Mason is leaning on the door frame with his arms crossed. “We have an aerial view of the warehouse, and our tech guy will be watching with an infrared drone.”
Not liking what I am hearing, I step up to Dimitri. “Anything could happen in that time. It’s already been too long.”
He turns to me and speaks in our tongue. “Cousin, there must be order or lives are lost. Not only here, but in my ranks as well, should Baschini decide to retaliate.” He is aware of what Marley has already been through and it pisses me off that he’s not as ready to go as I am. “I know you are angry, but I am doing everything I can to make this as friendly as possible.”
Anger bubbles in my chest and I fist my hands at my sides as I look at the wedding ring tattoo on his finger. With my teeth clenched, I respond in our language. “I don’t give a fuck about being friendly, Dimitri. And, I don’t care about retaliation, they could be hurting her as we speak. They have already been told to return her, you know as well as I do that if he hasn’t already, he doesn’t plan to.”
We are in a standoff, his gaze moves over my face. I know he is in agreement with me, but he’s a Bratva Captain, he always has been, ensuring the best possible course of action and outcome is as much a part of him as his ruthlessness. “Surely you know the fear that comes with being responsiblefor another, someone you love more than anything.”
He only nods, his eyes locked on mine. After what happened to our families, Dimitri vowed against any emotional ties besides us and his sister. So, when he got married, I was surprised to hear it.
The thought of being able to call Marley my wife sends a thrill through me, but my mind takes it one step further and imagines her with child. My child. Beautiful blond children with blue eyes. My heart starts beating harder with fear so strong that it makes it hard to breathe.
What if I never get that chance?
The familiar feeling of my skin itching and stretching with fury about to boil over moves over my body and I step up to Dimitri. “I have waited long enough. Either we leave together now, or I will go by myself.”
His eyes move between mine for several seconds. He knows I will go without him, and he also knows that my patience is all but gone. He switches back to English. “It could not hurt to go to this place and take a look around. Get our bearings as we decide our next steps.”
Dimitri’s phone buzzes, and he turns away from us to answer it. “Da.”
I listen to the one-sided conversation in our tongue. It sounds like ‘D’ may be in some shit with the Italians. He’s pissed off his boss. From the sounds of it, he was told to forget the girl, but he decided to act on his own.
He turns after he ends the call, looking down at his phone to send a text, and then his eyes find me. “It seems that ‘D’ has been quite the pain in the ass since his release from jail, he has angered some of the wrong people. They have given permission to deal with it, but it is not clear how many men he has with him. I have requested some of our local men to help.”
Mason steps forward. “I can help. I’m familiar with thistype of operation.”
Dimitri shakes his head and holds his hand up when Gray steps forward to argue. “Only my men will go. We will keep this between outfits and take care of the threat to your family.”
“The fuck they will. She is my sister, and I won’t leave her safety in the hands of someone I don’t know.” Mason barks and steps toward Dimitri. With both of their skills in MMA, a part of my brain wonders who would win.
The anger on Dimitri’s face quickly turns to understanding. He is fiercely protective of his own sister, Sasha, who he raised after the death of his mother and brother in Serbia and then his father after we came to America. He won’t let anyone in the outfit near her.
“I understand the need to protect a sister. I also have a sister who is very dear to me, but these men, they will seek retribution if any mistakes are made that leave even one alive.”
Mason’s eyes narrow. “I don’t make mistakes. I’m a sniper, I can keep you all safe from above.”
Dimitri turns to me and lifts his eyebrows. I nod. “He’s saved my ass many times.”
Turning back to Mason, he nods. “Okay, but you have to stay out of sight.” Turning back to me, he gives me a chin lift. “Do I need to worry about you?”
The anger that’s been coursing through me since that fucker grabbed Marley is keeping the fear of what could be happening to her at bay. I know what he is talking about, he doesn’t want me to lose control. “I’ll be fine, but D is mine.”
He only nods and turns to his men to tell them to get ready.
When we get to the warehouse, the sun is high in the sky and hot. I don’t know where Mason is, but I can feel him watching me. We stick to the shadows. The heat has sweatsliding down my back and chest.
The warehouse is close to the shipping ports and is sitting on a large, graveled piece of land. Forklifts are scattered around the building next to pallets of steel sheets, large wooden boxes, and pipes.
Around the edge of the graveled area are trees. Trees up to the river and between the next warehouse about a quarter mile away. The tracking device on Marley’s necklace says she’s in this warehouse and Spits was able to get an aerial view from a satellite. The building is pretty straightforward, just a warehouse.
There are several cars pulled up to one of the bay doors, which is closed, one of which is the black charger. Stupid fuck. Everybody knows you don’t use your personal car for business, but it sounds like he has gone rogue, so he must not have a choice.
Vasilei and I break away from Dimitri. The men he brought with him and two more men who were sent by the local outfit are surrounding the building. I give Vasilei a chin lift before we creep up to the cars sitting in the shade of the trees by the building. I go to D’s Charger and he sneaks up behind the car on the other end of the line of cars.
Dropping to my knee and pulling my backpack off, I pull out cloth and lighter fluid. It feels like old times back in Brooklyn when Vasilei and I worked together. I won’t lie, there is a part of me that misses working with my cousins and the type of danger that world offers.
A thrill runs through me when I pull the cloth out of the bag and start to twist it. Knowing what’s coming next is like a balm to the biggest fucking itch imaginable inside my head. I don’t even realize I’m smiling.
