but it was futile. Eyes shifted his direction. Primo regarded his son, staring him dead in the eyes as he said, "Returning something broken doesn't make me whole again. I was better off believing he died with honor than seeing him here today, sitting on the wrong side of this table."
Ouch.
"There's no wrong side of the table," Alfie said. "We're adults. Let's fucking act like it. We talk about leaving the kids out of it, yet we drag them in every chance we get. I hate to break it to you fellas, but there's no honor in killing someone's unarmed son. No honor in blowing them up with a fucking car bomb." Alfie's angry eyes darted between Barsanti and Galante, those words meant for both of them. "Enough is enough. I'm sick and tired of waking up every morning, wondering if today will be the day someone decides to go after my daughter instead of being man enough to come after me."
A throat cleared, Barsanti's calm voice cutting in. "If it's any consolation, Alfie, I'd never go after your little girl."
"I appreciate that, Bobby, because I'd have your balls if you did."
Dante's eyes narrowed as Barsanti laughed. He should've stayed out of it. He knew he needed to keep his mouth shut. But damn if his voice didn't chime in on its own. "You didn't have a problem killing someone's child before."
His voice somehow amped up the tension in the room. Expressions turned severe as Barsanti looked at him. "You want to have this conversation again? I'm more than happy to sit here and discuss it if you want, because I guarantee I'm not the only guilty party at this table. I'm not the only one responsible for something reprehensible. I'm not the only one who killed someone's son. So I advise you look deep within yourself, Galante, instead of pointing fingers, before I snap that fucking finger off."
Dante stood, pointing right at Barsanti's face. "I'd like to see you—"
"Gentlemen!" Victor shouted, shoving Dante into his chair. "We're losing sight of the point."
"What is the point?" Primo asked. "Because as entertaining as this is, I've had enough socializing to last me a lifetime."
"The point, Primo, is that you've crossed lines, lines that we can't tolerate being crossed. Certain things you just can't do. There are rules for a reason, rules that keep us all safe, and when you break those rules you endanger all of us. If you want to make a move, you have to consult the others."
"Fine," Primo said, his attention going to the heads of the five families, lingering on Gavin before turning to Barsanti. He stared the man dead in the face, mere feet from him, as he announced, "I call for a vote."
The men grumbled… all except Barsanti, who stared back, straight-faced. "What do you want?"
"Permission."
"Permission to do what?"
"Permission to kill you."
"Have you asked for permission before?"
"At least once a year."
"And what, they all deny you every time you call for a vote?"
"Oh no, they don't all deny me. There's only ever been one hold out."
"Huh…" Barsanti glanced around at the others, considering that, his gaze settling on Gavin. "And am I right to assume that man isn't with us today?"
"Seems he's had an unfortunate accident."
"Ah, yes, unfortunate how he accidentally caught a bullet from one of your men."
"This is bullshit," Alfie said. "We're not here to—"
"No," Barsanti said, stopping Alfie. "Rules are rules. He calls for a vote, and New York gives it to him. So let's do this." Turning in his chair, Barsanti's gaze skimmed along the head of the three families, not giving them a chance to chime in before answering for them. "We've got a yes, a yes, and another yes…"
Genova cleared his throat. "Barsanti, I'm not going to—"
"Oh, don't change your mind on account of me," Barsanti said. "A yes is a yes. No hard feelings."
Genova fell silent, the other two refusing to speak.
Barsanti turned to Gavin. "You can speak for your father today, if you'd like to take on that burden, or I can just answer for him…"
Gavin opened his mouth before closing it again, waving toward Barsanti as he shook his head, clearly not wanting to get involved. Barsanti turned back around to Primo, a grin on his lips as he said, "I guess it's your lucky day, Primo, because today you get a big resounding yes from Johnny Amaro."
Primo's eyes widened. "A yes?"
"Absolutely," Barsanti said. "So, there you go… permission granted, Primo."