“You take anyone alive?”
Enzo grunts. His voice is strained. “Tried to, but no luck.”
“Fuck.” I close my eyes. “Any guess who did it?”
“I don’t recognize any of these men. Could be the Russians or maybe the Poles, but I doubt it. Something stinks about this.”
“What’d Captain O’Reilly say?”
“The same old shit. Just that he heard what he heard, and he won’t say anything else. You know that crooked fuck.”
“Yeah, I know him.” I blow out a breath. “Alright, keep looking into it.”
“There were a few survivors. If we can track one down, that might help.”
“Make it happen.”
Enzo hangs up. He’s my right-hand man, and I’ve known him since grade school. I trust him with my life. If anyone can untangle this mess, it’s him.
I push open the truck door and get out. The guards nod to me as I walk through the front door. Donatella comes bustling over,smiling warmly, and gives me a quick hug. She’s in her mid-fifties, a little rounder, big with black hair and a bigger smile.
“You’re keeping him waiting,” she says, lightly touching my arm. “But that’s good. Don Marino needs to keep that ego in check.”
“Just been a long day. How are you, Donatella?”
“You know me, always a ray of sunshine.”
“Lucy around today?”
“In the baby wing with Alessia. They’d be happy if you visited.”
I consider it, but I’m beyond exhausted. A gunfight and some vicious sex on my desk. That takes a lot out of a man. “Another time.”
“Adriano’s in his office.”
I thank her and head down the familiar halls. It wasn’t that long ago when I was Adriano’s driver and bodyguard, at least until he turned me into a Capo. That was one of the proudest moments of my life. My little sister Carmie’s always been the powerful one in our family—she married an important member of the Zeitsev Bratva—but now I’m taking on more and more responsibility. My crew runs shipping for the Famiglia, mostly moving products that come in from Canada out across the United States to wherever it needs to go.
I find my cousin behind his desk, hunched over a laptop. He’s typing away and frowns at me as I enter. “When I became Don, I thought it’d be all gunfights and chases.” He taps a key, then slams the lid shut. “Instead, it’s mostly fucking paperwork and emails.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad to me right about now.” I slump down into the chair across from him.
“How’s the Serrano girl?”
“Alive.” I lick my lips at the memory. “Her sister took her home.”
“That’s good.” Adriano leans back, watching me carefully. “We’re lucky your informant tipped you off.”
“O’Reilly knows about your alliance plans. He’s not a stupid man.”
“Still, it’s lucky. If the Serrano girl had gotten hurt—” Adriano frowns slightly, head tilted to the side. “It would’ve caused problems.”
“What kind of problems, exactly?” I sit forward, suddenly on edge. I don’t like the way he’s looking at me now, like he’s got some very bad news to break but doesn’t know how to do it yet. “It’s not like it would’ve stopped your plans.”
“About that.” He folds his right fist into his leg palm. “Of all the decisions I’ve made since becoming the Don, you’ve been one of the best. You run our shipping lanes to perfection. Under your leadership, we haven’t lost a single major shipment. It’s been smooth, Luca, and that’s thanks to you.”
My eyebrows raise at the sudden praise. “Thank you, Don Marino. I appreciate you saying that. But why do I get the feeling you’re setting me up for something?”
His smile is uneasy. “Am I that obvious?”
