Sage is frowning. “I don’t know, but I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest he might be the recipient of the bad drugs,” he says darkly.
“They are bold enough to come to my warehouse in the middle of the day? I don’t like this at all, Sage. I bet Lorenzo has something to do with this,” I growl and stop walking, grabbing my phone and pulling up the surveillance feed.
There’s nothing but snow, and I know there is a problem. I show Sage, and he swears colorfully.
“Fucking Anthony. I knew he was a snake. He always gave off a slimy vibe,” I tell him before pulling up the camera nobody knows about but me. Much like the one in my office, this one is placed in an inconspicuous item. In this case, it looks like a chemistry book, one of many on the shelves close to the chemist’s workspace.
“I’m sorry, Tori, I thought he was trustworthy. I worked with him before your dad found me. Two kids just trying to get by. I thought he would be loyal for a steady, generous, and reliable paycheck.” I hear the regret in Sage’s voice because he knows what is about to befall Anthony.
Unfortunately, this camera only points in one direction, toward his workspace, but it does pick up all sound, and we can both hear Anthony betray us loud and clear.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” he hisses to his visitor.
“We need a new batch. We are out of the one you supplied us. We need way more product than you’ve been providing.” The man’s voice is deep, and he sounds annoyed.
“I can’t produce more at once, I told you that. The Russos would question why I need more ingredients so quickly,especially Sage. He knows exactly what it takes to make their supply. If you want more, then you’re going to have to supply the ingredients.” Anthony’s nasally voice grates on my nerves.
“Mr. Russo assured Mr. Maricuso that you would be able to provide us with another batch. Now I suggest you quit whining and get on with it. We want it within twenty-four hours.”
“What? I can’t rush the process. It’s dangerous,” Anthony argues, and I hear the panic in his voice.
And just like that, I have the proof I need. Lorenzo is working with the Maricuso family. I just need to find the warehouse holding the trafficking victims, and I can be done with the sorry excuse of an uncle for good.
“Maricuso. I knew he was going to be a thorn in our side. Fucking Penelope probably set this whole thing up. She wasn’t happy with what she received from Dad’s will, neither was Lorenzo. Those backstabbing family betraying snakes,” I hiss, closing the camera app and shoving my phone into my pocket. “Let’s go break up this little tête-à-tête,” I tell Sage, reaching for my gun.
Sage pulls his own from his back holster, and we march toward the front door. The good thing about the security cameras being off is that they won’t even see us coming.
“I’m even more determined to check out the warehouse tonight. I want to be done with Lorenzo, then we can focus on the Maricusos. It’s time they learned that the Russos are not going to give up. Our territory has been ours for generations. We aren’t letting it go without a fight.”
“Okay, take a deep breath,” Sage tells me as I reach for the handle. “Where is the cool, calm, deadly angel of death? You’re going to get hurt if you go in there with a head full of steam.”
I do as he says, letting all my anger and emotions drift away until I feel nothing but the cold, blazing chill of violence. “Let’s do this.”
Chapter Eighteen
Sage and I stealthily enter the warehouse. There is a small outer office before the rest of the warehouse opens up. It isn’t large, just big enough to store all the ingredients the chemist needs and a workstation. It’s also kept dry by an impressive exhaust system, since humidity can fuck with the product, or so Sage tells me. There are no windows, but the warehouse is well lit.
“I’m pretty sure if we go barging in there, that guy is going to start shooting willy-nilly, and that would not be good around all those chemicals,” Sage cautions me, putting a hand on my arm to stop me from doing exactly that.
“So what do you suggest?” I ask, praying for patience. I really was going to go in guns blazing, so I’m glad he stopped me.
“How about we flick the breaker on the lights? The box is just there.” He points out the circuit breakers on the wall. “Anthony will come out to check it, and I can capture him while you sneak in under the cover of darkness and get the other guy.”
“They won’t be suspicious?” I ask, and he shakes his head.
“No, he called me the other day, telling me the grid has been unstable, and I promised to get him some generators, whichshould be arriving tomorrow. He needs stable electricity so the cooking process doesn’t get interrupted.”
“Do it,” I agree. “Just knock Anthony out. I want to question him before we kill him.”
Sage moves quietly over to the box, opens it, and flicks the breaker. We are plunged into darkness. I hear him move toward the door, preparing to ambush Anthony when he leaves. I do the same thing so I can slip out behind him and take care of the other guy. Do I want to question him too? I think I have all the information I need from him from the video feed. Excitement starts to rush through my veins as I pull my knife out and open it. The door leading into the warehouse opens, and Anthony comes out, cursing up a storm. I trust Sage to take care of him, so I creep into the warehouse.
I move around the perimeter of the building, hugging the walls and weaving in and out of barrels of chemicals and shelves.
“Hurry up, I don’t have all day,” Maricuso’s man calls to our slimy chemist.
Luckily for me, he is looking at his phone, and the light from it shows me exactly where he is standing. I creep forward, thankful for the rubber soles on my heels, until I’m directly behind the guy.
He must feel my movement, because at the last moment, he starts to spin around, but it’s too late. I whip out my hand and draw my knife across his throat, pushing down hard. His shout turns into a gurgle, and he drops his phone, clasping his neck just as the lights turn back on. I watch with satisfaction as blood coats his hands as he tries to stem the flow. It’s no use, I made sure to cut deeply and get all the necessary vessels to make his death quick and painful.
