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“You sure about that, boss?” Marco crosses his arms, knowing full well I never bend.
She’s fucking worth it, though. “Positive. Make the call.”
“If he double-crosses us, I’ll fucking filet him,” Marco says, pacing back and forth in front of me. Dante is five minutes late, and my old friend is not a fan of tardiness. He likes punctuality, and I don't blame him in our line of work.
“Five more minutes, and we’re out of here, and he’s on my shit list.” If he doesn’t show up tonight with a damn good explanation, I’ll kill him the next time I see him.
As if conjured up by our desire to slay him, the headlights of a sedan break through the fog, wafting off the water. Normally, I’d caution Marco from revealing his knives, but given his agitation and the importance of this meeting, I let it slide. With a warning, of course, “Not until I give the go-ahead.” He nods as his sight lasers in on Dante exiting his car.
“You’re late,” I bark at our guest.
“Sorry,” he bows his head slightly in deference to me. “Mr. Ricci has been agitated since your meeting. Leaving unnoticed wasn’t easy.”
Marco circles him like a rabid dog, his teeth bared and ready to pounce as soon as I give the word. “Why didn’t we know about the girl?” I don’t want to waste more time than necessary tonight, not when my future could be stolen with the flick of a wrist.
“I didn’t know about her until a year ago. She’s locked up in a tower. Nobody in, nobody out. Ever.” I don’t like the sound of that.
“Tell me everything.” I feign boredom by leaning against my Range Rover, crossing my ankles, and hanging my arms loosely at my sides.
“She’s just turned eighteen and has been locked away from the world her entire life. She used to have free reign of one of their wings until she was about five or six; then, they locked her up there. She’s served food through a latch in the door. No friends, no form of communication. Has access to one movie a day. There’s a window that leads down to a death trap of barbed wire below.”
I’m not liking the picture he’s painting for me. “She doesn’t interact with anyone?” Marco stops behind Dante, looking more feral than usual.
The one thing we have in common with Devlin, Cato, and Adonis is that we don’t fuck with women. They’re precious in our world, and while there are some who cross the line and can be as ruthless as the men, those are few and far between.
“She hasn’t been face-to-face with another person since they locked the door shut.” That’s the final nail in Ricci’s coffin. I’m going to enjoy slitting his throat.
CHAPTER 2
Nick
“You’re certain this is what you want?” Adonis Lorde gazes over at me, his midnight blue eyes watching me assessingly.
“If I change my mind, she’s all yours,” I mutter. I don’t let on that I never will.
“Let’s do this, then.” He grins, greedy to get his hands bloody.
It took some negotiating, but Adonis ultimately pulled the trigger on the Irvine territory. I get the girl; he gets what he wants without being tied down. It worked out despite Marco’s objections. I didn’t care about having stock in Irvine; LA County is plenty big enough for us.
“Ricci, the wife, and the girl are mine. You take care of everything and everyone else.” He acknowledges this before we go our separate ways.
It’s been two days since our meeting with Dante. He went back home until this morning when he brought us the blueprints of the property and ensured that we knew the best time to strike.
Dinner.
That’s when everyone would most likely be disarmed and, therefore, easier to handle.
The sun still shines, so the first thing we take out is security. The next are the men at the gates, then the ones at the front door and those prowling the property.
Marco’s thirst for blood is in full force today. He’s dripping in it as I follow behind him. In all our years together, he’s never allowed me to be the first man through the door. Once we get up to that tower, though, I will be. I’ve already given the order that no one goes in until I do.
“Here we go, boss,” Marco mutters as we slip up to the front door. Adonis and his team went around back where we were told everyone ate. Whether in the main house or in the guard house, they would all be back there.
“Dante,” I snap as we enter. “Lead the way.” He maneuvers us up to the tower. If someone is up there guarding her, and there’s a chance he could be a threat, Dante can go down with him as far as I’m concerned.
Gunfire erupts from the kitchen, followed by Adonis barking orders to his men. “Keep going,” I shout as three Ricci men come running. Tyler and Granger are at the bottom of the stairs, picking them off as they appear.
For someone who’s been hidden from the world her entire life, security is lacking where she’s concerned. Reaching the top floor, we run into one guard. The man immediately surrenders by raising his hands when he sees us, and that only angers me further. This girl has no one willing to put their life on the line for her.
