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I kill Sal. I become Boss. And I was ready to rip the fucking crown right of his head.
The Commission
Olivia
“Try not to piss anyone off today, Liv. Best you leave all the talking to me,” Max winked as he climbed out of the SUV. I opened my door before he could get to it to help me out and stepped onto the quiet driveway of what looked like a large vineyard.
“I might be feisty, but I am not stupid Max. I know when to bite my tongue.” He gave me a knowing look with a cheeky smile which I returned. “Where are we? Is this a vineyard?”
“Yes. The commission are geniuses setting up their workplace where they have an endless flow of wine.”
We walked up to the entrance with two Buccini soldiers following closely behind. Once we were inside the beautiful, old stone building, Max walked over to the welcome desk and spoke in a hushed voice to the man in a fine suit. He nodded before disappearing behind a door and Max turned to me, leaning his elbow on the desk.
“Now what?” I whispered.
“Now we wait to be seen. Want a glass of wine?”
I looked over my shoulder to where Max was nodding to and saw an elegant bar full of unsuspecting visitors here for a day of wine tasting and grape picking. Max walked up to me and held out his tattooed arm. “We could both use a drink right now.”
I placed my hand in his elbow as we walked up to the bar and both perched on wooden bar stools. After the barmaid had poured us each a smooth, full bodied red wine and I took a sip allowing the warmth to travel through me, I sighed.
“Have you heard anything yet? From Gio?” My mind will not allow me to relax. No matter how much wine I drank in this place, I knew I would still be on edge. Just knowing he was in such a dangerous situation right now was making me sweat and my gut twist.
“Liv, he only left an hour ago. He has an alarm watch on him which will alert me directly if he is in any real danger. Try not worry,” he lifted his wrist with the sleek black watch adorning it.
“How can I not worry? The Leone’s are your biggest enemies! Do you really believe they are going to let him go without harming him when they have such a perfect opportunity?”
Max held my gaze as he took a sip of his wine and put it down on the bar slowly. “Yes. I think they know something. Something big. Something that is going to fuck our lives up completely.”
I frowned in confusion. “Like what?”
Max sighed, rubbing his jaw. “I don’t know but I am starting to think it could have something to do with Sal. Since all this shit has come out about him and Cecilia, my suspicions have been growing.”
I leaned forward urgently, still just as confused. “Max spit it out please. Remember I am new to all of this and I need all the information.”
His green eyes locked with mine and I could see his mind spinning. He wasn’t sure whether he should tell me without Gio’s approval but I needed the distraction more than anything. “I think Sal might have killed Vinny or at least played a part in the attack.”
My eyes widened in shock and my mouth hung open. “What? But Vinny was his brother? Why would he- “and then it hit me. Cecilia. Gio. Sal believed they belonged to him. He had been obsessed with Cecilia for years and watched her choose his own brother over him and raise a child that could be his. “But why then? Why 27 years later?”
Max huffed and grabbed his wine, downing it in one. “I’ve been wondering the same thing. Around the time of Vinny’s death, we were all growing concerned about the Leones. They were growing rapidly in numbers and some of our biggest clients were starting to work with them as they were offering their services at competitive rates. It was pissing Sal off. He wanted to knock them back but without the commission’s approval there was nothing he could do.”
“So, you think he framed them for Vinny’s murder? In the hope that the commission would let him retaliate?” I was starting to catch on to Max’s trail of thought quickly and he nodded.
“But it didn’t work. There wasn’t enough evidence. I always wondered why we could never get enough from the scene. I mean we should have at least been able to identify a body of the soldiers who killed Vinny but Sal always said when they went back to the scene after making sure Cecilia was safe, the bodies were gone. What if that was a lie? What if Sal was the one who got rid of them himself?”
“But surely, he would have been alone in this? Buccini members would never agree to a hit on their underboss?” I asked, my heart now speeding in my chest.
“I don’t think he used our men.”
I shook my head in disbelief. It was hard to imagine that Sal would go to such lengths to get what he wanted. To have his brother murdered so he could kill the Leones and get to Cecilia and Gio. Could it be true? In my heart, I knew it could be. Sal reminded me a lot of Henry except he was a lot smarter. When he wanted something or believed something was his, he would do anything to have it. I saw that with my own eyes when he shot Francesco.
“Does Gio know? Are we going to tell the commission?”
Max shook his head. “No. I have only really just come to this conclusion today as I have been trying to understand why the Leones would want to meet Gio. And no. We cannot say a word to the commission, not without evidence. That is very important Liv.” He gave me a stern look and I nodded. I suddenly felt very out of my depth here. What was I doing? I was about to meet members representing every mafia family in Italy in one room and who the fuck was I?
“Mi scusi. Sono pronti per te,” a polite and formal voice said behind me. Max nodded and jumped off his stool, holding his arm out to me again.
“Ready?”
