His tone hardens. “You’re right.”
Mario meets us at the edge of the docks, the city watching us from the other side of the river. He’s a tall man, a thick headof black hair, wearing a denim jacket and dark jeans. He strolls over to our car and gestures for us to roll the window down.
So far, so good. If this were an ambush, the shooting would’ve started already.
“Mario,” I say, nodding.
“Look who’s back from the dead,” he says with a smirk.
“Seems fitting considering how biblical this shit is going to get.”
“Need to warn you fellas, there’s about twenty men waiting for us at the meeting spot.”
I grind my teeth. “Twenty goddamn men? They should’ve brought more.” I turn to Julian. “You ready for a fight?”
Julian looks at me oddly.
I turn back to Mario to see what I’m missing. He’s staring at me with a look of… awe on his face.
“What?” I snap.
“They’re here for you, Beast, because they respect you more than they respect the Don. They all think this shit is sick. We didn’t get into the life for this.”
This hits me hard. I always thought I was a loner.
“Guess you’ve got more friends than you realized,” Julian says.
I laugh grimly. “Seems that way.”
I drive into the meeting spot: a rundown bar that used to cater to dock workers. My hand ready to draw my gun. The bulletproof vest rests heavily on my body.
When I go inside, I see pistols lined up on a long table. The men sit on the other side of the room, with their hands on the table.
Mario lowers his voice. “They wanted you to know they’re not looking to fight you, Damian.”
I walk to the front of the room, studying the surrounding faces. Some I might’ve expected, and others I wouldn’t have.
“We’re doing this because it’s the right thing,” I snarl. “Because Salvatore has gone too far. We don’t deal in flesh. But before we get started, hear this, know this… if any of you are rats, if any of you are secretly working for that glorified pimp, I will make you regret it. Do you understand?”
They’re not men anymore. They stare at me like terrified children.
“I said,do you fucking understand?”
The men say yes in chorus.
They stand and look at me in a way I don’t like much. Like they’re expecting me to be their new boss. As if they’ve been waiting for someone else to take the lead for a long time.
I’ve never had aspirations to be a leader. But if it means keeping this filth out of this city, what other choice do I have?
CHAPTER 31
DAMIAN
With so many men on our side, we’re able to infiltrate theauctionwithout causing a stir. Julian, Mario, three other men, and I wait on the production balcony of the circular theater. That’s where the sick bastards are holding it. Making a show of it.
We get there early, and our inside men let us in. We wait until the bastards arrive.
Soon, in the darkness surrounding the main stage, Don Salvatore sits with his second-in-command, both of them smoking big, fat cigars. More men watch, some drinking whiskey. Others just stare with hungry eyes at the stage.
