Doesn’t matter. I’m in. I clamber to my feet, leaving the envelope on the floor. Tepid water trickles from the faucet as I splash my face and rinse out my mouth.
My stomach is still roiling, my head pounding dully. But it’s time to get this show on the road. It’s the moment I’ve been waiting for. In just a few hours, I’m going to be facing my brother’s killer.
I have to get ready.
Chapter 11
Mateo Ricci
“We can’t just tackle this thing like a bunch of thugs,” I snap as we get into the waiting vehicle. “What about Andy?”
Dario and Raoul exchange glances. They’ve just arrived together to make sure I get home safely from the hospital. Now they’re talking about what they have in mind for dealing with Whitlock.
“We never said she wouldn’t be protected, Mateo,” Raoul says.
“But you can’t guarantee that you can keep her out of harm’s way, either.”
“There’s no guarantee of anything in this world, brother,” Dario says.
“Yeah? How would you feel if it was Nikki we were talking about now?” I glare at him. Dario has the good grace to look sheepish.
“You’re right,” he admits. “I wouldn’t allow it.”
“Which brings me to another issue, Dario,” I go on. “You have other responsibilities now. You’re a father. About to be a husband. Twins on the way. You have four other people who need you. You have to consider them before you get any deeper into this shit.” I feel like a pussy as I say it, but it is what it is. Life can’t revolve around all this fucking gangster shit.
“But I…” he trails off. He looks over at Raoul, who shrugs.
“He’s right, bro,” the kid says. Though I probably need to stop thinking of him as a kid now. Raoul Caraldi is a man to be reckoned with.
Dario rubs his eyes.
“I’m not stepping away from my duties to this family.”
“You won’t be. You’ll always be key. But we’ll make it so Mateo and I don’t ever have to knock on Nikki’s door and tell her we got her man killed.” Raoul grins at him as he adds, “Because make no mistake, I’m more afraid of that woman than facing fucking Whitlock’s army.”
Dario grimaces. “She’s been getting pretty moody lately. Though she’s horny as fuck, so there’s that.”
Raoul chuckles. “Right. So don’t make this any harder for us. We play it safe. It doesn’t mean you’re stepping out of the game. But frankly, it might be time you gave that some thought.” Dario opens his mouth to object, but Raoul raises a hand. “Let’s not get into that this minute, okay? There are other things to talk about. Like this shit going down with the Irish. We need to take care of it.”
I know what he wants to discuss and I’m digging my heels in.
Raoul wants war.
Whitlock’s new alliance with the Irish mob is hurting business. Ruthless and brutal, they’re voracious in their appetite for violence, and they take no prisoners. They also happen to despise the Italians. Though they probably despise everyone, so it’s not like we’re special or anything.
“Tommy McErlane’s team just hit a shipment coming in from the DRC,” Raoul says. His features darken with anger.
“What was in it?” I ask. It’s not the usual route for drugs and I know Raoul doesn’t traffic in humans.
“Gold. Eight hundred million dollars’ worth of it,” he mutters. “Legitimately sourced, papered, the works. Goddammit.”
“Papered?” Dario frowns at him. “You’re telling me you’re moving legal gold?”
“You got a problem with that?” Raoul stares from Dario to me and then back as if daring one of us to make some kind of joke. It’s not the time. The loss is clearly still too fresh.
“Nope. Just curious about how this all ties together,” I tell him. I’m not lying. I’d like to know.
“Whitlock and McErlane just signed a joint venture that includes Broderick Carter. He was the one who pretty much got Whitlock on track in this business in the first place. He’s probably forgotten more about shady shit than any of us have even learned yet.”
