“You can’t be carting Dr. Laskin all over the DMV,” Z said.
Gabriel said nothing.
“Oh, no,” Z murmured.
No point drawing this out.
“Laskin got gunned down at the airport,” Gabriel said. “Angelo went after the hitman, but it was chaos. Laskin didn’t make it.”
“Fuck.Fuck,” Z bit out.
Then… silence. Thundering silence that whisked him back to his fucked-up childhood. Rather than yell at him or even scold him, his father would go stealth quiet. A disapproving stare, a shaming shake of his head. If his dad did speak, it wasn’t above a whisper.
“Gabriel, you disappoint me, son,” his father would say.
Z didn’t need to say anything. Gabriel’s late father’s constant condemnation haunted his days… and his nights.
Unlike Teddy, his youngest brother, Gabrielwasn’tin a never-ending competition with his siblings. He was forever doing battle with the ghost of his father. A formidable man who slaughtered without remorse, who ruled with an iron fist, but who said very little.
Except when he was fighting with their mom. Then, he couldn’t shut the hell up.
“Gabriel,” Z said, snapping him back to the moment. “Did Laskin tell you anything?”
“He couldn’t wait to get to the US.”
“Are you okay?”
“No,” Gabriel bit out. “A man died in my arms. Would you be?”
“No,” Z replied. “I wouldn’t.”
Gabriel remained silent.
“This is bad,” Z said.
Master of the fucking obvious.
“You think?” Gabriel hung up and swallowed down the bitter taste of failure.
His phone buzzed again. His brother, Teddy, had been calling and texting. Gabriel read the thread from his brother.
G, you coming to the holiday celebration?
It’s gonna be a great par-tay!
Gabriel, where are you? Your phone is off. Everyone’s asking about you.
We’re all at the restaurant. I’m popping the BIG Q to Sydney. Hurry or you’ll miss it.
His brother Greystone had also texted him.
Are you in the country? Elsa is asking about you every ten minutes. You okay?????
And a text from his brother Luciano.
I’m back and looking forward to catching up. Production numbers are through the roof at Santini International HQ. Nice work G!
Tonight, the Santinis were celebrating the holidays with each other and their close-knit group of friends and coworkers at Santini Ristorante.