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Don Colombo’s current location?
It doesn’t take more than a few seconds for the reply to come through.
His place.
I send one last message.
Get to the club. Bring Diego.
I put my cellphone away and look up at the two of them. “I will fix this,” I tell them. “Stay here. My team is on the way in. They’ll keep you safe until it’s all over.”
“What are you going to do?” Honor asks.
I walk out of the room. I can already hear Leonard complaining. “They’re all as bad as each other, these families. I thought I could trust Don Colombo and look where I’ve ended up. Jody’s dead because of people like that man. How can you tell him a joke like he’s your son in law.”
“He is my son in law and yours too. Shut your complaining and let me work out this Wordle.”
The voice fades away as I get to the end of the corridor, just in time to see my crew arriving. I duck into a closet until they’ve gone past. That’s good. Kelly’s parents will be well guarded. Hopefully this won’t take long.
All I need to do is arrange how to take Don Colombo out. It shouldn’t be too difficult. The assumption is never that a man will simply walk up to a Don and attempt to kill him. The risks are too great. I get the feeling I’ll be allowed in, maybe with Albert and Diego. Once I’m inside his house, I kill him and then see how the rest of my dice fall. If I get out of there alive, I can get back to Kelly and end things with her. If I die, she’ll be safe.
One thing for sure, I can’t stay with her.
Her father was more right than he realized. I’m not good enough for her. Already, I’ve caused her father to be stabbed and for her to become a murderer.
That’s not even to mention how controlling I am. I can’t stop wanting to dominate her. I will crush her if she remains with me for any length of time. My need to own her will swallow us both.
Better I let her go. I can find an heir elsewhere, get a surrogate with no emotional bond to me. Maybe do what Albert keeps suggesting, move my money into real estate, turn it into honest cash that leaves me safe from the risk of dying an old man in prison.
If I get out of this alive, I’ll pay her off, buy her a recording contract. Then I’ll let her go.
I’m in the parking lot about to climb into my car when I see someone carrying a huge Valentine’s Day card in through the door. It’s Valentine’s Day and I didn’t even notice.
I can’t do romance. I can’t give her the life she deserves.
I’ve corrupted her already. What I need to do is make sure she’s safe and then let her go.
I don’t want to but it’s the best way. She’ll be able to find someone normal. Forget all this. Put it behind her.
I drive to the club and I get a sinking feeling in my stomach. I hate the idea of letting her go but she can’t stay with me.
It’s not like she loves me anyway. She’s only doing this because I told her to. Once I tell her to leave, I know she’ll jump at the chance. I can go back to thinking about nothing but business, which is what I’m meant to be doing.
If I survive.
We’ll just have to see how the night pans out.
I get to the club’s back lot, heading in through the fire exit. Albert and Diego are already there. They both smile when they see me. Diego cracks his knuckles when I switch my cellphone off and lay it on the table in front of me.
“This can only mean one thing,” he says as he shakes my hand. “We cracking skulls tonight?”
“You could put it that way,” I tell him, motioning for them both to sit down. “We need to work out how to kill Don Colombo. I want him dead before the sun rises tomorrow morning. I don’t care how it happens but I’m going to be the one who pulls the trigger. I want the last thing he sees to be my face.”
“You sure about this?” Albert asks. “He’s got to be on his guard at the moment.”
“He wanted to draw me out. Stabbing Kelly’s dad was the first step. If I stayed hidden, he’d keep going until everyone she knew was dead. I’m ending this tonight.”
“You’re the boss. I got to tell you, it’s not going to be easy.”
