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So I had a dilemma.
How to get rid of Piper without getting myself killed? Separate to that, I’d started to suspect someone in my employment was leaking information to him. It was only little things, shipments getting picked up by the cops when no one should have known the location, my men getting ambushed out of nowhere during crooked poker games, nothing too serious but enough to give me concerns.
I was trying to come up with a way to find the turncoat and also to kill Piper. That was when he played right into my hands. Came to me with an offer. Let him use my trucks to ship his slaves down to Mexico to work in his drugs factory.
Right there in Tijuana Boys territory. So I gave Carlos a call and set things up before I turned down Piper’s offer.
The bastard took out my family. Carlos told me Piper had always planned to kill them, whether I said yes or no. Me too. Once he had my trucks, there was no need for me.
I got lucky; I guess. Wasn’t home when the bomb went off that sparked the fire that destroyed the entire place.
That hurt. I might have disagreed with my family over the years, but I didn’t want them dead. Avenging them became my goal. Gave me an excuse to go after him. Anna walked into my life. Alessandro told me about her. I’m guessing his plan was for me to get entangled with her and end up dead because of it. Only she didn’t get me killed. She saved me. In every possible way, a monster like me can be saved.
I thought I would ruin her, but she saved me.
I took her in. Piper got pissed, eventually took her back. Attacked my safe houses to do it.
The only person who knew the location of each safe house was Alessandro. He had to be the turncoat so all I had to do with that idea was to prove it.
Carlos had already whispered in Piper’s ear that the perfect punishment for Anna would be to send her to one of his factories.
I knew which one because Carlos told me. Let her escape. His guards weren’t told so their attempts to get her back were genuine. I shot them which gave Carlos the cover he needed to deny setting this up with me. The guards he sent after me were the ones he wanted rid of. How’s that for cold business logic?
I did the same. Brought along the made men who’ve been getting too loud lately, been giving away secrets to our rivals. Alessandro showed his true colors at the airport as expected. Took out the men I already wanted killed. All of them. Then nearly took me out but I’m still here. So is Anna.
Piper is dead, as arranged. No one saw me do it. As far as the world knows, he was killed at random while in Mexico. People might suspect I had a hand in it, but there’s no proof. Carlos isn’t in trouble with the commission for killing Piper. He gets the factories. In return, he sends the trafficked slaves back to the States.
That was our deal. I let him take Piper’s businesses south of the border. He lets the slaves go. Carlos consolidates power down there. I own the city. Only, I won’t own anything if I don’t survive the surgery.
They’re wheeling me in and I’m about to go under.
“What are my chances?” I ask the surgeon.
He looks at my body and then at me. “With this amount of damage? Fifty-fifty. You look like a colander. Lie back. Try to relax.”
As the mask goes over my face, my last thought is of Anna. At least she’s safe. Her father can’t hurt her anymore. I hope I make it out of the other side of the surgery, but even if I don’t, she’s safe. My family is avenged. It’s all over.
I take a deep breath and count back from ten. I make it to six before I slip under. I think of her smiling face. Then I don’t think of anything at all.
Thirty-Seven
Anna
* * *
Istand at the Donatello family mausoleum, saying my goodbyes. “Eva told me what you did,” I say out loud, reaching out and touching the cool stone in front of me. “I’m going away soon and I’m sorry you won’t get to meet him.”
I touch my stomach, feeling the slight bump there. “We’ll be far from here.” I look up at the sky. Can they hear me? I guess I’ll never know. It’s enough to say goodbye for now. I’ll be back sometime. I’m just not sure when.
For now, I have a lot to do. I’ve got to get to the airfield and hope my Italian is good enough. Even if it isn’t, I’ll soon learn.
I walk out of the cemetery to my waiting car. The one thing Marco left for me. It’s expensive and filled with buttons, but all I care about is that it’ll get me where I need to be. Far from here.
It takes a half hour to get to the airfield. The private jet is ready and waiting for me. I get a shaky feeling as I park up, remembering the last time I was at an airfield like this. That one was in Mexico, back when my father was alive.
It’s odd to think that I’m the last surviving member of my family.
Well, not quite.
