Don Mancini stopped before me. “Keep an eye on Leo for me.”
“You know I will.”
His hand moved to my shoulder, and he gave me a gentle pat.
I almost told him right then and there. Almost blurted it out like I couldn’t contain it within my chest. I was so tired of living withthe deception. It was forbidden and taboo, so all this sneaking around should be exciting…but it wasn’t at all.
It was fucking torture.
Then my eyes shifted back to Francesca.
She gave a slight shake of her head, like she knew.
She fucking knew I was about to explode.
My eyes turned back to his. “I’ll tell you when it’s done.”
I drove with Leo in the passenger seat. Andre and Salvatore were in the back. It was quiet in the car, and then Leo turned on the radio and cranked up the volume. His arm was propped on the armrest, and he leaned toward the window as we watched the landscape pass us by.
The line of SUVs was behind us. It was past sunset, so only a little bit of light was left before the darkness fully took over.
I got tired of the music, so I turned it off.
“What’s your problem?” Leo asked.
“We’re about to blow these guys to pieces. What’s your problem?”
Leo rolled his eyes and looked out the window again.
My sources had told me Warren’s personal address. It sounded like he lived there with his elderly mother. We’d just have to make sure we spared her from the storm of bullets when we took over. He didn’t seem like the kind of guy to care about anyonebut himself, but he was still Sicilian, and to us, family was everything.
We approached the outskirts of Palermo, houses along the road with rolling hills of vineyards and farms.
“Five minutes out,” I said.
The guys started to strap on their vests in the back seat.
Leo didn’t put on a vest, but he grabbed his pistol and placed it on his lap.
“Put on your vest, Leo,” I ordered, already having mine on even though it added an extra twenty pounds to my frame.
He turned to me. “Did my dad tell you to watch me or something?”
“Put on your fucking vest.”
“Cristo…” He grabbed it from the floorboards and put it on. “Happy now?”
Was this what being a parent felt like? Because it sucked.
When we approached the property, it was dark. Like all the lights were out and no one was home. Or at least he wanted us to think that. I pulled the car over on the side of the road, and the rest of the SUVs followed suit. The plan had already been decided before we left, so the guys secured the bomb to the outside gates of the property and detonated the explosion. One of the doors snapped off the hinges and the lock was busted, so we were able to manually tug the other door open.
Armed to the teeth, we marched onto the property and spread out, surrounding the house in the distance. If anyone was home, they knew we were there, so we expected gunfire at any moment.We kept low as we approached, ducking behind statues and trees and pausing as we waited for a response.
“Looks like no one’s home to me,” Leo said as he remained crouched behind the wall.
I peeked over the edge then motioned for the guys to go farther around the rear. They didn’t have the same training that I did from Cosa Nostra, where they utilized tactics employed by the military. I shared my knowledge with them to keep them alive during times like these.
I listened to them break down a door in the rear through the comms.
