𝐁𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝐊𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐀

XVIII

D

A few days later

Leo and I waited outside Angelo's mother's home. We were paying him a visit as he recently returned from out of town after both Matthias and himself carried out the hit on the police officers.

It was in their best interest to skip town for a few days as an investigation was currently going on in regards to their murder. The news stations were quiet on the matter, much to my surprise but I took that as a silent win.

With little to no media attention, things in Devin were quiet and peaceful. The only current buzz surrounded the vandalisation of Loretta's restaurant and even that was dying down.

However, I knew it wouldn't last long. The media would eventually get a hold of the news of their demise and it would be a field day.

The law didn't take light to cop killers and the newspapers would capitalise on it.

I glanced down at my watch as the time went to 2pm before darting my gaze to his mother's front porch. The front door later opened, revealing Angelo who was followed out by his mother and his four year old daughter.

He crouched down to her height, kissing her cheeks before ruffling her dark hair making her giggle as she later reached to embrace him.

Letting her go after whispering a few words to her, he made a move to approach our car but was stopped by his mother who trailed after him.

"Spend some time with her, hmm? She practically lives here these days with you out all the time." His mother gently said in an almost pleading tone. "Just come back early to pick her up."

Angelo kissed the side of his mother's head, whispering something into her ear before departing. I watched from the side view mirror, seeing him approach the car before entering the back.

"Sorry for being late. Had to deal with a few things." I continued to peer at his mother who waved at us from the porch before she went back inside after Angelo's daughter called for her.

"Family comes first." I said, earning a low hum of agreement.

"So does the Famiglia." Angelo countered. He was right. Our work was always a priority because its failure would be detrimental to everything else. We had standards to uphold and some tasks that had to be carried out meant missing out on family things. Normal things.

As a soldier not yet made in the Famiglia, Angelo's goal was to prove he could do both but it was beginning to be clear where his loyalties lied and that was with the Famiglia.

He carried out a successful hit with Matthias, not that I doubted their expertise, but killing cops was different to killing other criminals. The law couldn't be touched—it could be swayed and bribed but never touched and that was a line we never usually crossed.

However this was a necessary thing.

"I heard you came back early this morning." I glanced back at Angelo from the passenger seat as Leo started the car.

"Yeah, both Matthias and I went our separate ways after the hit. I went up north and he went farther east. He should be coming back later today though. I heard your father sent him back to New York with Ricardo and the caporegimes for a bit, to handle some issues with some of the New York Families."

A lot had taken place over the past few days following the murders of Jamie and Pete. With their demise, we were making steps to mend bridges with the New York Families in case there was a moment where they would choose to side with Vincenzo.

We knew they wouldn't as this would lead to an all out war and many of the New York families that weren't already allied with Vincenzo could not afford that.