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Salvatore nods. “It will be done, Lorenzo. I’ll give Dominic the order. He can pass it down through the ranks,” he says, getting out of the car and heading back to his own.
I nod, my heart still beating like a freight train as I look at Isabella’s mottled face. Salvatore doesn’t need to know all the operational details. Dominic will ensure that it will be done and that Salvatore has plausible deniability in the way it’s handled. He also doesn’t need to know that I plan to be there personally for this one. Because family business is one thing. But touching Isabella is another one entirely.
I’ve no sooner texted Dominic my message than he steps out of his vehicle in front of us and walks back to ours. He slides into the front seat next to Darryl. His jaw tightens when he sees Isabella’s face. “Anything broken?” he asks just barely above a whisper.
I shake my head and push the hair from her face. “I don’t think so. The bullet grazed her shoulder pretty bad but didn’t penetrate.” The look of her red mottled skin, busted lip, and already swollen eyes just serves to fuel the anger that’s been burning inside since learning of her disappearance.
Isabella shifts in my arms. “I broke his nose.”
Dominic’s mouth shifts, trying to control a grin.
“Step outside,” I tell Dominic, laying Isabella on the seat next to me. “No sleeping,” I tell her before getting out of the car with him and closing the door. “I want the men to hold De Rosa before we kill the rest. I want the fucker to pay for what he’s done to Isabella. She wants to see revenge, but after what she went through at the funeral, I don’t think that’s such a good idea. Keep an eye on her. That fucker is going to pay.”
“It will be done, Lorenzo. I’ve already given the order.”
“No, at my hands.”
His eyes narrow. “There’s a reason we order these things out.”
I would expect someone in either of our positions to remind me of that fact, but that’s not changing a thing. “You would ask the same. You did ask the same. We allowed both you and Emelia to attend her mother and brother’s funeral. I expect you to respect my request.”
He draws in a deep breath. “You love her?”
I smile down at my fearless beauty lying battered in the car. “Of that there is no doubt,” I tell my cousin.
“It won’t likely be an issue since this restaurant owner is the only one not under our protection on this entire block. Just in case, we’ll have soldiers surrounding you to make sure you can’t be identified.”
“Do what you have to do. I don’t give a fuck.”
He nods, because I know he would be doing the same if it was Emelia lying in that seat in this condition. “When I give the signal, our men on the inside will have everything covered. Matteo just got back and is talking to Salvatore. I’ll have him and his crew go with you. We’ve got men on the inside planted in all the right places. You walk in with Matteo and our soldiers, and our inside guys will have De Rosa at point.”
Matteo or any of our capos and their crews by my side and I will be well protected even if things go south. “Thanks, Dominic.”
My cousin heads back to his car. I open the door and slide back into the seat next to Isabella. “Drive right up to the fucking door,” I tell Darryl. I turn to Isabella, fully intending just to give her a kiss before going in to exact my own revenge before he learns what bringing the wrath of our family means for him and his future.
Isabella stares at me for a moment, not saying a word until she does. “I know you love me. Actions speak louder than words, yet I needed someone to remind me of that,” she says, enunciating each and every word slowly through lips that are still blood stained and will be almost twice their normal size before very long.
I kiss her forehead. “I do love you, Isabella,” I tell her, stroking the vibrant hair of my fearless beauty. “I’ll be back shortly,” I tell her. “You’ll be safe here with Darryl.”
She shakes her head and starts to sit up. “This is something I want to see.”
“It’s something that I want to shelter you from, Isabella. I should have done that with the funeral. Those memories never go away. Take care of her, Darryl,” I tell him as we both get texts.
It’s time…
Darryl pulls out from behind Salvatore and Dominic’s cars and drives the short distance to the restaurant.
Several shopkeepers on the street see my car rolling up to the restaurant. They turn away and head back into their shops. Good people that our family plans to protect from fuckers like De Rosa who have been robbing them blind for years, while stealing their daughters and nieces right out from underneath their noses and selling them to the highest bidder.
Darryl parks on the street right in front of the restaurant. Our soldiers’ car doors fly open.
Matteo and his soldiers gather around the car as I get out and walk straight up to the door. Matteo kicks it open with a black boot, and only when we’re inside do our soldiers part enough to allow me to walk straight to the bar.
Completely visible to De Rosa because I want him to see me coming. The bar area has been completely emptied. The De Rosa women and men are sitting on the floor in the dining room, held at gunpoint by more of our soldiers.
De Rosa stands with his hands behind his back, affixed to a rope that has been secured over one of the long wood beams that runs the length of the bar. His eyes are dark, hatred spewing from their orbs.
I get closer and remove my jacket, taking my time, because there will be no quick mercy for old man De Rosa after what he did to Isabella. The first punch lands directly onto his nose, the crunch of it breaking under my strength.
