I decide then that I'll make St. Lucia's day special for both of them, which isn't exactly tradition.
Only little children receive gifts, but I want Angelica to feel special too.
I'll send Enzo today to pick them out, but first I have to get to work.
So I slip back into the shadows and off to get things done.
I turn and walk to my den before the moment stretches too long.
I have work to do, business that can't wait just because I spent the night with a woman I can't stop thinking about.
I close the door behind me and pull out my phone.
I have three missed calls from one of my sources, so I call him back and he answers on the first ring.
"We have a problem," he grumbles hastily.
"What kind of problem?"
"Antonelli tipped off the authorities. Your deal tonight is compromised." He huffs and sighs, then says, "They're planning a raid."
I grip the phone tighter. "Are you positive?"
"Yeah. My contact inside the police department confirmed it an hour ago. Antonelli fed them information about the location and the timing. They're setting up surveillance now."
"How much product is at risk?"
This shit keeps happening and it's really starting to piss me off.
"All of it—twenty kilos."
I curse under my breath.
This is exactly what Gerard wants.
He's not just attacking my operations.
He's using the authorities to do his dirty work.
If the deal tonight gets busted, my reputation takes another hit.
My suppliers will question whether I can protect their product.
My buyers will go elsewhere.
"Can we move the location?" I ask him with my mind already thinking ahead to new spots.
"Not without tipping off the buyers that something's wrong. They're already nervous about working with you after the missing shipment from Istanbul."
"Then for fuck's sake, we need to stop Antonelli before he does more damage."
"How? He's entrenched. He has contacts everywhere. He's playing this perfectly."
"I don't care how entrenched he is," I growl.
My voice rises despite my effort to stay calm. "Find a way to get to him. Bribe his people. Threaten them. I don't care what it takes. Just make it happen."
"Dante, you're not listening. He's protected. Going after him directly right now will start a war you're not ready to fight." The man is really pushing my buttons.
