“I love you too.” She brought a hand up to touch my face softly. “So much.”
I felt some of my anger dissipate. Not all, but some, as I leaned in and kissed her. It was a slow kiss, a deep one that I never wanted to end, but it had to. I kept my forehead on hers as I stood up and set her down slowly.
“Don’t leave me,” she whispered, grabbing my shirt. Her broken plea was almost too much to bear.
“I will never leave you. I have to do some things before tomorrow.” I kissed her again. And again. And again. “Everything is going to be okay. I love you. You’re strong and brave, and mine. Remember that.”
“I’m yours,” she said quietly. “Will I see you tomorrow? You’ll be there for me?”
“Always, Principessa.” I kissed her one last time. “Always.”
She nodded, the sad expression never clearing. I wished I could throw her over my shoulder and take her away. Instead, I picked up my Mets cap and took two steps back.
35
ROCCO
I enteredan empty room and locked myself inside as I thought about my next move. What I wanted to do was kill Giuseppe’s guards right now, but that would cause alarm, and we couldn’t have anything fuck up tomorrow’s plan. As it was, we kept the plan close to our chest and only told the people involved. It wasn’t that we didn’t trust our people, but one slip-up was all it would take for the entire thing to come crumbling down. Since Giuseppe was smart and had his men hanging out with ours so they could“become friends and network,”we couldn’t risk it. I didn’t even want to snipe. I wanted to be in the church to protect Lenora, but we didn’t have enough men to do that, and I knew my place was behind that rifle. Petra would be sitting in the third row, where Lenora would stop momentarily. She’d be the one to take Lenora away. If all went according to plan, they’d have no issue getting out of the church and to safety. Nico, Marco, Mattia, and Tony knew the plan. Dean, Gio, and Loren would walk through the main doors and start taking down Giuseppe’s men. He’d brought thirty with him, that we knew of. That was what scared me. Giuseppe was a slimy motherfucker. I needed to split his men up. We needed a plan B. For now, I just needed to get out of there. I pulled out my phone and called Jack. He’d agreed to help me in and out of here. He answered quickly.
“Is it time for our covert mission?”
“In a minute,” I said. “Who did you say your brother was?”
“I didn’t.” I could hear the smile in his voice. I hated when people dragged shit out.
“Are you going to tell me?”
“Harry O’Conner.”
I blinked once, twice, letting it register. “No shit.”
“I told you he was a badass.”
“I’ll call you back in a second.”
As I hung up, I laughed despite myself. Badass was one way to put it. Harry O’Conner had recently become the head of the O’Conner organized crime family. He’d taken the Russians out of Irish territory the first week he got there, which was impressive. He was also an acquaintance of ours. Not a friend, not an enemy. Someone you wanted in your corner, though. As I thought this through, Jack remained silent on the other end of the line. The idea popped into my head like a light bulb in a cartoon. I could ask Harry for help, but I’d owe him a favor if I did, and I hated owing people favors. I leaned my head against the wall and exhaled, as I looked up at the ceiling and thought about what I could offer Harry. My services, for one, but he had enough manpower and didn’t need me.
I could give up Joe Masseria, who had the drug ring on lock, which I knew Harry wanted. I wasn’t sure I wanted to go that route, since Joe was Gio’s dad and he’d stayed true to his word. He’d left the U.S. to us as long as we gave him room to sell drugs. He’d always been against drugs, but when you take over your Colombian wife's cocaine empire, things change. Right now, I’d give Harry just about anything. I pinched the bridge of my nose, aware that I was in a spa surrounded by amazing smells while plotting murder. It was a smart plan, though. As things stood, we’d lose some of our people if O’Conner helped. . .so, I texted the group chat:
Me: EM
Loren: NOW?
Gio: omw
Dean: omw
Dom: right now?
Me: NOW NOW
Loren: omw
Dom: omw
I left the room and called Jack back. “Stay on the phone and let me know if he’s still out there.”
“Got it.” I heard rustling, then more rustling. The door opened. “Oof, taking out the trash is exhausting,” he said. I waited. “Hold on.” I waited some more. “Okay, the coast is clear.”
