Her Ex-husband

Chapter 8

"Answer me this, how did you assume that it was my men that were on anyone's turf but mine?" Vito asks.

 Burke reached into his coat but paused momentarily when he heard the cock of a gun and peered up to see Angelo aiming his pistol at him. Slowly and carefully, Burke pulled out a stack of photos and threw them onto the table, towards the younger boss. As Angelo holstered his pistol, Vito picked up the photos. His eyes scan them carefully. Joy watched him, waiting for anything: a response, a twitch, even a blink but nothing. He did nothing. Burke, Mr. Chen, and Mr. Valencia waited patiently. 

Vito licked his lips before he spoke, "These men do not belong to me. Yet, I believe that we have someone new that doesn't understand that you can't waltz into another one's turf."

 "Or they do but don't care," Valencia added.

 Burke slowly nodded, leaning back in his chair. He was quiet and processing the new information that was possibly true. To Vito, he was sobering up from his drunken state. Sober, he was an intelligent and quiet man compared to the drunken fool that he usually is. Odd considering that he doesn't seem like the type to even remotely be close to a clever man. Joy glanced over at the other bosses; like Burke, Mr. Chen's jaw was clenched tightly while Valencia sat back in his chair, resting his head against his palm. 

Finally he spoke, "Even so, how do we know for certain that there is another person and not just you tryna throw us off of your ass?" Vito simply shrugged, "You don't but you do have my word that I have nothing to do with any of this." Mr. Chen scoffed, "Tsk. Do you honestly think we would trust your word?" 

Yet again, Vito only shrugged. "No, I don't but if you are the logical man that I know you are then you'll give it a few days to see my innocence." Burke leaned forward in his seat, arms rested against the table below him. "Alright then," Mr. Valencia spoke up. Eyes were on the younger boss in seconds. 

"You cannot be serious, Ryker," Mr. Chen says in disbelief. "I trust him," Ryker replies. A small smile appeared on Vito's lips. Joy felt Vito's hand grip hers slightly tighter. He was anxious but he masked it with a smile. She knew it and he knew that she knew. Angelo shifted slightly on his feet. "He has not presented a reason for us not to trust him," Ryker explains, "So why would he present one now?"

 Mr. Chen went to argue but Burke stopped him before he could say a word. "Alright, Mr. Maretti, we'll give it a week to prove your innocence but trust me," Burke leans forward, "if there is any evidence or any misstep that you are behind these sightings then I will kill you, no hesitation." Vito's face was blank; No emotion was visible. "Understood." Burke leaned back in his seat. 

"That's all men," he says, "Dismissed."