AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I love you too. Be safe.”
She kills our call first so I’m left with thebeep-beep-beepof being hung up on, then I lower my phone and look to my brothers, who all watch me with various expressions.
Tim is used to me and Minka. Felix has seen us together. But Cato watches me like I’m a stranger.
“What thefuck,” he mouths. “You’re more whipped than I expected.”
“Mind your damn business.” Slipping the phone in my pocket, I look to Tim and lift a brow. “What’s the plan?”
“Like we discussed it.” Sitting back, he takes out his long-nose pistol and checks the magazine. Steel slides on steel, and his hand snaps it all back into place with an ominousclick. “Felix has guys on the door, so we walk through like we belong there. Pastore will likely be in the main living area, under that massive fucking chandelier he loves so much. We walk in, demand an audience with him, and see how he responds.”
He looks to Cato. “Micah’s being held in a room on the second floor. Fourth door on the left once you reach the top of the stairs. You head up and find him. Our noise will bring Pastore’s men down, so you should have a free run all the way. Don’t stop, don’t get hurt, and don’t give them another Malone to hold on to.” Taking out a second gun, he extends it toward our seventeen-year-old brother and waits as he accepts it.
“You get fifteen rounds. Make them count, make them sharp. But you should know, if you kill a man, that’s gonna sit on your conscience for the rest of your life… so if you wanna change your mind about going in, now’s the time. You’re still a kid, so if you’d prefer to stay in the car, there’s no shame in that.”
“I wanna go in.” He studies the gun. Reads the inscriptions on the sides. Checking the magazine just like Tim did with his, he clips it into place with a certainty that proves this won’t be the first time he’s held a pistol. “I know my assignment. You don’t have to worry about me.”
“Alright.” He looks to me. “I’ll walk front and center. I’m the oldest, and for tonight at least, the family is mine to lead. When we leave New York, that shit falls on Lix. But for this, I’ll do it.”
“As in,” I murmur, “you put the target on your back instead of ours.” I look to Felix. “We know what he means.”
In response, Felix nods.
“Twenty seconds,” the driver up front announces. “We’re on Pastore property.”
“Shit.” In my pocket, my phone feels like a burning lump of steel, searing my thigh and nagging, as though Minka was in the car with me.Be safe, stupid. Be safe. “Alright. We walk in. We get Micah. We leave again, and I call my wife.”
Cato drops his head and shakes it side to side. “Jesus, is this what it looks like?” He glances to Tim. “Is this what it is to turn into a complete fucking pussy?”
“Don’t ask him,” Felix taunts. “He’s a pussy too. But he’s wet between the legs for a beautiful doctor named Aubree. Aubreeeee,” he singsongs. “Such a pretty face. Such a sassy mouth.”
“Dude,” I snap. “Cut it out.”
Outside the car, guards line the driveway in a straight line. Dressed in all black, they have pieces in their ears so they can work as a team. They also hug matte-black AK-47s to their chests, and each man massages the side of the trigger with a gloved hand.
Just one of them being spooked and offloading their ammo could have us all dead within seconds.
“Pull it in,” I warn Felix. “Get your shit together, because this isn’t a game.” Then I study the other two. “We’re on enemy land tonight. They outgun us a hundred to one, and if they want a war, we’renotgonna win.” I take out my pistol and hold it in my palm. “Stay collected,” I breathe. “Stay smart. Because they can wipe out an entire fucking family before appetizers are served.”
“Well…” Smug, Felix takes out his phone and unlocks the screen.
The car continues to move, though it’s slow… two feet every minute, as vehicles in front of us unload and guests make their way inside.
Bringing the phone to his ear, a slow, devious grin crosses my brother’s lips when whoever he’s calling answers. “Do it now.”
“What?” Tim twists in his seat. “Felix! Do what now?”
Instead of answering, just as the car comes to a stop at the base of the beach house stairs and a valet steps forward to open the door, Felix locks the door with a fast slap of his hand. Fifty feet to our left, an explosion rocks the ground and sends a mushroom cloud whooshing into the sky.
Guards sprint from their posts. Automatic weapons come up, and what was once a security outpost becomes shrapnel flying through the air.
When soldiers disperse from the driveway, leaving us unattended, and guests run in every direction, Felix unlocks the door again with a wink and a goofy grin. Hanging up and slipping the phone into his pocket, he opens the door and steps out, fixing his fucking tie.
Cool as a cucumber, relaxed though everyone else shouts and runs around in a panic, Felix moves around to the back of the car and opens the trunk to divvy up weapons. He hands an AR15 to Tim, then another to Cato. He shoves a third against my chest. But then he takes out a shotgun for himself and smirks when my eyes drop to the odd choice.
My heart thunders in my chest, and my phone continues to burn the side of my leg. But I hug an automatic weapon close and peer across to the fireball still consuming what was, only moments ago, a small building.
“We walk in,” he repeats, louder now to compete with partygoers who screech in panic. “We take back what’s ours.” He smirks when our eyes meet. “Smash and grab. But fancier.”
