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"Goodbye, Primo," Alessa said.
I saw it the second before she twisted, and aimed for Primo's carotid.
A pocket knife.
But the bastard was fast, grabbing her wrist with his uncuffed one.
She didn't cry out, but I could hear the way her breath caught as he squeezed her wrist until his fingers went white, and the knife fell from her hand.
"Stubborn-ass, you're just making it harder on yourself," Primo said, but with no actual heat in his words. "Two hours," he repeated to the camera. "And don't bother trying to show up in force. Only the core Costa and Morelli Family members are going to get on the same block as me," he warned. "Santi," he called, dragging my attention off of Alessa. "I don't want to kill her, but I will. So keep your brother in check."
And with that, the video cut out, leaving us there in stunned silence for a moment.
"He's out of his fucking mind," Gio Sr. declared.
"Yeah, no shit," Salvatore ground out. "With an old man like his, it's not really a surprise he turned out like that.
"Does anyone know Primo?" Lorenzo asked, looking around.
"I probably know more than anyone," Ricco said. "But even that isn't much."
"Does he have the manpower to make sure we can't show up in force?"
"Yes. Absolutely. Even if he didn't have that many soldiers and associates, his community loves him."
"You're fucking kidding me," Lorenzo said.
"No. He's practically a hero around there. If he put the word out to stop us, they would. No questions asked. It's better to just try to follow the rules, keep shit amicable."
"What could be amicable about this?" I asked. "I can't imagine he wants to have a casual conversation over coffee after Ricco killed his brother."
"Yeah, well, I guess we will have to explain why," Ricco said, shrugging.
"Do you still have the evidence?" Lorenzo asked.
"Yeah, of course," Ricco agreed.
"Alright. Well, let's round up some fire power, and head over."
"Don't even try to say no," I said as he turned to me. "I'm going."
"Santi..."
"He has Alessa," I bit out, something in my voice and face giving me away.
"Okay," he agreed, nodding. "Brio, you got a vest for him?" he asked. "He has a kid to come home to," he added.
From there, it was a flurry of activity.
Men showed up with guns and knives and bulletproof vests.
"Sit your ass down," Lorenzo said as Salvatore pulled himself to his feet. And to his credit, the man barely even hissed even though I knew he must have been in agony. Alessa at least had pain meds on a drip for the first few hours after she was shot. Salvatore was functioning on some ibuprofen and a couple swigs of vodka.
"No. I have to go. I need to make sure we get her out. I failed her already today."
"Failed her? You took two bullets protecting her, giving her a chance to stash my nephew away. That isn't failing in my book," Lorenzo said. "I need you at your best, so letting you drag around your bullet-riddled body isn't going to be good for the Family long-term. I want you here with Celeste and the kid. Same with Christopher," he said, nodding toward his men. "And about half a dozen others. Inside and out. The rest will be at my place with Gigi," he said. "Morelli, figure your shit out," he added, waving at Gio Sr. "And someone call Vin D'onofrio, tell him what is going down."
I spent the remaining time having Brio strap a bulletproof vest on me, and outfit me with half a dozen weapons while prattling off a bunch of ways to incapacitate an enemy, how to cause maximum damage with minimum effort.
My mind was only partially on him. The largest part was on Alessa, on how she must have been feeling. She was good at putting on a show of strength. And she was strong. But I knew she must have been confused and scared.
What was left that wasn't worry about getting her out safe, was worrying about putting myself in a dangerous situation when I had Avi who relied on me.
But there wasn't much of a choice, was there?
I had to help bring her home.
And Avi would be safe and loved.
While I helped.
And even if something happened to me.
"Alright," Lorenzo said, clamping a hand on my shoulder. "Let's roll."
A little over a half an hour later, we were driving down the street that led to Primo's packaging warehouse where Ricco said they'd been in the video.
"Just follow me and Emilio," Lorenzo said as Brio parked our car. "Don't do anything sudden unless shit pops off. Got it?"
"Got it," I agreed.
It was fine.
They could take the lead.
So long as Alessa would be okay.
That was my main focus.
I didn't give a fuck about some feud between the families, about what decisions The Commission got together and made.
