I sigh. “It’s too late for apologies, Rocco,” I tell him. “All you have now is time. A few extra minutesto prepare yourself.”
“You… you’re going to kill me?”
“That depends. If you were in my position, what would you do?” I ask.
Rocco’s eyes flit between Adriano and me. He doesn’t have to answer.
He knows there’s only one way this can end.
“There’s one thing I expect of all my men,” I continue. “Loyalty. That’s it. If you had a problem, youcould have come to me. I take care of my soldiers.”
I pause and watch him. Blood drips from his busted lip.
“But this was never about a problem that needed solving, was it?” I ask. “You don’t have a sickfamily member. What you have is ambition. And you overplayed your hand. You got greedy. You gotsloppy.”
I hold up my hand. Rocco
