When a sudden idea pops into my head, I turn to Declan. “You deal in weapons, right?”
Not knowing where I’m going with this, he slowly nods yes.
“Does that include weaponized drones?”
Tessa had used a basic recon drone tonight with no infrared, only a camera. It’s a mistake I won’t make again.
His violet eyes narrow. “Maybe.”
There was a movie Tessa and I watched one night on Netflix at school when we were bored and couldn’t find anything else that caught our interest. During the movie, the bad guys used drones as weapons, equipping them to explode like bombs when they hit their target. Because they used drones, they coordinated their attack from far away. If we could do something similar, we wouldn’t have to lure Julio or Alejandro out. We’d just need to find their location.
“I think I have an idea, but I’d like to talk to Tessa and Jax about it first.”
Chapter 21
“I’m not asking, Carmine,” I tell the old man on the other end of the phone who has been pissing me off for the last ten minutes with his excuses.
Max and the Rossis had been allied with the two northeast syndicates controlled by Carmine Ricci and Marcellus Barone for the past twenty years. They’re who Max was meeting with when Levine took him and the other capos out, and when the entire shitshow with Andie happened.
Little do Ricci and Barone know, everything is about to change. Declan Levine has already infiltrated their organizations with his own men, much like he did with ours. But this time around, we’ll be allied with Levine, and when Andie is ready, we’ll strike and cut off the heads of the old guard and replace them with others who are loyal to us. Anyone in their organizations who doesn’t like the new changes will get a bullet in the head.
That’s what’ssupposedto happen. But I don’t trust Levine. I don’t trust his intentions, and I certainly don’t fucking trust him with Andie. She may very well be his real daughter, but I can’t stop the niggling doubt in the back of my mind that says he’s using her. For what? I have no idea. Until I find out, Levine is my new best friend, and I will do whatever I have to do to protect Andie. Is this how Rafe felt? This piercing clawing inside of his chest for her? That he would be willing to go against his brothers, be willing to give up everything for her? If so, Rafe, Jax, and I aren’t that different. What Rafe did—how he betrayed us… But isn’t it the same thing I’m doing? Duplicity when weaved like a tangled web is a very tricky thing to navigate.
I cut Carmine off as I walk into the back room in the west wing. “I don’t give a shit. Ortiz came at us knowing full well I would retaliate. Max wouldn’t let that shit slide, and neither will I. And I don’t need your fucking permission or your opinion.”
I can hear the impatience in Carmine’s voice when he says, “We can’t afford to start a war with the cartel, Keane. Levine is who we should be focusing on. Marcellus and I have sent men to help find the girl. Max and Ortiz had a deal, one that will be honored.You’rethe one who fucked up by letting Levine get his hands on her. Perhaps you are not ready to handle the position you now occupy.”
I bite back thefuck youI want to say to that. Marcellus has made it clear that he doesn’t want me taking over as don. His excuses are that I’m too young, too inexperienced, with no blood tie to the Rossi family. Kellan was supposed to be the next in line. He’d been groomed to be the next Rossi don since the day he was born.
I hear a slow exhale over the line as Carmine puffs on one of his fancy cigars. “We’ll find the girl and Rafael. Until we do, send Ortiz a peace offering as an apology from the families with the assurance we are taking care of the matter.”
I’m not giving that piece of shit a damn thing.
Disconnecting the call and pocketing my phone, I blow out an irritated breath. “You okay?” I ask Jax.
Hollis is finishing up a stitch on his shoulder where a bullet grazed him. Hollis has been on the Rossi payroll for a while. He’s a private practice cosmetic surgeon who asks no questions and is paid very well to look the other way.
Jax tips back the bottle of vodka he’s holding, chugging a generous amount to help numb the pain.
“He’s almost done.” He looks at Hollis, and I swear the guy’s hands shake when Jax stares at him. “Right?”
“Yep,” Hollis answers, cutting the thread and applying some ointment and a gauze bandage over the stitches. “Keep it dry for a few days. The stitches will dissolve on their own over time. You know the drill about signs of infection.”
Jax stands up, shrugging the stiffness from his shoulder and cracking his neck.
I pull Jax in and grip the back of his head, touching our foreheads together. “Glad you’re okay, man.”
I can’t lose another brother.
“How’s Enzo?” Jax inquires, reaching behind him to grab his shirt and pull it over his head.
Enzo is in the next room, sleeping. I’d checked on him earlier and only left him when Carmine called. Hollis was able to remove the bullet from Enzo’s hip. Through and through with no injury to anything vital, thank God, but he’ll be out of commission for a few weeks.
“Sleeping. Hollis gave him the good shit, so his ass will be knocked out for a while.” Turning to the doctor, I thank him.
“Call me if anything else comes up. I left enough pain meds and antibiotics to last a month,” he replies as I hand him an envelope full of cash. Hollis gives us a nod and promptly leaves. Dante is waiting outside in the hall to escort him to his car.
“Carmine and Marcellus are sending men to find Andie.”
