathering both of their attention. “Put the guns away. Tucker, get the fuck out of here. Now.”
I left no room for negotiation in my tone, and he took a moment before acknowledging that I spoke. I imagined he was thinking of the benefit of pulling the trigger. What would that stunt do for him? He must have realized that it would be an ignorant move as he jerked the gun down and put it away. The scowl remained set deep on his face, and I knew my brother wouldn’t leave without saying something else antagonistic.
“I didn’t realize that you let your cock make decisions like him,” Tucker said, pointing at Jamison. I clenched my jaw, but I planned to let him leave on that note. “I hope your weakness is less of a whore than his.”
Jamison rose swiftly, reaching for the gun he’d put away. He moved so quickly that Tucker didn’t see it coming, but I knew that if Karsen was mentioned one time, Jamison wouldn’t be able to hold himself back. He was ordinarily level-headed, but when it came to her, he would kill without thought or remorse. I sprung toward him and grabbed his wrist before he could raise the gun and pull the trigger like I knew he planned to do.
I shoved him back into the wall, and he gave one halfhearted struggle as Tucker chuckled and walked out the door. Jamison remained tense for a few seconds before I released him, careful to make sure he didn’t plan on charging Tucker.
“You can’t do that again,” I finally told him.
He shook his head. “Man, you have no idea. Karsen doesn’t deserve his shit.”
“She can take care of herself,” I told him. “Hell, she’s saved both of our asses more times than I can count.”
He nodded and rested his gun on the table before him, falling back into his seat. “There are different kinds of threats. She can kick ass with some of them, but I’m not going to let something come by and break her again.”
Again.
There was a lot about Karsen that I didn’t know, but what I did know was where she grew up. She was born to a family of drug abusers, and then eventually, she was sold to a large drug house where I imagined she wasn’t well cared for. It wasn’t until later that I learned about that house, and I knew the things that had happened inside would likely haunt her for the rest of her life.
Jamison had every right to be protective over her, and I knew how much she needed that support.
“You can’t kill someone for talking bad about her,” I told him, though it was a statement that didn’t need to be said. I’d thought that Jamison would know that.
I also knew how hypocritical the statement sounded when I had killed for Sabrina in the short time she’d been around.
“I usually just beat their asses, but with him, it’s different.” He paused, and his jaw tightened. “Did you know he came onto her when she first came here?”
I furrowed my brows. I wanted to deny that he would do such a thing, especially when the woman who had come here with Jamison had been nothing like the woman we knew today. She wasn’t strong. She hadn’t been the same woman, and we knew that. It had been nearly ten years, and we still got occasional glimpses of that woman who Jamison had pulled out of hell.
“I didn’t know that.”
“He has no regard for anyone but himself,” Jamison said, shaking his head angrily and leaning back. “He wants your role, and he’s next in line now that your dad’s gone. If he’s not dealt with, we will have a rebellion on our hands.”
I didn’t see Tucker taking it that far, but I also would have never thought he’d pull a gun on Jamison at a standard meeting. Something would have to be done, and I hoped to God he didn’t decide to go against my demands and take matters into his own hands. I didn’t doubt that he would, though. I would need to take necessary precautions because if he touched Sabrina…
I could explain why a bolt of fury shot through me so swiftly and powerfully that there was no hope of stopping it.
“Why did he finally lay off of Karsen?” I asked. Jamison smirked and leaned back. “What did you do?”
“I didn’t do a thing. Karsen said that if he ever touched her again, she’d cut off his dick… and then proved that she’d do it.”
I didn’t bother asking how she proved it as I crossed my ankles beneath the table and balled my fists. I always thought that Jamison was exceptionally protective over Karsen—overly so. But as I thought about Tucker touching Sabrina like that—as I thought about him killing her—I realized that there was more to address here than just Tucker’s behavior.
I shouldn’t have cared so much about Sabrina’s safety and well-being, but I did.
What was I going to do about her? About Tucker? About this whole damn situation?