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“Fuck!” I slammed a fist down on my desk. What the hell had Dante been thinking? “Do you know where he is?” I asked Paolo.
“Raul Guzman’s home.”
I froze. “Why would Raul bring him there?”
“To set a trap for you,” Havoc said, putting a hand on my shoulder.
“Then he gets his wish. Get ready,” I told Luca.
“I’m going with you,” Havoc told me. The look in her eyes was desperate. I’d been willing to take her with me when we had the upper hand. It was dangerous to do so now.
“Please, Nico. Let me help you finish this,” she pleaded with me.
“Get your gun.”
We gathered my men and weapons as quickly as we could. I looked back at Havoc—who was hot on my heels—as I stepped out onto my porch.
“I need your help. Dante’s missing.”
My head snapped forward and saw Ciro standing there next to Pietro. The cop was in jeans and a sweatshirt. If he wasn’t in his uniform, he hadn’t been with Dante. If he didn’t know where Dante was that was a bad sign.
“I just heard. What happened?”
“He was on an operation. I was supposed to be a part of it, but the lead detective fucking lied to me about the details. Enough officers corroborated the information, I thought it was legit. By the time I realized it, Dante was already gone.”
I swore, and Ciro’s grim look met mine. I knew there were cops in the Guzman’s pockets. It just hadn’t occurred to me that they’d have the balls to go after my brother. I intended to make them pay for it.
“Every cop in this damn city is looking for him, Nico.”
“They won’t find him. Ride with Luca. He’ll fill you in on the way.” To Ciro’s credit he didn’t flinch at my directive. He just followed Luca and got into the SUV with him. It made my respect for the man grow. His brother was in trouble and he was heading into an unknown fight with a bunch of known mobsters.
I opened the door for Havoc as Paolo jumped into the back of my SUV with a few of my men. It was going to look like an army was pulling up to Raul’s place.
* * *
The triponly took thirty minutes, but it felt like a lifetime. Fear was clogging my throat. I kept my emotions on lockdown at all times—except anger, that had been instrumental to me, but you had to know how to use it. Letting any emotion well up and spill out made you weak in battle. Fear for my brother’s life was close to escaping.
I couldn’t afford to let it, though, so I stuffed it down deep. It could fester there while I killed Raul—until I found Dante. There were too many people counting on me to get them out of this upcoming skirmish alive.
Everyone unloaded from the vehicles and I felt a shiver—a sense of knowing—skate up my spine. It was too quiet. No one was protecting the gates at the end of the drive. There was nobody outside the house to meet us with bullets and hellfire.
That meant they were either holed up inside, with a high vantage point, or they were gone. If Raul was smart, it’d be the latter.
Luca and I exchanged glances. Everyone was staged behind us, ready to enter the house. I would go first. I eyed Ciro then looked back at Luca. “Watch him.”
He grimaced, but grunted in agreement. I took that to mean he’d keep the cop out of trouble. Even bringing him along was a risk. I had a feeling Ciro wouldn’t breathe a word of what he saw here tonight, though. Giving Luca an almost imperceivable nod, I focused on my breathing as I waited.
He took the door down with one kick of his massive boot and I entered the house, gun drawn, eyes sweeping.
Nothing.
My brows pulled together as I frowned, but I didn’t relax. That would be a mistake. I looked over my shoulder and motioned for Luca to take half our men and search a section of the house. I’d take the other half, including Havoc and her shadow.
My lips twitched in a slight grin. Wherever Havoc was these days, Paolo wasn’t far behind. It wasn’t because I ordered him to watch her. It was that undying loyalty I’d sensed in him. Having him watch her back when I couldn’t eased my mind. I’d come to trust and respect the man much more quickly than I usually did with people.
We swept through, room by room. Occasional bouts of gunfire were a clear indication that we weren’t alone here. My guys would never kill staff—even if they worked for my enemy—so I knew they were running into cartel members.
Having cleared the main floor, we slowly made our way upstairs. My eyes were glued to the railing that ran along the second story hallway. Going upstairs with little to no cover was going to be dangerous. It would be the perfect time to pin us down.
