An Echo in the Mafia (Echo Reid, Reid Family Book #1)

Part 6

Luke didn't bother looking down at his watch. It was well past the agreed upon meeting hour and the Russo brothers had the audacity to have him waiting in what resembled a small lobby.

He'd only brought two men with him, men he trusted and knew to be agile, but he would have felt more comfortable if Marco had come with him. Out of all his men, Luke trusted most in Marco's skill. It wasn't just that Marco was good during a stressful situation or had great reflexes when needed, it was that the two men knew each other so well, understood each other so well, that they did not even need to speak to each other to agree on taking action.

But Marco had to be in the city today handling other business for him and so Luke was here to face the Russo brothers without him. Not that Luke was worried or anxious, he felt more than prepared to handle those sleazy scumbags. Luke had already made up his mind about the subject, had already decided that he would tell them to go... or he would make them go. Simple as that. He'd made up his mind he didn't like them, had known it from the moment he first heard of them and he should have trusted his instinct then.

Instead, he was standing here, waiting. He looked around the room, a small one that decorated cheaply but in otherwise good taste, then he turned as he heard a door in the back finally open.

"They'll see you now." A rather large man said, pulling Luke out of his thoughts and back into reality.

"Let's go." The man repeating, looking impatient and signaling for him to follow. Luke didn't reply, instead he moved past him, indicating that his men should wait in here.

It was intolerable that they should have made him wait so long but what was worse... now the two fools didn't even bother to stand as he entered their office. This was not how you treated a Don, and it was not how he would have treated anyone coming into his territory for an important meeting. Luke stood still as the door was shut behind him, his hands deep in this pockets as he realized he would have to exercise extreme patience against their insolence.

"Good to see you, Luke." The older one, Franco, said, motioning to an empty chair. Luke didn't move, he didn't remove his sunglasses and he didn't take his hands out of his pockets. Now they used his first name? This was far past disrespectful. Luke could already see that he would have to make an example out of them.

"I wish I could say the same." Luke replied, looking towards the younger brother, Vic, who wasn't even bothering to look in his direction and was instead playing with a pen.

"We heard you had some objections to our sales?" Franco asked.

"The rules are clear, I set them the same way for everyone. No exceptions." Luke replied. "I would think that you two would be especially careful."

"We didn't know that you were so interested in those types of sales." Franco replied. "We heard you don't deal in it."

"I don't. That's below our family's pay grade." He said, "But everyone is entitled to their own business as long as it doesn't interfere with mine or break my rules."

"We require a little more flexibility than that." Franco said.

"Not granted." Luke said.

"That's not a request." France replied.

"Nothing goes down in that city without my approval. If you make a move, I know and if you make a move despite me, you fall into my bad graces." Luke said, "Not a place you want to be."

"Is that a threat?" Franco asked. Luke stared at him for a second. These boys must have a death wish to dare speak to him like that.

"I don't make threats." Luke said.