The Mafiosa's Thorn

Spill

"Bianca?"

His voice almost makes her eyes burst into tears. She sees the collapsed bodies of her men with Miguel placing a pad on the wound in his shoulder.

Spaghetti sauce spilled all over the floor with some burning on one of their faces. A bloodied knife is resting on the floor. She walks around before embracing him deeply.  

"It's alright!" she calls out to Luis. From the tone, he raises a hand to halt the men for a bit.

Miguel winces from the tight hug before she lets go. She leads him by the hand into his room to put on his mask to hide his face. 

An exhale of relief as the bullet went through cleanly. Using towels, she applies pressure and medicine to help him. She helps him put on a dark shirt while trying not to glare at the circumstances. She wants to empty her magazine into the rat for hurting her beloved. 

His soft fingers melt the freezing stare. His lips softly brush against her. "I'm sorry about the mess. I wish you could have tasted the sauce."

She chuckles from his humor. "There's always next time. It's a shame. Did you use fresh tomatoes?"

He nods with a dimpled smile. "The ones from your garden."

If he was fully healed, she would have emptied his jewels for smiling that way. But she steps back to resume her role. They return to Sean and the others who witness the mess. She pulls up a camera feed on her phone. 

The footage shows the men used the window of the basement to try and overtake Miguel by surprise. His hand reached for his nearby pistol from the suspicious noise.

The firefight took place as El Segador came out to play. One of them came downstairs to tackle him while he was firing at someone else. The spaghetti sauce gave him time to swipe at someone's throat with the knife.

Seamus and Vladimir's men search through the house. No one else was found, but someone did try to unlock the safe. An electric screwdriver with some nails resting nearby. The man couldn't unbolt it in time so he had to help his friends kill Miguel. They alert Signora of the news.

After calming down a bit, she pieces together the identity of the rat.

Someone who knew Miguel's face and the exact condition he was in. The ongoing lie was that El Segador needed stitches from the impromptu fight. Also, the fact that The Panda's trick of using Jose Navarro's heart confirmed her room was bugged. That he wanted to unsettle Miguel's mind to make him an easy target.

She calls all of her men inside. They don't hesitate to step inside. The disappearance of two men confirms something else. One of them had witnessed Miguel's beatdown in person.

 It was Richie.

Her stone heart almost cracks from the betrayal. Richie served her husband for many years without any complaint. She assumes closing the cocaine operations fueled his insatiable greed. Because Alejandro wasn't present, she assumes they are working together to overthrow her.

She internally questions her men in the house. Could one be working from the inside to strike her down when she least expects it?

"Mi famile, Richie's the rat."

Dropped jaws accompany their faces. Eyes narrow for betraying their favorite boss.

"Bring Richie and Alejandro to me. Cremation is too good for them. Maybe stuffing their heads like animals will serve as a reminder." 

The men shout their agreements before she sends them away. Luis remains, wanting to get her and Miguel out of here. Vlad and Seamus offer one of their hideouts to "stay low."