I snap back to reality, shift her aside. Matti drops soundlessly, and Tommy follows.
A window shatters upstairs, glass raining down onto the concrete around us. The screams are louder, the shouting as rapid and loud as the gunfire. I signal Matti and Tommy to follow me around the side of the house up to where the cop cars sit idling.
Matti shoots a look at Siena, specifically at her belly, and shakes his head at me. His entire world has narrowed to protecting her and that baby. Tommy’s no different; he won’t pry his hands off Giovanna long enough to even look at me and see my signal.
I get it. I do. But we’re in the middle of a God damn war, and I need to know who found our safe house and why.
“Take the women.” I shove Sophie toward my brothers. She stumbles, and Siena glares at me.
I roll my eyes, catch Sophie’s elbow, pull her back. She looks scared, but fuck, this isn’t the time for fucking feelings. “Put your fucking shoes on, and go with them.”
She obeys without a word, darting one quick glance at me before falling in line behind Matti, Tommy, and the girls. I watch as they head down the hill until they vanish into the darkness.
Even with the chaos exploding around me, even as my brain catalogs threats and tactical exit, Sophie’s ass commands a split second of my complete attention.
Once they’re gone, I hug the wall and slip around to the side of the house. The two cops are arguing, one whiny and one irritated. Both voices are familiar, but the irritated one I definitely recognize.
“We shouldn’t even be here right now. Did Aurelio sanction this?” The whiny one sounds like he’s about to shit himself.
Fucking Aurelio. Definitely not cops.
“Not your concern, bitch. We got the call. We do the job. That’s all you need to know.”
Another volley of shots erupts from inside, boots thundering across floors.
“VIN DEMONIO!”
My name, bellowed at top volume from inside the house, slams into me like a physical hit. I freeze. Does he see me? I look around carefully but don’t see anyone in the windows or outside other than the clueless fake cops.
No, they’re inside, tearing the place apart, looking for me. But that means this isn’t a random hit on the family. This is targeted, and I’m at the center of that target.
Outside, one of the fake cops yells toward the house. “You didn’t find him?”
Crashes sound from inside, furniture smashing. My name again: “VIN DEMONIO!”
“If Vin gets out of here alive, we’re dead.” The whiny one sounds close to hyperventilating.
I step out from the shadows and drop into a shooting stance. “You’re already dead, fucker.”
I put two rounds in his head before he can turn, and he drops like a bag of cement.
I pivot, set my sights on the second man. Un-fucking-believable. It’s Silk Alessi. I’ve known this piece of shit for years, and he’s definitely no cop.
“You want me dead, you traitorous fuck?” I edge away from the building, putting the cruiser between us.
“It’s not personal, Vin.” His voice loses its edge and shifts to something almost apologetic.
“Fuck youit’s not personal. Who gave the order?”
We’re locked in a standoff, his gun on me and mine on him. My finger tightens on the trigger. If I’m going down, I’m taking this mother fucker with me.
“I don’t know. That’s the truth, Vin. My capos got the call a couple hours ago. They said dress up like cops, break up the party. Then 20 minutes ago you were marked as the primary target.”
Silk’s been on my father’s payroll for a decade, but never on my crew or Matti’s. He runs with the scorched earth squad, Jimmy and Dante’s boys. They only get called when it’s time to burn everything to the ground and salt the fucking earth with the corpses.
I knew Jimmy and Dante stayed loyal to Aurelio when this war kicked off. I didn’t know where Silk’s loyalties landed. Guess I do now.
“Jimmy and Dante handed down the orders? Who the hell’s pulling their strings besides Aurelio?”
