Falcon was right, and Tim did not re-enlist. We all kept an eye on him when he was with us, and to this day, he still keeps in touch.
We all learned that day that there is more to Bull than meets the eye.
Chapter 7
Wolfie, The Protector
Wire
The guys are already in the boardroom when I get there. I make a short detour to my office and bring up the security cameras at Remmi’s house to check in. I’m just in time to see Remmi going out the back door and setting the alarm, just like I taught her, with Wolfie by her side. They go into her workshop, and I hear the beep on my phone to let me know she’s locked herself in.
Now that I know Remmi’s okay, I head into the boardroom to meet the others, taking my phone with me and opening the app so I can keep an eye on her.
“Decided to join us?” Phoenix asks with a grin.
“I could remind you of the ‘Phoenix and Kailyn early days,’” I return, raising my brows. Phoenix was never away from Kailyn for very long, and Kailyn works in the office at Storm. He was a possessive and overprotective bastard. He’s eased up somewhat, but not much has changed.
Rebel chuckles, and Bull turns his head to avoid having Phoenix see his smirk. Falcon shakes his head. “Can we get started?” he asks.
I take my place behind the computer we have set up in the boardroom. Falcon gave me the files a couple of days ago. I put together the preliminary information needed to get started and bring the first case up on the screen.
Rebel sits next to me with Bull next to him. Phoenix takes a chair on the other side of me, while Falcon remains standing. “Give us what you’ve got,” Falcon says with a nod of his head.
The photo of Vito Di Mille is up on the screen. “Meet the most notorious crime boss in Italy. He is responsible for over fifty deaths that we know about. He’s got more political power than the Italian government. As a matter of fact, he has all the top officials in his pocket. Vito runs a very lucrative arms business and supplies guns and ammo to various guerrilla leaders in South America. It’s not uncommon for someone to take a hit out on Vito. There have been several attempts on his life, all unsuccessful, as you can see,” I tell them.
“I can’t see the world being any worse off without Vito in it,” Bull says with a snort of derision.
“If this was about Vito.” I add a picture of a dark-haired woman dressed casually in jeans and a white shirt. She looks to be in her early thirties and is holding the hand of a young boy about five years old. “This is Maria Sepia and her son, Franco. Maria was Vito’s mistress. Franco is the love child of Vito Di Mille, but Vito doesn’t even know he exists because after he found out Maria was pregnant, he told her to get rid of it.”
“That’s fucked up!” Phoenix says in disgust.
“Totally!” Rebel adds.
“Well, Maria decided to leave instead and headed to London. She knew that her baby would never be safe if anyone found out he was Vito’s son. Illegitimate or not, if Vito’s enemies thought for a second that they could get use this kid for leverage, they’d take him,” I tell them.
I let Falcon take over from here. “Maria Sepia contacted me the other day. She heard about Storm through a coworker whose husband served in the army a few years ago. She’s been moving around England, changing cities every year or two. She’s kept a low profile and stays out of sight. Maria was doing well until six months ago, when she noticed a dark blue SUV parked across the street from her flat. When the car showed up for three days straight, she took off with Franco and has been running ever since. It seems every time she settles somewhere, she gets the feeling that someone is watching them,” Falcon says.
“Christ!” Rebel curses under his breath.
“How do we know it’s not Vito’s men? Maybe he discovered he has a son and wants to know him?” Bull asks.
“It’s possible,” I admit. “He married twice. His first wife died in an unfortunate accident,” I say dryly.
“He killed his first wife,” Phoenix amends.
“There wasn’t enough evidence to charge him, and he’s been married to his second wife for over fifteen years. Lisa and Vito have three children. Gina, Mauricio, and Vita Di Mille are well protected and live on an estate with dozens of guards. Mauricio is the intended heir to Vito’s business. I’m not sure that Franco even knows about his father. And there’s no sign that Vito even knows Franco exists,” Falcon goes on to say.
“Where do we come in?” Rebel asks.
“If we choose to take this on, our job is to get Maria safely tucked away while we find out who’s looking for them and eliminate the threat,” Falcon states.
“How do we get in touch with her?” Bull asks.
“I’ve set up a secure connection. I led her to an untraceable chat room. We have a day to decide. We only connect once a day. The next time we have set up to chat is tomorrow at nine a.m.,” I inform them.
“Before we make that decision, you have to understand the reach that Vito Di Mille has. He’s a dangerous and vicious enemy. If he’s behind this, we could be getting into a Mafia war. We’ll have to move quick and silently. We have to stay in the shadows and not bring any attention to ourselves to keep our families safe,” Falcon says.
Phoenix stares at the photo of Franco. “We can’t just leave them hanging.”
