We take all the men who are in the mansion, all of them ready for battle. By the time we reach our destination, it’s dark outside and easy to blend into the night. Will it be helpful? I’m not sure.
Nico pulls some weapons from the backpack in his car. He passes me a machine gun before he takes one, and I follow him inside the strip club. The place is half empty, but upon seeing us all, the men stand, reaching for their weapons. Nico raises his gun in the air before bullets fly, making everyone stop in their tracks.
“If any one of you moves, you’ll end with a bullet between his eyes.” He looks at everyone in the room. “Good. Now that we have your attention, which of you has contact with Mario? I need some answers, and if that person shows themself, I will reward them properly.”
I wait for anyone to move, but they’re like trained dogs until one of the men in the back starts to fidget and look for a way toescape. In the blink of an eye, the man sprints away. I ignore the commotion and run after him, gunfire exploding behind me.
He’s quick, but I’m quicker. I reach him just before he’s about to exit onto the street. I grab his shirt and throw him against the wall. He whimpers as he falls onto the floor, and I pick him up and get him into one of the cars waiting in front of the club.
A few minutes later, Nico exits, followed by his men. “You got him?”
I signal to the car. “Ready for questioning.”
“Where to, boss?” Mack asks.
He smirks. “To purgatory.”
I raise my eyebrows. “What now?”
He smiles. “How do you think I manage to keep all of them in line?”
I raise my eyebrows. “By cleansing them of their sins?”
He opens the door and turns to me. “You should try it sometime; the results are unpredictable.”
I shake my head. If whatever he says works, I’ll be glad to help. Every minute that passes and Valentina isn't safe, I’m ready to hurt anyone if that will help me find her.
I fear that she's lying somewhere hurt, looking for a way out without success. I want her in my arms so I can tell her how I feel. I promise I will make our marriage work better than before as soon as I have her back.
The car stops in front of an old warehouse in an abandoned industrial area. We exit the car, and Mack grabs the whimpering guy we picked up.
“I want him stripped and hanging,” Nico orders before stepping before me, and Mack nods in agreement. He turns toward me. “He is our only lead. Both of us are too involved. I suggest we let Max handle the questioning.”
I clench my jaw. This isn’t how I expected things to go, but knowing he’s right, I nod before I follow him inside.
“Make him talk, but make it quick. We don’t have time for this shit,” Nico orders and leans against the wall. I do the same, and we watch Max in his element. I would do it better. I would have lost it for not getting information out of him at the first try.
It takes Max close to an hour before the bastard spills the information we need. “And how many of you are involved?” Nico asks.
“Maybe eight more men,” he stutters, blood spilling from his mouth. “Other than the men in the club.”
“Who is Mario’s connection outside?” He shakes his head. “You’d better talk, or I swear I’m going to make you die a thousand times before I end you, and you will find out why this place is called purgatory.”
“They never told me what their plans were. I’m just a messenger,” he pleads.
“Talk!”
He looks at me, his bloodied eyes barely open, then at Nico. “I was never supposed to know who he was, but I waited until I saw him. It was Federico Sabatini. We all know because there is a ten-million-dollar bounty on his head.”
My blood runs ice cold. After all this time, he’s here, hiding, waiting, and planning our demise. How the hell did we miss this? We missed it because we were too comfortable; we thought we could have it all and no one would touch us.
“He was working with an Albanian guy. He has a place rented two blocks from the strip club.”
Anger rises inside my chest. “What else?” Nico roars and moves toward him.
He shakes his head. “I swear that’s it. I don't know anything else. Please let me go. I will not tell anyone…” He doesn’t get to finish before Nico slices his throat.
“You shouldn’t have killed him. He might have known something else. Like the address.” I shake my head.
