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My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I pull it out, showing Matteo a text with the address to the building we’re currently standing in front of.
He gives me a satisfied grin, proud of his men for figuring it out. “Perfect timing. They won’t be expecting you so soon. Go in, keep them talking, and my men will do the rest. When the bullets start flying, grab your girl. Rocco will get your dad.”
I nod, committing the plan to memory. It’s not complicated; it’s just taking that much mental energy to focus on the next thing. I’m going out of my fucking mind.
“Dante,” Matteo grits. His tone is forceful and cannot be ignored. I snap my eyes to his, giving him my full attention. “You can do this. Now, go.”
He fades into the shadows around the side of the structure, and I take a deep breath, remembering what Cambria told me all those mornings ago.
It’s all about grounding yourself in the moment. Inhale for a count of four, and exhale for eight.
Closing my eyes, I inhale deeply, breathing in her essence, her light, her sunshine, letting everything about my Cambria fill me with purpose. Then I exhale the negativity and bullshit, focusing on the most important thing in my life. When I open my eyes, I’m ready to burn this fucking building to the ground to get my woman.
I bang on the door and kick it open, not flinching when I’m met with two guns pointing at me. “Where the fuck are they?” I shout, drawing the attention of two other men in the back.
Taking stock of my surroundings, I see four Colombos. With Matteo, Luca, Rocco, and myself, we also have four. I happen to know, however, that Matteo has three dozen men surrounding this building, ready to jump in if necessary.
“Let him in,” comes the scratchy voice of one of the men further inside. “Wasn’t expecting you so soon.”
I squint as I adjust to the much darker lighting in the building. I don’t see anything at first, but movement in the corner of the room catches my eye.
“Cambria,” I growl, taking a step in her direction.
Her face is swollen where one of these degenerates hit her. A few blood streaks on her face and clothes hint at other wounds. Jesus, seeing her like this…
She rolls her head to the other side as if it takes every last bit of energy. When she sees me, a heart-shattering whimper falls from her lips. Every muscle tenses, and I’m a coil ready to fucking snap.
“Not so fast,” one of the men rasps. “Do we have a deal?”
I stare at him, getting a good look at the stupidest mother fucker to ever walk the planet. He’s a few inches over five and a half feet and looks like he’s spent his entire life trying to be bigger than he is. I don’t recognize him, which only confirms my earlier suspicions. I know all the top-ranking members of the Colombo family, as well as a handful of the Don’s favorite Capos. This guy? He’s some lackey. Some foot soldier. Some dumb fuck on an ego trip trying to prove himself to his Boss. Pathetic.
“What exactly is your plan here?” I ask the inexperienced thug playing dress up.
The more my eyes adjust to the light, the more I see of his outfit. He’s wearing dress slacks, a long trench coat, and a bowler hat. He looks like a goon from the 1940s, and if I weren’t two seconds away from blowing his goddamn brains out, I’d laugh at his cartoonish appearance.
“Thought I made that clear,” he spits, puffing up his chest.
“Oh, it’s clear, all right,” I counter, taking a few steps in his direction. All eyes are on me, which is perfect. No one will notice Luca slipping in the back, followed by Rocco. “It’s clear you’re in way over your head. How many of you are here? Four? Did you convince your BFFs to join you on this suicide mission to impress your Boss?”
“Hey, I–”
“Because that’s exactly what this is. Does he even know you’re here? Are you working on his behalf, or did you go behind his back and piss off the second in command of the most powerful family inNew York fucking City?”
“Well, that’s not exactly–”
“From where I’m standing,” I continue, towering over him as I draw closer, “this is an amateur job done by kiss-assess who are about to get themselves killed.”
“Who do you think you are to come in here like this?” he shouts. “I have all the cards here! I have your girl, your dad, and you havenothing.”
The short man is shaking, his face a mottled red as he heaves out uneven breaths. I look over his head just in time to catch Matteo’s signal. Three shots are fired at once, and I lunge forward, grabbing this fucker’s neck and throttling him to the ground before stomping on his ugly as-sin face.
He wails, but I ignore him, leaping over his crumpled body to get to Cambria. Her eyes are filled with tears, and her little nose is red from crying.
“Keep your eyes on me,” I tell her as I close the distance between us.
A few more shots are fired, and I see Rocco throw a punch at one of the other men before nodding at me and making his way to my father.
Kneeling in front of my precious woman, I carefully peel the tape off her mouth, cupping her face in one hand and holding her gaze while I cut away the ties around her wrists.
