“Always.” With a final caress, he left.
The cats took the opportunity to bolt through the cracked bedroom door. As I snuggled Grigio close, the loft door opened and closed. Gone. The mobster was gone. The monster gone out to play. This was what being with a man like Vincenzo meant. Temporary goodbyes, periods of uncertainty, and long waits until a reunion. I wanted that once.
“Maybe I’m crazy enough to want it again,” I whispered to the cat.
The tiny beast only yowled loudly for some food.
Chapter 41 – Vincenzo
The purr of the bike faded as I cut the engine. Night wrapped around me in a blanket of secrets. Death permeated the air. Destruction sped on the breeze. The large pieces of machinery loomed against the black backdrop, and what few lights shown were garish and white against the brutal scene.
From what I could tell, the attack had been repulsed.
I huffed a breath of relief and pushed back on my seat. It would be astronomically stupid to venture into the aftermath unannounced.
But it seemed the green devil already knew I was here.
A black shape strode away from the portable office, cutting a hand through the air for his men to stand down. I pulled the helmet from my head, skin instantly cooled by the moon’s silvery kiss.
“Nice of you to show up,” Liam growled.
My fingers itched for the gun under my jacket. I should have let them kill him. Ultimately, he’d been responsible for the men in the car who’d driven by the bar, pausing to shoot the scum who’d planted a bomb and blown up his face. But as much as I hated him for carrying out this war, it was me who was responsible for keeping my wife safe.
So, Liam McDonagh lived to see another day.
And when I’d been ordered by the don to pass on some valuable intel, I did it in a timely fashion, which clearly tipped the balance in his favor tonight.
“This war has to end.” I tapped my helmet against my bike.
Liam stopped ten feet in front of me. Deep shadows draped over his body, hiding the carnage from the fire. “You think I don’t know that?”
“Don Morelli has a vested interest in seeing you come out on top. We’re going to put an end to this conflict, before the law comes sweeping through here to clean up the streets.”
“You would do that?” he scoffed.
“It’s already done.”
The words were whip, cracking sharply. “We appreciate the tip, but the war’s not over.”
“It is.” I took a deep breath. “Yournewallies won the day.”
Liam bowed his head. “Thank fuck.”
“Don’t thank me just yet,” I said, voice hard. “The don wants this alliance solidified—quickly.”
Liam took a step forward. The building cut a sharp line across his body, a splinter of moonlight falling on his face. That face. I knew he’d been burned, but—
Santa Maria,prega per noi.
“How am I supposed to do that?” The menace in his voice thickened the brogue.
I let my teeth show. “Don’t worry, I’ve already prepared my best man speech.”
Liam cursed violently in Gaeilge.
“The fighting stops tonight.” I lifted my helmet, ready to pull it over my head.
“Oh, and that’s so easy.” Liam spread his arms wide, indicating the battlefield where his dead soldiers were still bleeding into the earth.
