Page 83 of Disgrace

“Trying to settle people into safe places tonight,” Dante explained. “He wanted to come, but I know the two of you are having some issues at the moment. Better for him to be elsewhere.”

“He could have come.”

Dante gave John a hard look. “Andino knows when to step back for someone else.”

Fine.

John was not going to argue the point further. He didn’t think it would get him anywhere. Looking back at his father’s room, he saw one of his sisters slip inside.

Cella.

She still wouldn’t look at him.

She never talked to him.

John shook it off, and went back to the conversation at hand. “The run down?”

“Yeah, give it to me.”

“They caught us on the porch. Did a quick drive-by. Black sedan. Didn’t even get the make or model as I wanted to get Dad down. By the time I looked up again, they were gone. I mean, we know who ordered it, right. There’s no question there.”

“Definitely no question,” Dante agreed. “We still have to figure out what to do about these fucking foolish idiots.”

“Maybe stop fucking around with them like Andino has been doing, and challenge them head-on. If it’s a proper street war they want, then—”

“There is a method to Andino’s madness,” Giovanni said, stepping into the conversation only to defend his son. Or so it seemed. “Don’t shit on his way of doing things just because you have a different opinion about how it could be done.”

“Had I started something like this,” John shot back, “I would have fucking finished it shortly after, too.”

Dante cleared his throat, and moved subtly in between the nephew and uncle. “All right, that’s enough. Take a fucking breath, and lower your damn voices. We’re not here to give the hospital staff a show, huh?”

“Sorry,” Gio muttered behind Dante.

John still gave his uncle a look that spoke volumes without him needing to say anything at all. “I stand by it, though.”

“You can’t be that fucking entitled, John.” Giovanni shook his head, and smirked in that irritating way of his. “You think the rest of us are putting our asses on the line for this plan because Andino thinks it’s a good idea? Are you really that selfish in your own head that you can’t see he’s—”

Dante turned around, and shoved Gio on his shoulder. Pointing a single finger to the hallway leading out of the hospital wing, he said, “Go wait for Papa and Ma, Gio.”

“Dante—”

“Go, I said.”

Andino might have been the boss in waiting.

Dante was still the boss.

Giovanni moved past Dante, but pointed a finger at John as he went by. “Clean up your fucking shit, John. You think going on like that is going to suit a man in your position once this is over? I don’t think so.”

John’s brow furrowed. “What in the hell was that supposed to—”

“Excuse me?”

Dante spun around on his heel at the quiet voice. John found a young nurse standing there with a yellow bubble mailer in her hands. She offered it out, but neither of the men moved to take the item from her.

“What?” Dante barked.

The woman shrunk a bit.