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I watched the massive projection screen at the front of the room. There were men gathered all around the tall iron fencing that surrounded the place. The sun was setting, and I could practically see the tension rippling through the air. They were ready.
A wave of police officers rushed forward and stormed the gate. The mansion was quiet for some time and as soon as they reached the doors, the windows lit up in a flurry of activity. The room was quiet as we watched the members of an elite SWAT team work their way in through a forgotten back window. There were more than one of those.
I was astounded by the sheer number of people rushing inside. The FBI had not overlooked anything. There was practically a small army storming the Father’s mansion.
They’d even used a top-secret military drone with ground scanning radar to ensure that there were no underground escape paths. They had found one and had followed it to its exit, which was now covered with at least ten men with machine guns in case anyone tried to escape that way.
I looked around the room, observing just how much money the FBI had poured into this mission from the massive computer towers to the screens all over the walls.
They hadn’t spared a single expense because they wanted the Father. They wanted to take down the head of the biggest mafia family left in the United States.
“You’re not going to arrest me though, are you?” I asked softly and I saw Dean smirk just the tiniest bit out of the corner of my eye.
“I’m still considering what to do with you,” Robert replied.
“You and I both know that’s a lie,” I scoffed. “Tell me. How high is the Father on the FBI’s most wanted list?”
Robert openly huffed beside me.
“This is a massive operation that you’ve likely spent millions on over the course of several years. I know you’ve been aware of the family for some time. Dean used to work on a division specialized on my activities before he resigned. Now seeing how many men and how much you’ve poured into the Father’s capture; I can only guess that he’s within the top three.”
Robert was quiet, so I decided to continue.
“The family has stayed under the radar for more than twenty years. Once police activity started catching up to the other mafia families, the Father took our organization underground. He worked deep beneath the public sector, using the dark web and those below your radar. The homeless and the needy were some of his most loyal members. He kept us under his control by holding something over our heads or threatening to kill us if we ever stepped out of line and there was never a shortage of disobedient followers that needed to be taught a lesson. He had the Fixer to keep us obedient and afraid. He had his hands in everything: drug trafficking, money laundering, the sex trade, illegal imports. You name it, he was involved.”
“Once we realized how deep his operation went, he went from number twenty-five to number one on our list,” Robert scoffed.
I smiled.
“That’s why you’re not going to arrest me. I delivered the Father into your hands and helped to nullify the biggest crime organization in the history of the United States,” I replied boldly.
Dean openly chuckled at my side. He said nothing, but when I glanced at him for a brief second, I could see the pride written all over his face.
He knew I was right too.
“You’re a smart one. It was never my intention to take you into custody,” Robert finally admitted. “To be honest, I wanted to offer you a job.”
Dean’s grin widened.
I turned to face Robert head on.
“A job,” I replied flatly.
“You’re very good at what you do. You assume an identity and assess an individual for their wants and needs. You use that information to trick them into thinking that they’re in love with you, enough to propose and walk you down the aisle,” he began.
“That’s true,” I responded.
“Tell me, Willow. How many marks have you had?”
“Sixteen,” I answered.
“And how many of them asked for your hand in marriage?”
“Every single one of them,” I answered proudly, and I realized that was the first time I’d ever spoken of the work I’d done in a positive way.
“I can’t train that type of skill into my people. It’s been ingrained so deeply into you and that cannot be replicated no matter how much time or money I pour into teaching that sort of thing,” he continued.
“I see.”
