Natale’s team took down another two guards with quick, suppressed gunshots to the head. Massimo kicked Julius in the knees and back, flattening the man on his belly. Two others from his team shoved the last living Dimakos guest to the ground and knocked him unconscious. I shot the last guard dead.
I gave a quick look around. There was no movement from the bodies. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Other than Dimakos’ table and the three surrounding it, there wasn’t even a glass or spoon out of place. There were a few blood pools, but nothing that couldn’t be cleaned up quickly. I glanced down at my watch. Four minutes and twenty-two seconds had passed. Not bad at all. Better than planned, yet disappointing in its efficiency.
This was almost too easy a ploy to pull off. I had hoped for more of a fight, or at least a minimum of excitement. After seven years in prison, four days of calm and undisturbed peace and sleep were driving me half-crazed. Sadly, the entertainment was over too soon.
“Everyone alive?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
“We’re good.”
“A little blood’s nothing.”
I mobilized eighteen of us in total, with no casualties. By the looks of it, there was only one injury—a knife slash down an enforcer’s arm—nothing serious.
“Ricco, get Ainsley. She can tend to the wounded.” She might appreciate the practice. Just hearing her name, even if spoken by me, eased a ball of tension in my stomach. I shouldn’t have brought her into this, but it had been the smoothest way to keepJulius’ guard down. If anything had happened to her…I massaged my temples. Nothing had. I pushed her away at the right time. All was well. “Everyone else, let’s get this cleaned up. I want this place spotless in twenty minutes. We take the bodies with us.”
“What do you want us to do with them?” The live ones, Massimo meant.
“We bring them back with us. Interrogate the spare. Try to get something on Ilias from him. I want Julius untouched until noon tomorrow in case Dimakos reaches out.”
“With your permission, Don,” Massimo said, “I’d like to take over the interrogation.”
Seven years ago, Massimo hadn’t been this eager to please. He was a little pudgier than he’d been, now that he was approaching sixty, with quite a few more stress markers around his face. His eye contact was stronger. His posture was straighter. He knew his worth and wasn’t afraid to show it.
“Be my guest, and don’t disappoint. I want Ilias’ latest safe house by tomorrow night. Natale, if the initial interrogation fails, spread the word: ‘Julius loses a finger each night his father keeps quiet.’”
The sooner I took down the Dimakos clan, the sooner I reestablished myself as the rightful don, and the sooner I could decide how to handle these feelings for Ainsley.
Jac and Alfie dragged and carried away our two live prisoners toward the back entrance as our cleanup crew began wrapping up the bodies with speed and efficiency. Within thirty minutes, this place would be crime-free once more. I circled what had been Dimakos’ table and the remaining bodies. Each man here tonight was a member of Dimakos’ mafia faction, except for one.
“Boss,” Ricco cried as he ran toward me. “Boss, she’s not there.”
“What?” I asked absently.
I nudged the head of the man who’d received the carving knife to the face. He looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t recall from where. With his face cut up and stabbed through, I wasn’t even sure if my intuition was accurate, but I was almost certain he didn’t belong.
“Ainsley’s not there. The restrooms are empty.”
I snapped my focus to Ricco. “What do you mean she’s not there?”
“She…she’s just gone.”
It took a few seconds to process that. I scanned the restaurant again. Two captured, eleven bodies. The numbers matched…unless there was someone unaccounted for. She wouldn’t have just left. I dialed her number. My phone rang and rang until her voicemail came up. I tried again, with the same result.
“Well, don’t just stand there. Find her! Now! They can’t have taken her far. Ettore, get this cleaned up and pack up the cars. Head for the Bakersfield safe house. Massimo, get our guests settled. Natale, you’re with me.”
We raced through the restaurant, guns at the ready, to the restrooms. A quick double check. She wasn’t in the stalls or hiding in the cabinets under the sink. There were no windows for her to be stolen away through.
“Anyone see her back in the dining room?”
Noes echoed around.
That left the kitchen and its delivery entrance. Despite the stoves and ovens having been turned off when the staff change occurred, the kitchens remained warm. Our heels tapped in beat as my group jogged down the aisle. My cleaners had their gear and materials spread out over the stainless steel counter space. Immediately, Natale and his men filtered through the area, searching every corner and pantry.
“A woman in a silver dress. Where’d she go?” Natale asked the first person to cross his path.
“Right on to the back.”
