AllFreeNovel
Share Us
That feeling only intensified when I learned that one of our own, Joseph’s cousin Lisa, went missing shortly after we discovered the truth. If I hadn’t agreed that the MacKenzie family would help dismantle the ring, I would’ve then.
“Of course, I remember.” I cross my arms over my chest. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but our plan to catch the traffickers in the act wasn’t supposed to happen until tomorrow night.” One of my men had received intelligence that an exchange of goods was set to take place between the traffickers and the Russian mob. We were just waiting to hear about the location to finalize our plan of attack.
The old man lifts his chin, and the wrinkled skin around his eyes tightens. “A team of men tracked one of the confirmed rats to this warehouse. They scouted the area and confirmed the deal was going down tonight. So they engaged.”
I let the information sink in.
I’m irritated my men didn’t get my approval before engaging the traffickers, but I can understand why they didn’t if time was of the essence. Still, I plan to have a few choice words with the men I assigned to assist Santiago about the chain of command.
“What was the damage?” I ask, hoping my family suffered no casualties. It would be hard to explain their death to my grandfather. He doesn’t know about any of this.
“All of the traitors were dealt with,” Santiago relays. “The bodies are already taken care of. But we didn’t anticipatehimbeing here.” He motions to the Italian heir lying on the floor.
“I sure as shit hope not.” To knowingly shoot and kill the next leader of the Furnari family is a death sentence. Hell, tounknowinglyshoot and kill him equates to the same.
Which, I suspect, is why Santiago asked me here rather than telling me about this over the phone.
I stare at the body on the floor for a beat, then turn my gaze to the Puerto Rican leader. “So, Furnari was involved in the ring?”
“He wouldn’t be here otherwise.”
“Do you have proof?” Evidence of the Italian’s actions might not be enough to get the Puerto Ricans off the hook for murdering Antony Furnari, but it’s something worth looking into.
Salvatore Furnari, the leader of the notorious Italian crime family, is many things, but he’s not a monster. His family doesn’t condone the buying and selling of young women. It’s too messy. And below his family’s reputation. If there’s proof his son was somehow involved in the disgusting enterprise, it might make him second-guess seeking retribution for his son’s death. The keyword ismight.
Santiago’s grim expression tells me all I need to know.
I sigh. “You don’t have proof.”
“Antony Furnari wouldn’t have been here otherwise,” he repeats. “Before we engaged, the men overheard the traffickers discussing a shipment going out tomorrow. I’ve sent them to find the abducted women and children.”
Children?
Jesus.
“Yes, but do you have proof thatAntony Furnariwas involved?” It’s not enough that he was here. “Is there an audio recording of his voice discussing the abductions? Or a video of him at least nodding when the others were talking about their plan?”
“No.”
“Christ, Santiago.” I run a hand through my hair. “Then what are you doing? This needs to be cleaned up before anyone figures out what happened here.” I gesture to the body.
“Why do you think I called you?”
I scoff. “You expect me to clean up your mess?”
“I’ll owe you.”
I exhale a disbelieving laugh, but my expression is not amused. “No.” No alliance is worth facing the wrath of the Furnaris. My family has worked our ass off to build our influence. Something like this can cause it all to come tumbling down. My grandfather would never forgive me.
“You helped organize this operation, MacKenzie. Or are you forgetting that?”
“A sting operation,” I emphasize. “Not an ambush that resulted in the death of the Italian crime prince without any fucking proof of his involvement in the trafficking ring. You acted without my input. You can fix your own mistake.”
“Salvatore won’t care about specifics,” he points out. “All he’ll care about is that his son is dead. Andyouare here.”
My body stiffens. “Are you threatening me?”
“If that’s what it takes,” is his unrepentant reply.
