Page 86

Chapter

Forty-Four

Sal

The driver answers a call, and we slowly roll to a stop. I know we’re here. I tip my head back ever so slightly and see the base of my driveway. And then a fucking white van careens into the driveway. The urgency sets my teeth on fucking edge. That is not fucking laying low and keeping her head down. What the fuck is she thinking? I move in my seat and Gabriel, with his gun still in my fucking stomach, smacks me and laughs. I don’t even flinch. He telegraphed the slap, and I don’t flinch for pussies with guns. But his dumb as fuck slap knocked the blindfold enough that my right eye is almost all the way exposed. Now I can survey everything. He’s an ugly motherfucker in an off the rack Marshall’s suit.

“Knock it the fuck off, Gabe.”

“It’s Gabriel. What the hell are we waiting for?” He’s not paying attention to me. He’s also a moron who didn’t flip his safety when threatening me.

There’s five guys. I’m in the back so I’ll have to get myself out and then find cover. As we crest the driveway, I see all the men at the front gather around the big man in his own mind and a wisp of red hair. That fucking woman was driving that van. I taught her to be a little stealthier than that but good lord. I shake it off because the front clearing out is a good thing. And Enzo believes a beefed-up protection all around him will save him. Fuck numbers. You need two good guys and a spotter. That’s it. A man in the trees. One in the front. One in the back. That’s it. Hopefully, I have that. If not, then I take as many as I can to meet St. Peter with me.

“Come on. He’s got the bitch in there. Let’s go.” I do flinch at that.

“Mind your fucking manners, Gabe. That’s my wife you’re calling nasty names.”

“So?” Gabe says and the rest of the van goes silent. I say nothing and let my unsaid threat unnerve them all further.

What a fucking whiny piece of shit. But it’s good for me. I can take the five as long as the three I spot at the entrance stay put. If there are snipers, I’m sunk but I can’t think that.

There’s a rattle as we come to a stop and the man driving says, “This is it, Capo.”

“Yes, it is.”

I hear the door slide open. They’ll have to cut my legs if they want me because the moron with the Glock zipped me to the van, not my legs together. Which is why I couldn’t get out of them. And I thank my mother, Christ, and a whole host of angels for his mistake now that they have to cut me loose.

“Let’s go!”

I bellow back, “Relax yourself, the associate with the pistol tied me to the van.” There’s yelling and muttering. And then I hear the sweet sound of a crack of a gun across his cheek. A good pistol whipping puts them in their place every time. I hear and see him with my slipped blindfold. He scrambles and a knife comes out. Didn’t know he had a knife, but I’ll take that too.

I listen closely as the front doors to the van close and count in my head. They’re all out except this babbo. He grunts as I make it difficult for him. Without warning, I lean forward, raise my hands over my head and snap back my elbows, popping the lock of the zip ties. My hands are free, but he thinks I was adjusting so he could get a better cut on my feet. It is a shame about this suit, maybe I can have it cleaned. Wouldn’t be the first time a suit of mine got painted red.

He yells, “Boss!” And I answer because that’s what I’ll always be.

“What?”

He smacks my leg like a fly fluttering around. “No. Dante.” Oh, damn, Dante. Didn’t realize it was him. Funny fucker. I hate that this is how he goes out, but he bet on the wrong fucking horse.

He’s sawing at it and as the last little piece of the zip tie is the only thing in place, I kick out, freeing my legs and knocking this asshole down. I crouch and grab his gun. I aim where I know his head is and then whip the entire blindfold off. Without letting my eyes focus, I aim for the head shaped blobs as the sun obscures my vision at the side door of the van.

“Holy fuck.” I hear one of them say. I pop off a couple of shots and watch a man drop. I move to avoid what I know is a bullet coming my way. I stand as best I can after it whizzes by, and Dante’s face appears.

“Thanks for your years of loyal service.” I wink and clip him in the head before he can get me. Bullets fly toward the van as I move my body to the front, thanking God it’s set up like a limo and not a minivan. My body doesn’t do well in tight spaces. I crouch on the other side of the opening to get a good look at the front door fuckers and the other two mooks.

Then two men fall with two very sharp shots. I crouch in the van and look out of the window and see the guards in the front are down.

“Get your ass out here. Our ladies are no longer in a shit storm. It’s a goddamned hurricane.”

Brick.

“Where the fuck have you been, sir?”

“Been waiting on you. Good thing I’ve been trained to be a patient fellow.” He puts his hand out to help me out of the van, and I slap it away.

“Fine. I toss the asshole’s Glock in my bushes. This fucking associate didn’t even have a full round. What you got? Where the fuck is he?”

“Center of the house, dining room. There are seventeen, by Becca’s count. She’s been thermal guessing from the house next door. She’s safe, but they have Poppy and another woman who I assume is your kin. But you should know your wife showed up alone and driving her van.”