I appreciate Jimmy handling this part for me. Just hearing my little brother’s name makes my throat close up. It makes me want to hit something, more than usual, at least. I wouldn’t be able to even explain what I wanted to know without mauling the guy.
“Yeah. That was his kid brother. The one your family murdered in cold blood. You might want to ask yourself how far you really want to push him.”
For the first time, Tony looks scared. His eyes dart to me and then back to the ground. “I don’t know anything,” he says quietly. I’ve heard the tone before. He’s going to talk. His pride just isn’t ready to let him yet. He’s from our world, and he has to know he’s on borrowed time now. No one is going to believe he made it out of a session with me and didn’t rat. He’s going to have a target on his back the size of a cow. He’s a dead man.
Tony spits on the concrete floor. We’re beneath MetLife stadium only a few minutes before kickoff. The roar of fans above nearly drowns out his mumbled response. “Don’t know shit,” he says again, more quietly than before.
I lean closer. “You had better start thinking real hard, asshole.”
He stares at me defiantly. I grin and then slam my knuckles into his gut He tries to double over, but the ropes only let his chin sag to his chest. His face scrunches up and he sucks in a deep breath. Just beneath the tough exterior, I see the first signs of something beneath cracking.
“I’ve got punching bags a lot harder than your flabby ass, Tony. I can do this all fuckin’ day. Can you?”
“Just ice me then. I’m dead if I talk and I’m dead if I don’t. So fuck you.”
“I’m not lookin’ to talk to anybody, Tony. You give me names, I make bodies. It’s that simple. Anybody who cares about you snitching is going to be too dead to do a fuckin’ thing about it.” It’s probably a lie, but that’s not my problem.
“I don’t know who killed Jackie. It…” He swallows and then stops speaking.
Hearing him say Jackie’s name pisses me off. A lot. “Listen good, you fat fuck. Jackie was my littlest brother. He was my fuckin’ guy. He was makin’ something of himself. He was going to school, on track to get a real good job and he had a girl he was sweet on. He was a good fuckin’ kid. I’m not going to stop until I find the motherfucker who thought they could kill him and get away with it.
Tony shakes his head slowly. “And if you start knockin’ down the right doors who do you think they will come after?”
“Not my problem. You’ve got a simple choice. Stay here with me and refuse to talk, and maybe you’ll die in ten minutes or maybe it’ll be hours. Hell, maybe I’ll leave you here and come back to do a little bit at a time. Either way, you don’t talk, you die. That’s a fact.” I move to the table nearby and heft the splintered baseball bat, taking a few practice swings. Tony flinches. “Or,” I say. “You tell me what you know, I let you walk, and maybe you can hit the mattress before any of this heat catches up with you. Lie low somewhere. Maybe Jersey.”
“You’re going to kill me either way.”
I shrug. “Maybe. Maybe not. But I’m definitely going to kill you if you don’t start talking.”
He shakes his head and spits a mouthful of blood to the ground. “Give me your word that you’ll let me walk.”
“I’m not giving shit, you fat fuck. Tell me or die. It’s that simple.”
He takes a deep breath and then shakes his head. “It was Lucky, okay? He was the gun that took down your brother. That’s all I fuckin’ know.”
My eyes widen. I grab him and lift him again, slamming his head against the wall. “Lucky who?” My blood is boiling and my heart’s racing. It’s the first lead I’ve had in months, and if he’s talking about Lucky of the Anastasio’s, it would make a lot of sense. A lot of sense.
“Lucky!” he grunts through gritted teeth. “Lucky fuckin’ Anastasio.”
I drop him, smiling. The look on my face must scare him, because Tony flinches. “What?” I ask. “Get the fuck outta here. You think I’m going to spend the money on a cleanup crew just to ice your fat ass?” I jab him with the bat. “Get outta here!”
He runs, not needing another warning. I snap my fingers and Dino brings my jacket back to me. “Careful you fuckwit. That jacket is worth more than you are.” Dino is a young pup looking to make his way up in our world. He’s a half-blooded Italian, so he’ll never be more than an associate. Only full-bloods can get made and initiated into the family.