Authorities had started to take an interest too, and it would not be long until they stopped turning a blind eye to the mafia organization in the city. Newspapers were having a blast with the overflow of information combined with the raids that had been happening in the last few days.
Controlling things had become fucking hard.
Elio knew that and could feel that there were even more and worse things to come, too. So he kept his focus on the job to somehow contribute to the Famiglia. Before, he couldn't imagine Noah Falcone losing the support which could easily mean the end of the Famiglia as they knew it. Lately, the vision had become a terrifying perspective that he wasn't able to shake off.
He was watching Flavio's initiation with the hope that this simple act would help. The man was young and already close to becoming an Underboss for one of the most powerful organizations in the States.
Seventeen.
But he’d gained the respect of many Made Men because of all of the good things he had done for the Famiglia alongside his brother. And he wasn't the one to be held on to for his affirmations of a strong and unbeatable mafia. Noah was. That was why this last resort was so important to improve upon the overall outlook on the ruling family. So captains and soldiers might give them more time to fight off the Bratva.
Once the main part of initiation was done and over with, it usually was Elio's cue to leave. He didn't enjoy the social part. The last time he’d graced them with his presence was three years ago when he had become a Made Man. However, taking into account everything that had been going on recently, he decided against leaving. Flavio wouldn't give a shit but as he was to become an Underboss soon, it'd show disrespect.
He grabbed a glass of whiskey and downed it at once, feeling the bitter taste fill his throat. He immediately wished to get drunk which he hadn’t been able to do once that week. Always on standby, hoping that his father would slow the fuck down with sending him on stake-outs from one of his establishments to another. Most of them weren't even reporting any suspicious activity, yet Gastone had become so freaked out with the possibility of losing even more money if the Bratva decided to persuade another owner to do business with them.
Also, it was a diner under his protection that had changed their passive-aggressive relations with Russian so nothing was off the table at this point. The Vasiliev brothers wouldn't give up easily. As former soldiers, they’d gathered the necessary skills to impair the Las Vegas Famiglia. After retaining their first significant fortune derived from scamming fellow Russian Jews eager to emigrate to countries including the United States. They had made deals to buy their assets, sell them for fair market value, and forward the proceeds. Instead, they'd simply sold the assets and pocketed the proceeds which had led to them serving two terms in prison for currency-dealing offenses. And as leading figures in that Bratva that had emigrated to the States, they were bad news from the start. That's why it wasn't easy to run them out of the city.
Now they’d gone into hiding and no one had seen them recently which was even worse. Because who knew what they were doing. But it couldn't be anything good.
"Elio," Coluccio Guerra's voice rang right behind him. He turned around meeting the Capodecina's eyes. They hadn't seen each other since the Ecstasy incident. Something that the Enforcer wished he could obliterate from the man's mind. Especially since he'd been a deciding factor in why Father had become set on Savannah. Made Men talked. It wasn't anything new, yet somehow never about themselves. Getting fellow soldiers in trouble was much more entertaining. Whether Coluccio had done this on purpose or not, Elio didn't give a fuck.
"Coluccio," he greeted him with cold detachment.
"We haven't seen each other in a while. How is that girl of yours? Savannah? Am I correct?"
He remembered full well that it was, in fact, her name. Elio, hearing it, tried to remain unmoved, however, it appeared to be harder than he thought. The words she’d said to him still as vivid as before. Normally, he'd move on to another but somehow he couldn't get Savannah out of his head. There was something about her that he simply couldn't shake off. The girl wasn't what he’d expected at all.
And he was an asshole, completely fucking up whatever there was between them. One by one picking at the pieces of her that she’d decided to, for some reason, share with him. She was right. He shouldn't have assumed anything when he still knew so little. Both about her and about himself. Because he'd never been drawn to anyone as much as he was to Savannah. It was all new, and on top on having to keep it on the down low simply to one day lose it all didn't sit well with him.
Elio tried to keep himself in check. As much as possible. And that was because he knew the outcome which he’d concealed from Savannah. The rules that she knew weren't complete. Unless you were a part of the Famiglia, things might have sounded as a greatly weaved fantasy. Not real life.
But he couldn't think about it right now. Not when he was surrounded by Made Men and someone might have caught up on the fact that something was wrong. Especially his father who hadn’t looked away from him once since they’d came to the initiation. He was
