Once we’re inside my SUV, Leo continues to explain.
“I don’t know all the details, Zo.” I back out of my spot and head out of the garage, glancing at him, waiting for Leo to continue. He sighs in frustration, his hands moving wildly as he speaks. “Okay. All right. My brothers had a meeting with Devante Mesias. The plan was to reassure Mesias that you had taken care of the traitor who jacked his merch and ask for their help in tracking down The Bishop so we could take care of him for all the problems he’s caused all of us. A few minutes after the meeting had ended, they were on their way out to the car when Santo called Mauro. Mauro picked up. Santo told him everything went well, and then …”
“Someone shot him. Do we know from where? What angle? Was it someone close or from a rooftop across the street?” I ask in rapid fire. My gut tells me Ephraim had a part to play in all of this since his ass is still missing, but I need more intel to know for sure. If he ran off to save his own ass, he will be punished and stripped of his duties. But if he has anything to do with what happened tonight, I’ll skin the motherfucker alive.
“No. I don’t know any of that.” Leo looks absolutely pissed the fuck off when he says, “But Zo, someone in our ranks fucked-up.”
Yeah, I know. And when I find him, I’m going to take my sweet time making him pay.
When we arrive at the hospital, Mauro is waiting for us just inside the emergency room doors. Aunt Connie is in the waiting room, hugging Nazario close. When he sees us enter the waiting area, he nods to Mauro to take his place. Aunt Connie nods to Naz. She knows how things work. Naz is now the Don, which means he’ll decide on how we move forward from here.
“The fuck happened, Naz?”
“Not here. Follow me.” I follow Naz down the hall into an empty conference room and lock the door behind us.
“Santo was shot in the chest, just above his heart. He’s going to make it, but recovery will not be easy.” He slams his fist on the table. “I always knew one day someone would come for us, but not like this. Not from one of our own.” Nazario’s voice is thick with pain. “First, my father. Now my brother.What the fuck is going on?” Nazario shouts, slamming his hand against the wall, then turning to face me with both hands gripping his hair. “How did someone in our own ranks get a shot off on Santo? How, Zo?”
“I don’t know.” I answer honestly, hating the fact that I don’t have an answer.
“The fucking coward shot Santo and the three other guards before he took off,” Naz says. Scrubbing his hand down his face. “The Mesias were already in their cars when it happened. Devante’s tires were shot out, causing his car to crash not far from ours. No injuries, but he’s just as pissed as we are to know one ofourmen did this.” He sighs. “If my brother hadn’t been shot, I’m pretty sure Devante and his men would’ve opened fire assuming we were trying to take them out.”
“Fuck.”
“There were two waitresses inside the restaurant and the hostess. One of them gave a statement to the police. Officer Doblanski should have everything for me soon.”
“As soon as you have what I need …” Nazario’s glare meets mine. His curt nod is all the permission I need to do what I do best.
Hunt.
There’s a knock at the door. I wait for Nazario’s permission, then open it to find our grandfather waiting on the other side.
“Do we know who did it?” Nonno asks. Nazario paces the room. I watch him closely, studying the way his eyes narrow andthe wheels of his mind turn. Naz is a deep thinker. Never acts on a whim. Everything he does is thoroughly thought out and meticulously planned.
“Do we think the Mesias were responsible? Could they have set this up, Nazario?” Nonno glances between the two of us. “Could they have paid someone in our organization to make it look like an inside job to take the accusation off them?”
“No,” Nazario states firmly. “I don’t believe it was the Mesias.”
“But you think you know who’s responsible.” The calculating look on Nazario’s face means he’s onto something, but he doesn’t want to share.
“Well, speak up, boy!” Nonno shouts angrily. “If you know who our enemy is, who shot my grandson, we should send retaliation immediately!”
“You’re hurting. So, I’ll let this behavior pass, old man.” Nazario’s voice is low. “Just this once. But it was you who taught us all to show respect and to honor the Don.” Nonno looks taken aback. We would never disrespect the man, but in this instance he’s wrong, and he knows it.
I watch as his shoulders slump, and the pride leaves his face. He looks downcast and remorseful but doesn’t say anything. He simply nods and lowers his hands, a sign of surrender.
“I can’t say for sure. I need more information, but I know exactly who to ask for it.” There’s a lethality in Naz’s words. “For now, we do nothing.”
13
ALTHEA
It’s been three days since I’ve seen or heard from Enzo. Not that I care. It was a one-night stand. That’s all it can ever be. Especially if I find out that Bash Malgeri was telling the truth and the Venatti have been keeping secrets about my brother.
“Hey, kid,” Officer Doblanski calls from the lab doorway. It’s thecutenickname he’s bestowed upon me since my acceptance into the internship. He finds himself amusing. I find him annoying. He’s always coming in here checking on me, asking me questions. And not just about the shit I’m working on, which isn’t very exciting or important for him to know since he’s a street cop and I’m logging evidence from a local homicide from a year ago. My forensic supervisor, who has made it abundantly clear he doesn’t trust me, thought it would be great practice for me. So, he created a fake file, and I’ve been uploading duplicate photo images of the crime scene into the database for the last hour.
“We’ll go through them later, and you can tell me what you noticed about each frame,” were my instructions before he left me alone in the lab.
Now I get to deal with this nosy asshole, who I haven’t quite figured out yet.
