“Good because this has to end.” Francine sucked in a sharp breath, sorrow lacing her words as she continued. “And I’m terrified that none of you will make it through if you don’t work together.”
My eyes shuttered closed, her statement like a sledgehammer to the chest because I knew she was right. I’d hoped we could pick them off one night at a time until there was barely anyone to guard the crime boss, but he wasn’t taking the bait. He didn’t underestimate us like Tommaso had.
“You’re right.”
“Good, we’ll see you when you get back. We can call him together.”
She always knew exactly what each one of us needed. “It’s a deal.”
We said our goodbyes as we pulled up to the motel.
“Ready to win an Oscar?” Spade put the van in park and winked over his shoulder.
I couldn’t help but smile as I nodded. Moisture already pooled in my eyes from our conversation with Francine, so I just pulled on those same heartstrings, letting a few tears roll down my cheeks.
“Perfect.” Merrick cupped the back of my head, bringing his lips to mine in a tender kiss.
Any trace of softness was wiped from his expression as he opened the door and helped me out. He was good. I wiped away the tears as I got out of the van, sniffling before I straightened my spine and marched alongside my guys. Josh met us halfway, fury turning his cheeks red as he gestured us to the closest of five ambulances.
Smoke billowed off the charred motel; the entire side closest to us was covered in soot, the roof half collapsed, and the walls were missing large chunks where the fire had burned them to ash. The caution tape was still up, but firefighters were assisting the paramedics wheeling out body bags to them on gurneys.
“I spoke with the supervisor and had them bring out more body bags to make it look realistic. The firefighters are stuffing them with anything that would resemble the size of a body.” A leaden weight sank to the depths of my stomach at the sight of the ambulances loading up the fake bodies and driving off. Others returned, and the cycle started again.
This could’ve been real. We could’ve lost hundreds of our friends and families if Lorenzo had given up the info Francinegave him. I exhaled a deep breath and rubbed at the center of my chest, trying to ease away the tightness that grew every moment I watched the burned-out husk of the motel.
I could hear the guys talking around me, but their words didn’t filter in through the pounding of my frantic heart. I dragged in a deep breath through my nose and held it for a few seconds before expelling it through my lips. A warm hand clasped mine, and I held onto it like it was a lifeline. An arm wrapped around my shoulders while a second hand gripped my free one. All three of my guys were here—helping me, supporting me.
The tension eased away as I kept the same breathing pattern and when I opened my eyes, my three men were surrounding me, cocooning me in from the horrors just beyond them. Josh was long gone, it was only us and the empty ambulance we stood behind. Merrick ushered me to the side and when I took in the remains of the motel it didn’t cause that same flare of crushing anxiety weighing on my chest like an anvil.
“I’m good,” I said, but Merrick only pulled me closer into his chest.
“Josh has everything handled,” Kellan said as he and Spade closed in around us once again. “They used the emergency cash to bribe the emergency workers into helping us.”
“Good thinking, leaving that cash with the security team, sugar.” Spade winked, his fingers twining with mine. Despite the control I had over my emotions now, I knew they needed to touch me just as much as I loved having them close.
“We’ll stay for a few more minutes to keep up appearances and then we’ll head back to the house.” Kellan squeezed my hand before letting go. “I’ll go speak with the staff. We’ll need to make sure their system shows the correct number of people the paramedics are transporting.”
He gave me one last lingering look, like walking away was the last thing he wanted to do before he forced his feet to move.
The fear that had shredded my insides with its icy claws had finally receded, the burning fury in my chest chasing it away. It only grew with every moment we watched the body bags get loaded into the ambulances. Angelo was growing bolder, and it was only a matter of time until he found the right place and we’d have the deaths of potentially hundreds of people on our consciences.
Kellan nodded as he rejoined us, and we made our way back to the van. My spine steeled with every step we took. No doubt this was what he wanted. He wanted to enrage us into acting without thought while making a statement to the town at the same time, but his plan backfired.
No. We were going to contact the son whose knife was ready to plunge into his father’s back at a moment’s notice. And he deserved nothing less than the bloody death that was in store for him.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Giana
Thefrontdoorcrashedopen the moment we pulled into the driveway, Sophia and Francine spilling out onto the front porch. Merrick swung open the van door, and by the time he was helping me out of the back, the two women were surrounding me, their arms wrapping me in a tight embrace. I allowed myself a moment to sink into their comforting warmth before I pulled away, steeling myself for what had to come.
“Let’s get inside.” Merrick slung his arm over my shoulders, warily glancing around the property like Angelo’s men might be hiding behind any corner.
Sebastian and Zane led the rest of us back into the house as we all crowded onto the few sofas in the living room. Spade pulled me onto his lap, earning himself narrowed looks from Merrickand Kellan as they sat on either side of us. Francine took the plush armchair while Sebastian and Zane took the two ends of the other couch, leaving the middle open. Sophia eyed the free seat and rolled her eyes before she leaned up against the wall, clearly not willing to put herself between the two men.
Tension radiated through the room as the silence became a palpable force. I broke it, filling the others in on what happened at the motel and the casualties that the paramedics and firefighters pretended to cart away.
“So when are we calling Lorenzo?” Francine crossed her arms over her chest and gave us a haughty smile.
