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Carlo walks away. I can tell he doesn’t want to deal with this. Even he doesn’t know how to handle my situation, and that’s because none of us ever imagined Renzo would go this far.
Molly’s hand tightens in mine. I stare after Carlo, caught between two worlds. My old life, and the life that’s been thrust on me.
“Go with him.” Her voice is small. She sounds scared, but she’s looking up at me with pure love and determination in her eyes.
“You know what he’s doing, right? It’ll be dangerous.”
“Go with him,” she repeats. “I really, really don’t want you to, but you have to. I don’t think you can live with yourself if you don’t.”
“I’m not the underboss anymore. Renzo made himself clear. Just because he almost died?—”
“Stop being so damn stubborn,” she says and steps in front of me. “This is exactly because Renzo almost died. Can’t you see that? Give yourself permission to fix this and get over your pride, or else you’re going to be miserable for the rest of your life, and I won’t be able to live with myself if that happens.”
“You didn’t do this.”
“Yes, I did, and don’t try to argue right now, you stubborn idiot. Go with Carlo. Do what you have to do. Be the man I know you are. Be the man I fell in love with. When Renzo wakes up, the two of you will make things right. Maybe life won’t be exactly the way it was before, but you’ll fix it the best you can. I can’t let you make this mistake.”
“Molly,” I say, staring into her eyes, and I can tell this is hard for her. She doesn’t want me to get myself killed in this insane revenge mission, but she’s right. I don’t know how I’ll be able to wake up each morning knowing I turned my back on my family when they needed me the most.
“Go,” she says and pushes me gently. “I’ll take your car and stay at Nana’s place until you tell me it’s safe. I’ll even text Allegra and let her know where I’m at, just in case. Go with Carlo. You need this, Saul. Even though I hate it, you need it, and I need you.”
I take a deep breath. Fuck, she’s brave, and she’s right.
“I love you.” I kiss her softly. I don’t know where I’d be without her. Probably in my car, hating myself and making the worst decision imaginable.
“I love you too, which is why you have to do this. Now get moving. Carlo looks like he’s going to burn the whole city down.”
“Not just him,” I say, brushing my thumb across her cheek. I kiss her again before hurrying after my brother.
Carlo nods at me when I get in the passenger seat. I make him wait until Molly drives off before he puts the car in gear.
“Glad you’re with me, bro,” he says, staring straight ahead. “Now, we’ve got some work to do.”
Chapter 36
Saul
It’s a long, bloody night.
Carlo and I rounded up every member of the Rossi and the Rinaldo Famiglias we could gather on short notice and implemented my plan. We split into a few groups and hit multiple Russian fronts and haunts, going in and killing any Bratva member indiscriminately.
They were waiting for us.
Jasha Aslanov is a clever bastard. He knew the moment he pulled the trigger on Renzo, we’d come after him with everything we had. That’s what he wanted all along. The Aslanov Bratva couldn’t stand alone against the combined forces of the Rossi and the Rinaldo Famiglias, not without his Irish counterparts.
It was all designed to even the playing field.
Which is why we avoided all the obvious places.
The thing with waging a war is, I got to know the enemy extremely well. There are half a dozen stores and bars where the bulk of the Aslanov Bratva hangs out, and that’s where Jasha concentrated his forces.
We hit them on the edges. We burned tax offices acting as money laundering fronts, killed lawyers, shot up apartment buildings, ambushed drug dealers, and did everything we could to hurt them without falling right into their trap.
Men died on both sides, but the Russians got it worse.
Sirens blared late into the night, and we gave the Philly PD enough murders to last them a decade.
And in the end, though nothing’s changed, I feel lighter when we park back at the hospital early the next morning. The sun’s rising and visiting hours start in ten minutes.
