“We need him,” I murmured.
Marco cleared his throat. “Salvatore, this is Marco. Does Alessandro have any combat experience?”
“Yes, he does,” Sal replied. “He was in the Italian special forces before he emigrated here.”
“What are the other conditions?” I asked.
“Only that your brother Michael takes Gio’s place while he’s gone. Plus, I have one other task I’d like him to do for me. It’s nothing that will get him in trouble.”
Marco clenched his jaw and nodded once. “All right, Salvatore,” I said. “We accept your conditions.”
“Excellent. I assume you’ll contact me with the details?”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Yes. And Michael will reach out to Gio to prepare him for what has to be done.”
“Very good. I’ll be waiting for your call. Give my best to Aunt Lucia.” And then he was gone.
I closed my eyes. “Christ, I hate business-Salvatore.”
“Is there any other side to him?” Marco asked derisively.
“Yes, there is,” I snapped. “He loaned me his car and driver tonight without me asking. He didn’t have to do that.”
Marco put up his hands in surrender. “All right. I’m sorry. I’m just frustrated with this whole situation. I really hope the mission doesn’t go tits up because we’re pulling this team together at the last minute.”
“All of the people going, except Gio, are experienced in combat situations. They’ll figure it out. Besides, Gabe, Andrea, and Pete will be there. They won’t let it go to shit.”
He nodded slowly. “You’re right.” He pulled out his cell and headed out of the room. “I have to make some calls.”
I stood in the silence, hoping like hell that my faith in my cousin was justified.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
GREG
I watched Tony pack his suitcase, preparing for our trip to Delaware for my sister’s graduation. “Are you sure you’re okay to go? Your father’s only been home from the hospital for five days.”
He stopped what he was doing and turned to face me. He put his hands on my hips and pulled me close. “I cannot wait to get on the road with you. My father is in good hands. He’s been a grumpy asshole—in case you were wondering where Marco got it. That’s why Marco finally sicced Liam on him. Liam is a good nurse, and he won’t put up with my father’s shit just like he doesn’t put up with my brother’s shit.”
I had to laugh. I had seen the way Liam handled Marco’s moodiness, and it was indeed a thing of beauty. Tony’s father had stayed in the hospital for six days. When he finally went home, he’d gotten upset because the family had set up a bedroom for him on the first floor so he wouldn’t have to climb the stairs.
I wasn’t there when it happened, but Liam told me that Tony finally lost it when his father yelled at his mother for putting him on the ground floor like an invalid. His mother had started to cry, and Tony had laid into his father hard about disrespectinghis wife and ignoring all the wonderful things she’d done for him. Apparently, that had shut him up, at least about the bedroom. He still complained about the food, the exercise, the pain, the medications, just about everything else you could think of.
That was when they’d brought in Liam. He’d taken time off from his job at the VNA clinic and taken over full-time care of Tony’s father. The family insisted on paying him for his time, even though he’d offered to do it for free.
“All right, I’ll stop worrying.” I kissed him tenderly. “Finish packing so we can get on the road.”
To be fair, my own anxiety was pretty high at the moment. I hadn’t seen either of my siblings in over a decade. I had no idea how this would go. I’d spoken to Becky a few times, but Ethan had not reached out to me at all. I was doubly glad Tony would be with me in case it all went badly.
Once we got out of the City, the drive to Wilmington, Delaware, was pretty much a straight shot down I-95. The traffic wasn’t too bad since it was mid-morning on a Wednesday, and we made it to our hotel in a little over two hours. Luckily, they let us check in early, so we brought our luggage to the room and went out to get lunch.
While we were waiting for our food, I texted my sister.
We made it to our hotel. We’re having lunch now.
She replied a few minutes later.
That’s great. Ethan’s flight is scheduled to land around three.
