Miles Away (Carrion #1)(90)

“Indeed, Miles,” Michael said in a cold voice. A slithering smile tugged at Michael’s lips. “It’s all for you, son.”

“For me, huh?” Miles said feigning amusement. “A homecoming party for me? You shouldn’t have.”

“Anything for you, Boss,” Knox said slyly as a cool grin slipped across his face.

“Last time I checked,” Miles said as he pointed to his father, “that old f*cker was Boss. Not me.”

Dustin laughed dryly. “I think it’s time you brushed up on your current events, bro.”

Miles stared at his father and his brothers with a hard gaze.

“Care to f*cking elaborate?” Miles spat, his arms splayed wide as he baited his family for a fight.

“Oh, Miles. You’re my firstborn son,” Michael said, sounding nostalgic. “My baby boy and the heir to my throne.”

Miles’s jaw clenched as his father spoke. It wasn’t possible for a son to hate his father more than Miles hated Michael. The fury within Miles rose with every word his father spoke.

“I’m not a well man, Miles. And before I fade into the afterlife, I want to ensure that my constituents have a just leader. A king of the Capadonno names. You are that man, Miles,” Michael explained with a mischievous expression painted across his face.

“You stupid son of a bitch!” Miles growled.

“Actually, the plan is f*cking brilliant,” Knox admitted. “He got the target off of his own head by not only stepping down, but also by reminding Nunzio Rigatti that you killed his grandson.”

“Brilliant is not the word that I would use,” Dustin admitted, “but obviously the old man’s plan worked. “

“Looks like you’re shit out of luck, brother,” Knox quipped with a smug expression on his face.

But instead of glowering at Knox like he expected, Miles did something unexpected. An amused smile broke from Miles’s lips, showing off his set of straight teeth.

“Well played, old man,” Miles said as he clapped his hands together. “There’s just one tiny little thing you forgot about…”

Knox scoffed as he pointed at Miles. “You believe this joker? Thinks we forgot something.”

Dustin crossed his arms over his chest. “Are you insinuating that you bested the Butcher?”

“That’d be the day, right?” Knox said as he elbowed his father playfully.

Miles rolled his eyes at the shit show.

Clearing his throat, Michael glowered at Miles.

“What is it that I have forgotten?” Michael asked in a stern tone of voice.

Pulling his gun out of the waistband of his jeans, Miles took the safety off of the gun, holding it behind his back. Taking three long strides forward, Miles pressed the gun to his father’s temple.

“Nobody f*cks with a Capadonno!” Miles yelled.

Bang!

The shot echoed into the night scaring off a flock of crows from the treetops. Michael had a stunned look upon his face as blood oozed down his face from the gaping wound Miles had left in his forehead. After a few excruciatingly long seconds, Michael fell to the ground, his skull cracking against the slate pathway. The men huddled in the dark outside the Capadonno mansion whispered to each other, their collective thoughts raising to a moderate hum. Holding his gun in the air, Miles walked through the crowd brazenly looking each of the men in their faces.

“Anybody else got a problem with me?” Miles shouted.

Despite the hostile glares he was receiving from each of the men, no one dared to utter a sound. Then one did. Clearing his thought, Knox said loudly, “Seeing as how you stripped the life of our dying father, I’d say I have a big f*cking problem.”

“Do us all a favor, Knox, and shut the f*ck up!” Miles screamed. “Now… Who had the contract on my head?”

No one said a word. But as Miles began to pace through the crowd, Miles asked again, “Who was given the orders to kill me?”

Eddie “The Landlord” Torrento stepped out of the crowd. Nodding at Miles, Eddie stared at the new boss of the Capadonno crime family with a stubborn look upon his face. Miles smirked as he looked into Eddie’s face. Shaking his head, Miles lifted his gun and shot twice. Eddie shrieked in pain as two bullets shattered his knee caps.

When Miles turned around, Knox was standing just inches from him with his gun drawn.

“Big Bad Miles getting his revenge. I bet you want to kill me, don’t you?” Knox asked with a cruel look upon his face.

A cocky smirk grew across Miles’s face. “Kill you? It’s fun having you around,” Miles said.

Before Knox could reply, Miles had cut into his step sending a brutal upper cut to Knox’s face. The familiar sound of Knox’s nose crunching brought a smile to Miles’s face as his brother howled in pain.

“What the f*ck!” Knox screamed.

As blood gushed from Knox’s nose, Miles walked away slowly back to Corina. He reached his arm out to open the driver’s side door as the sound of a gun went off. The bullet hit the ground just inches from Miles’s feet, as he looked up, Dustin was rushing at him with his gun out. Knox had his gun drawn too and was rushing towards Corina. Miles wasn’t sticking around, though. Ripping open the car door, Miles jumped in the car and slammed the door shut as bullets ricocheted off of the bulletproof glass of the windshield. As Miles let out a heavy breath, Letty assaulted him from behind, hitting him on his shoulders and arms and chest.