Page 13 of The Vincintis 13

Leon looked at Frost then he looked at Storm, then he paced again.

The men were learning about this man this meant...Plans were running through his head.

John came in with an iPad in his hands. He handed it to Leon and said, “I think they made their first move.”

Leon stared at John then down to the device in his hands. He looked up and took the whole room in his gaze, swearing in his native language, “Sei serio? The minchia stronzo.”

John looked around and explained, “Apparently, Big Mac came back to the boat and found his hostage missing and his boat engine dead. He then called in his men. He went back to the lighthouse and found it empty. He totally destroyed the building but he left a message written in blood.”

“What did it say?” Storm asked.

Leon handed the iPad to him.

Storm read it and handed it around the room. When it came to Jelly Bean she stared at the written words and read them aloud, “I’m done playing, Leon. You will pay with your blood.” Jelly Bean’s hands were shaking when she handed it back to John. “Big Mac knows you have Ricco. He is not a man to mess with. He means every word.”

Frost looked at Ria and shook his head. “Mac will turn over every rock to find him and he will attack everyone he thinks is in on this. Your brother brought a war to Boston.”

Ria nodded. “I know. Our parents would roll over in their graves to know what he did. Our mother was the only daughter in the Gondo family and she never wanted anything to do with the cartel’s business. That’s why we were the poor relations in the family. My dad earned a good living but nowhere near what the cartel did. Ricco was selfish and he turned his back on the family when he went to them for work. He used to taunt our dad saying he was working his fingers to the bone for peanuts, that he couldn’t provide his family with much more and that he should learn to work smarter not harder. My father would just stare at him and tell him that his work was honest at least and that he could look at himself in the mirror every morning and not be ashamed of what he was doing. But Ricco felt entitled, he never felt shame being involved with the cartel drugs and now that entitlement is going to hurt even more people.” She wiped the tears from her cheeks and shook her head. “I think I always knew that his entitlement was going to get people killed one day and now that day is here.” She looked up at Leon.

Leon nodded. “Si, and I will not hide him from what comes next but the war he just started is only the beginning. I have to use what I can to keep from having blood on my streets. This is not your fault. So please don’t think that.”

Ria looked up at him. “I wouldn’t expect you to. Ricco must finally face what he’s done and settle the consequences. Every man has a choice to make and his choices led him here.”

Leon nodded then he strode out of the room.

No one knew what Leon would do yet but they all knew he would protect this city and end this the only way he could.

Storm grabbed his phone and began making calls.

During one particular call, Frost gasped and stared at him then he shook his head. He looked over at Ria and said softly, “He’s calling in every marker he has.”

“Is that bad?” she whispered back.

Frost snorted. “It isn’t good or bad but these people live here too and they want the streets to be safe for them and everyone else.”

Jelly Bean looked at him and asked, “Do you think there’s anything to the rumor that Ricco was thinking about using Jasmine’s mansion for his own place of business?”

Frost shrugged. “It’s possible, isn't it? That house is huge and would be just right to house everyone. Hell, everything there is locked up tight and the cameras will let them know who’s coming in case they have to hide anything.”

Jelly Bean scoffed. “Oh yeah, they can hide behind a locked gate if they have to, but they don’t own the place. Nor do they have the right to even be there. That’s gonna piss off Queen Jasmine-Bitch in a hard way. Someone daring to touch her house and she can’t do a damn thing about it.”

Rebel shook her head, “Don’t you think she won’t try. She’ll have her lawyers on top of things before they even get their foot in the door.”

Jelly Bean snorted. “What lawyers? They work for a living too and she ain’t got no money, honey. She can’t do shit about it.”

Rebel shook her head. “I’ll bet she’s got a plan B. She usually does. And that house means a lot more to her than her family ever could. She’s got a plan, you just wait and see.”

Jelly Bean stared at her sister for a moment then she shook her head. “I’m not taking that bet because you could be right. So if Ricco set up a plan, whoever he gets to go in there might just have a surprise when they open the door.”

Frost looked at Jelly Bean and asked, “You think he told Big Mac about his plans?”

Jelly Bean shrugged. “I’m not sure.”

Storm joined them and he looked from one to the other and said, “We can sit here and speculate or we can go straight to the jackass himself and listen to what he has to say before this gets out of hand. Let’s find Leon and go talk to Ricco.”

They all left the bedroom and found Leon in the security room with John.

Leon turned and waited for them to say something.