Cruel King of New York Book Description
Chapter One
Caleb
“Give the order, Massimo,” I hiss through gritted teeth, keeping my rifle trained on the old prick in the chair. Our sniper team is a mile away. We are on the top floor of an abandoned building with a perfect vantage point and an unobstructed view of the shit going down by the ocean. Gia glances at me briefly from her position at my left side. Sheer terror is written all over her face and I share her concern. Cruz holds a gun to my twin’s brow while Joshua presses the muzzle of his gun into that backstabbingbastardo’schest. Primo Greco—Massimo’s brother recently resurrected from the grave—has just declared his intent, and our president needs to get his shit together and give the order, now.
I understand his shock, but delaying too long could cost us a lot of lives.
“Massimo.” Fiero lifts his head from my right, staring his best buddy down. “Do it now before it’s too late.”
There are twenty-one sharpshooters on this roof awaiting instruction, and this team was always the ace up our sleeves. That and the additional one thousand men led by the four newly appointed dons to The Commission dotted around the battlescene. They are still in hiding, awaiting the call. If Massimo doesn’t act in two fucking seconds, I’m intervening. I don’t give a fuck about reprimands. We need to end this before we lose our loved ones on the firing line.
Gia and I share a look, and I nod, understanding we’re on the same page without the need for spoken word. Girl has big lady balls, and I love the way she loves my brother. She is everything Joshua deserves and needs.
Don Greco snaps out of wherever he went to in his head, thank fuck. “The old man is mine. You take Primo.” He stares at his buddy before swinging his gaze to me and Gia. “Caleb, you take Calabro. Gia, you’ve got Cruz. Don’t kill him. He needs to be interrogated and punished accordingly.”
Sometimes, I really hate all the bullshit rules. Who cares if he’s a don and it’s the one hard and fast rule? He has betrayed us, and he should die on that field. I’m tempted to riddle him with bullets myself, but today isn’t the day to go rogue. There are too many lives at stake.
Massimo turns to face the rest of the men. “Marrone, watch McDermott. When he runs, stop him, but don’t shoot to kill. Cascio, protect Don Mazzone and Don DiPietro. The rest of you pick enemy targets and take as many of them down as you can.”
Gia briefly clenches her jaw, but it’s the only sign she’s affected. I’m guessing she wants to end Cruz as badly as me, and she wants Liam alive so she can exact revenge. I want that for her too. That fucker doesn’t deserve a quick death. Joshua already stabbed Liam in the thigh and got rid of his weapon, but McDermott is sly, and he’s going to make a run for it as soon as he gets the chance.
“We’ll get him,” I mouth, hoping to reassure her.
She offers me a terse nod.
“Everyone in position,” Massimo says in a calm tone and I’m glad he pulled his head from his ass. We need our level-headedleader now. I ready myself, pointing my weapon at the Barone’s new self-appointed don. That prick gave the order to come after J and me and Rowan and it’s only right I’m the one to end him. “On my order,” Massimo says, lifting his arm, as he waits for everyone to get into position. He quickly updates the key men on the field through our earpiece communicators, so they are forewarned, and issues instructions to the four dons leading our backup teams.
I inhale deeply, keeping my aim locked on my target and my finger curled around the trigger, pulling it when Massimo says, “Now!”
Multiple pops crack through the nighttime air as we fire en masse at the unsuspecting enemy. In the distance, targets drop like flies, and renewed gunfire breaks out on the ground as our backupsoldaticharge forward from four different directions, circling the enemy.
Checking for Joshua, I breathe a sigh of relief to see him unharmed. Cruz is lying on the ground in front of him, incapacitated but not dead. I’m tempted. So fucking tempted, but I shove my personal need for vengeance aside and concentrate on taking as many of the pricks down as I can.
I zone out, blocking out everything but the moving targets in the distance, popping off shots in quickfire succession. Drones drop grenades from above, managed remotely by Mazzone’s tech team. Every loyal man here received an updated tracking chip in the last week with an infrared marker which identifies them as an ally from the air. The team under Capo DiNardo who had switched loyalty to our now-deceased underboss Marino are fair game and I won’t lose any sleep if they get taken down.
They were never going to survive anyway.
You don’t betray ourfamigliaand live to tell the tale.
It’s a virtual bloodbath on the ground, and not for the first time I wish I was in the thick of the action.
Our team works well under Massimo’s supervision, and it’s obvious within minutes we have the upper hand. Our enemy is outnumbered, and the order is clearly given to retreat. I take potshots at the men as they flee toward the ocean and the waiting submarine. Others flee in all directions, chased by our men on the ground and our snipers.
Within twenty minutes, it’s all over.
“Gather your weapons and clean up your area. Don’t leave any empty shells or other evidence,” Massimo says, frowning as he taps on his earpiece and listens to whomever is on the other end. His eyes dart to Fiero.
I clean up fast, tucking everything into my rifle bag before slinging it over my shoulder. “Don’t leave without me,” I tell Gia. “I need a word with Massimo.” I stalk toward where Don Greco and Don Maltese have their heads bent, deep in conversation.
“What’s going on?” I ask, pushing myself in between them.
“Rinascita’s on fire,” Massimo says in a low tone so no one else hears. “They sent in drones with firebombs.” Rinascita is the legit company Massimo and Fiero co-own that operates out of Staten Island and is the front for bringing narcotics into the city.
“Shit.” We had suspected they may target other locations and had put extra men at the docks, but there isn’t much they could do against drones except shoot them from the sky. “How bad is the damage?”
“We don’t know until we get there, but fire crews are working to put it out.”
