Nicolo’s smug grin wears me down further, but I keep my mouth shut. Nario sends him a warning glance, but it makes no difference. At least, he moves on by addressing Marcus and me. “It’s pretty silent. Nicolo confirmed the wife is there. However, it’s not his sister, or if it is, they’re certainly…close. We think he smuggled in his mistress under the guise of sister. Not sure why the wife is accepting it, or if she realizes exactly what’s going on.”
“When I saw them going at it, they seemed to be hiding it. Whether from the wife or guards, I’m not sure. Either way, it’s a potential weakness,” Nicolo adds. “Inside, there’s one guard. He seems…not very attentive. Mostly on his phone.”
“And on the outside, there have been two to three guards. When they overlap, it’s three, but consistently, it's only two. Ithink it would be easy enough to break in and grab the asshole. Maybe the women too.”
Nario sneers at the house, and I’m somewhat taken aback by the viciousness. Then again, if this person is responsible for betraying the Amatos, it makes sense. The Council certainly has blended well. A small burst of pride goes through me, but I keep my facial features locked down. I don’t want the twins to report back that I’m not taking this seriously.
“Alright. We’ll take a shift and verify the guards’ pattern. Hopefully, we can then make a move. Tennant could use cheering up, and I want any information that can lead us to Roman and Lio.” The twins murmur an agreement before leaving so quietly it was like they were never here. Antonio certainly did a good job training them.
“Do you want me to get closer?” I ask after half an hour, jolting Marcus from wherever his thoughts were.
He turns toward me, his mouth slightly open in shock, but I stare back levelly. If anything, I’m somewhat amused. I promised I’d be at the Council’s disposal, but perhaps he didn’t think I really meant it.
Clearing his throat, he seems to be trying to find the right words. I wait patiently before he manages, “Uh. Isn’t that…a tad dangerous?”
Keeping myself steady, I try not to snap, but it’s fucking hard. Gently, I reply, “Marcus, I’m no longer Il Padrone. I don’t rate protection. If anything, you should be protected. If you’re not Carter’s Second, I’m sure you’re up there. And I really don’t need to explain to the Council—and Carter especially—that I let you get injured on my watch.”
Movement catches our attention, and we both turn back to the house, Marcus looking grateful that he doesn’t have to respond. I roll my eyes. He’s going to have to get over theidea that I need protecting anymore. I have faith he’ll get there though. He’s War. Strategy comes naturally to him.
“That…doesn’t look right,” Marcus mutters. I murmur an agreement. It appears the changing of the guards is not quite right. Instead of one vehicle entering, there are two. In fact… “Fuck, that’s Cecily.”
My hand automatically goes to the car door handle, before I forcefully wrench it back, clenching my hands into fists. “Fuck. This…this is not good. What’s your protocol?”
“Protocol?” Marcus looks at me in confusion, and I scrub my face in aggravation.
Dropping my hands, I force myself to calm down. “Who do you report to? You said this was viewing only, right? Who do you contact to let them know we have a target on the ground? And what looks to be…fuck, six additional guards.”
“It was Leandro who gave the order, but…shit,” Marcus mutters. “We could still grab her…”
Those were not the words I wanted to hear. Shaking my head, I retort, “Nope. You know where Leandro is in the hierarchy. Our intel on him is solid, and we don’t fuck with him. Call him instead of going against his command.”
Marcus looks like he’s going to argue, but he’s used to submitting to me, so he subsides. I’ll feel guilty about that later, but I really did save him this time. One of the reasons Antonio is best friends with Marcus is because they can both be…impulsive. I don’t need him ending up on Leandro’s watchlist by countermanding an order, and I’m sure Leandro made it very clear what his expectations were of us.
With quick fingers, Marcus hits a contact on his phone. It barely rings before an annoyed voice answers,“What is it?”
Wincing, Marcus says, “We have an issue. Although, it's more of an opportunity.”
The silence is disturbing, but eventually, there’s a sigh and Leandro mutters,“Patching Carter in now.”
“What’s going on?”There’s such strength in those three words, that I feel sorry for Cristian. That is not a man to run over, and I have a feeling my friend did exactly that.
“We’re staking out the safehouse, but Cecily showed up with six guards.” Marcus’s announcement is met with chatter moving so fast I can’t keep up.
“Uh, make that eight,” I interrupt and the chatter stops, dead silence taking over. I eye Marcus, who gives me an innocent look and I shake my head. Fuck. It appears the powers-that-be werenotinformed that I’d be here.
“Her tracker isn’t showing up,”Leandro finally breaks in, and I take a much-needed breath, as I have no fucking clue what’s going on.
“Does that mean it’s one of the cars Antonio wasn’t able to tag?” Marcus asks, narrowing his eyes as he studies the vehicle Cecily exited from.
From the way the other guards are circling the property, they’re expecting to find something, which makes me very uncomfortable. “I think these guards are searching for us. They’re covering the property. We’re far enough back that I don’t think we’re at risk, but someone must have caught wind that we’ve been keeping track…”
“Are you blaming Nario and Nicolo?”Antonio snarls through the phone, and I grit my teeth, pain lancing through me that he’d think I’d shift blame to the two men I saved.
“No. I’m saying that somehow the bitch found out we’re sniffing around. We need to get out of here.”
“Are you sure we can’t get a tracker on her vehicle beforehand?” Marcus stares at me, and I hesitate, because fuck, that would be helpful.
“We could try…but it would be a risk.” Doubt colors my voice.
