Page 86 of Bobby

“Okay, listen up.” Danny gets all of our attention as he stands in the middle of the circle that forms around him. “We’ll have two teams: one on the outside and one on the inside. When I give the signal, the power will be cut and we’ll go in. This is a standard two-story home, no basement from what we found. However, there are several rooms on each floor, and we have intel that there’s a panic room on the second floor.”

“How did you find that out?” Liam asks.

“It was part of the listing we found three sales before this last one,” Marco adds. He’s been attached to Danny’s intel team since we boarded the plane. What they knew, he wanted to know at the same time. Danny’s giving him grace, but the side looks he gives him now lets me know that grace will only go so far. But he does nod in agreement with my second’s explanation.

That’s my little brother for you. He doesn’t look back at one sale. He gets all the details. And if someone is stupid enough to mention a panic room in a public listing when probably only the homeowner should know, more power to us.

“The home Trevor is in doesn’t seem to have any connection to him, but we think it belongs to a family friend of Jessica’s. Really, it doesn’t matter. The cell phone pinged to this location, and it hasn’t moved in the last three hours it took us to get over here and set up,” Danny adds before anyone asks another question. Three hours doesn’t give us a lot of time, but it’s enough for his team. They do this on a regular basis.

Danny might have most of his men protecting famiglia assets, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t occasionally take on some outside work for his boys to keep them up-to-date and not bored with just guarding middle-aged men who are in the famiglia simply because of their father’s ties.

“Tommy, you’re with the team outside. Marco and Bobby, you’re inside looking for the girls only. You find Trevor, you don’t engage.”

“Come again?” Marco asks with a look of indignation. I feel the same—no doubt my face reflects it, too, as I take a step closer to my little brother. Perhaps I should remind him that I was born second and he third.

“You heard the man. No touchy,” Liam adds with a shake of his finger.

“Why?” I seethe.

“He’s mine.” Liam grins with all teeth, and I look to my brother for confirmation.

Danny shrugs. “Vinny made the call. It was their only request in exchange for the plane. Liam gets to take him out.”

“You know something we don’t about him?” Tommy asks with a head tilt. There’s not an ounce of anger in his voice, just pure curiosity. It’s why he’s good at his job in the famiglia. He’s curious, and most just think he’s a party animal. The youngest brother who’s only there to have a good time. But he gets more information than most of the men in this room just by asking a simple question here and there.

“Trevor? No.” Liam shakes his head.

“You know of him outside of this?” Tommy keeps pushing.

A one-shoulder shrug from Liam. “No clue what the man even looks like.”

I can’t hold back my own question. “Then why ask for this?” This kill should be mine. At the very least, a Leone’s. Willow is family, after all. And if I have to give Trevor’s death to anyone, I’d rather it stay within the family.

That same dead-eyed look from before comes over Liam. It’s obvious why he’s a Stray when he looks like this. There’s not an ounce of soul in his gaze, just death and vengeance. “Mason ain’t the only one with demons. I might not be able to kill mine, but I can kill those with similar traits.”

Right. So, Mason’s the one to fear? Because the way Liam’s talking, I kind of think maybe he should have stayed on the plane to protect Willow as well.

“As I was saying,” Danny continues, “Marco and Bobby will lead a team of three men to look for the girls. Liam and I will take another team of three to find Trevor. Another team will be in the house to take out anyone we aren’t planning on seeing.”

“Is the wife there?” I ask.

“Trevor filed a two-person manifest a few days ago. Since we know the girls were on that plane, we already know the paperwork is bullshit. What we don't know is whether Jessica was with him or stayed behind. So far, we don’t have eyes on her in New York,” Danny says.

“She’s pregnant,” I add.

“We are aware” is all Danny says as he holds my stare, and I nod. Good. We’re using the same sheet of music.

Pregnant or not, if she was involved in this, she won’t be living a life of luxury once we’re done. She won’t be on the instant-kill list, but if she goes after one of our men, I can’t be sure if she’ll make it out. The priority is the girls’ safety—no one else’s.

“Questions?” Danny looks at his men and then the rest of us. No one says anything, and he nods. That’s all it takes for the teams to load up to the waiting SUVs Danny had on the ready when we arrived.

I don’t look back at the plane. I don’t see if Willow is looking out a window or if she’s even at the door we left open. Once we landed, she stayed on the plane and never stepped off. I prefer it that way. She’s not putting herself in a position to know anything beyond trusting me and the famiglia to take care of it.

Which we will.

The ride to the ranch takes forty minutes. It’s a silent trip, as everyone knows their job.

When we get close, Danny’s team and ours pull off, and we cover the remaining distance by foot, coming up from behind. It’s midafternoon, so there’s nowhere to hide in the sun. We’re banking on surprise that we’re there and nothing else.