Page 71 of Sicilian Savior

“They’re cryptic texts, but Victor responded an hour ago that he has “the goods” and Joey can come claim his prize anytime.”

“His prize?”

“That’s what it says. Scrolling back a bit, I’m thinking he’s talking about Lucia. It’s not clear, but I think Victor is giving him Lucia.”

Giving him Lucia?

Why the hell would Victor be handing her over to someone like Joey Ricci? I knew of him like I knew of Victor from my time in the Elite Stealth Force, but other than the fact he was a bad dude, I didn’t pay attention to much else. But the fact he may be here to claim Lucia was enough to make him public enemy number one.

“I need to take them out before they get inside,” I concluded. “I’ve got three bodies in his car, and Victor makes four. If I move quick, I can put them down before they ever set foot in the house.”

“I’m hacking the navigation system now to see if I can access the car microphone. Hold steady,” Wes said.

My muscles twitched at the ready as Wes typed away. A few moments later, I heard men’s voices in my earpiece.

“Fuck Victor,” one man said. “It’s about time his smarmy ass got what was coming to him. Think he knows what’s up?”

“No. He thinks I made a deal with him,” another man said. “He gives me the woman, and I help him with the Vitalis. He really thinks that the Vitalis would want his kid in exchange for letting him live.” The man chuckled. “He’s a fucking idiot. They don’t give a shit about his kid. They want him, and only him. Tonight, we put down Victor like the lame horse he is and send proof of his death, and the Vitalis will repay me by giving me Victor’s shares in Sicily.”

“So, what’s the plan? We go in acting like pals, then just pop a cap in him?”

A long silence passed, then finally, the second man said, “I’ll start talking to him, and you take him down.”

A third voice asked, “What about the woman and the kid? You really taking her?”

Another long silence that felt like an eternity as my heart drummed in my chest.

“Just put them all down. Too much liability. Maria will never come willingly without the kid, and I don’t need the extra headache. Let’s not leave any witnesses, though it’s a shame to get rid of a woman that beautiful. Make it quick, though. No need for them to suffer.”

If I’d had fangs, they’d have sliced through my gums with the snarl that curled up my lip. Victor faded away as priority one... a new target took center stage in my sights.

“You get all that?” Wes asked, the disgust thick in his voice.

“Loud and clear.”

“Make it hurt,” Wes said, mirroring my thoughts.

Narrowing my eyes, I slipped my monocular back into my cargo pocket. “Roger that.”

I moved so quietly through the bushes, I knew they’d never heard me coming. After positioning myself as close to the car as I could, I glanced back at the house to make sure Victor wasn’t looking out the window. These guys would never make it inside to the meeting, and I didn’t need him catching wind of me before I was ready.

Realizing I should avoid a muzzle flash, I slipped my pistol into the holster and pulled out my tactical knife. Gripping it tightly, I crept along through the darkness to the back of the SUV.

First the driver, then the man in the backseat, and then finally, Joey fucking kid-killing Ricci would go last. And slow.

I waited until I heard the doors start to open. I’d have to be quick... lightning fast. If one of them got a shot off, Victor might grab Lucia or Luca and hold them hostage. I didn’t need him aware of the bloodbath that was about to cover his front yard.

The driver got out first, and I pressed myself to the back of the car. When he came walking around the back, I reached out, muzzling his mouth while I pushed my serrated knife into the back of his neck. “Disconnecting the computer” we liked to call the hit that severed the spine and cut off all communication to the head. An instant and silent death.

The other two started walking toward the house, completely unaware the man coming up behind them wasn’t their third. It was me, and fires burned inside my eyes as I stalked them.

The second man, the one whose job was to kill Victor and my family, jerked once when my knife slipped between his vertebrae. His body sagged in an instant, and I caught his dead weight to muffle the sound of his fall. I slid him to the ground, my long stride pushing me right up behind Joey fucking kid-killing Ricci.

I tapped his shoulder.

“What?” he said, glancing over his shoulder.

When he saw my eyes burning back at him instead of his friend’s, he opened his mouth to scream. I didn’t give him the option, quickly sticking my knife into his throat at just the right angle to puncture his voice box. When I pulled it out, his hands flew to his throat with his airy gasps.