“I know. We’re not pleased about it either, but these are the rules.”
Marino looks like he wants to keep arguing, but he realizes it’s futile. “Very well. I’ll meet you at the rendezvous point,” he says, turning to walk off.
“You’re coming with me. President’s orders.” Joshua shrugs apologetically, and I’m proud of him. He deserves an Oscar for this performance.
Marino looks like he wants to throttle Joshua with his bare hands, and I’m grateful they are going in a van with trusted armedsoldatiso he can’t pull something en route. The Commission used their contacts to hire a ton of military trucks for tonight, and it truly feels like we are going to war.
“Let’s go.” I tug on Caleb’s arm to pull him away.
“Stay safe, broski,” he calls out as I drag him away.
“I love you,” I mouth at Joshua, swallowing back nerves as we walk in opposite directions.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Joshua
We pile out of the back of the truck two blocks from the construction site where Caleb and I took Rizzo and his men down last year. Our meeting point with the Barone scum is just around the corner, only a mile from the warehouse where Gia was held prisoner in December. It’s a vast grassy piece of land adjacent to the ocean. Completely open and exposed with no place to hide. However, it is dark, which offers us advantages as well as our enemy.
Ben, Cristian, and I are holding the fort here while Massimo, Fiero, and Caleb are in position a mile away.
“I think this is a bad plan, Joshua,” the thorn in my side says as we join hundreds of our men heading in the same direction.
“It’s Don Accardi, and you don’t get to question the choices The Commission makes, Marino.” He’s getting on my very last nerve, and I have wanted to kill him every minute of the past two hours. Caleb and I have wanted to slaughter him in cold blood from the moment we had concrete evidence of his betrayal. Fucking backstabbingbastardo.
“It just seems ill-conceived meeting out in the open like this. They could fire on us from above.”
Already taken care of, asshole.
“And risking all members of The Commission is downright crazy,” he adds. I hope it means he isn’t aware of the four members we have added to the board or the fact they are waiting in the wings to strike should we need them.
“We’re here now, and raising objections is futile. It’s going down like this whether you like it or not.”
“At least give me a weapon. I’m a sitting duck otherwise.”
“I will when the time is right.” I turn to eyeball him, schooling my features into a neutral expression. “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t leave you defenseless.” Swallowing bile, I keep the charade up, almost choking on my words as I say, “You’ve been extremely loyal to our family for years, Benedito. I haven’t forgotten, and I’m genuinely sorry it has to be like this. But it’ll be over in a few hours, and things will return to normal.”
He ducks his face to hide a sly smile, but I see it. I have to shove my hands into my pockets to avoid killing him on the spot.
“I’m in position,” Ben says into my earpiece. All our trusted men were given them for communication.
“We’re ready and waiting,” O’Hara says. “We have counted fifty men waiting with Calabro.”
“Any sign of McDermott?” Caleb asks because he knows I can’t risk speaking in front of the traitor.
“Negative,” our stepdad says. “The drones haven’t picked up any activity, either on the ground or in the air.”
All the hairs on the back of my neck lift. This can’t be right. The Barone couldn’t be this stupid to turn up alone. Could they?
“Maybe the Barone were iced out after the failed assassination attempts,” Massimo says, vocalizing my thoughts.
“It’s shady as fuck,” Fiero says. “Be careful.”
“I really disapprove of using a child to force their hand,” Marino says as we approach the grassy piece of land where we’re meeting our enemy.
“We’re speaking their language,” I snap. “Or have you forgotten they tried to assassinate Rowan Mazzone?”
“He’s not a child.”
