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It was a decree, not a suggestion. It seemed I was to be rebuked for the insult of murdering his men, even if he would’ve made the same judgment call. I understood the slight to his honor; I should’ve presented the bastards to him so that he could handle them personally.
I would pay my dues and make amends to Duarte by taking on the risk alone.
“Yes,” I agreed firmly before Enzo and Gian could declare that they would help me take on the DEA. “My friends have a lot to discuss with you. They’re the brains behind this operation. I can deal with Crawford on my own.”
Duarte chuckled, eyes roving over all six foot five of my bulky frame. “I’m sure you can.”
It was true; we were in Mexico because of my friends’ aspirations, not mine. I didn’t care as much about making this power move in order to overthrow our boss back home. All I cared about was my freedom and security. And defending my friends, who were as close as brothers. I’d taken my part in this risky plot because it would further their ends. The coup mattered to them, and keeping them alive mattered to me. I would die for Enzo and Gian, but if all went to plan, we wouldn’t just survive; we would prosper. We’d all be richer and more powerful than I’d ever dared to dream.
Duarte leaned forward slightly, the small gesture commanding the attention of every man in the room. His intense focus on me pierced my chest like a blade, but I didn’t flinch. An approving smile ghosted around his mouth as he addressed me directly.
“George Crawford is a dirty agent,” he informed me, elaborating on the limited information I already had. “He’s been working with my rivals, Los Zetas. They’re trying to get a foothold in my territory, and Crawford is taking their bribes to keep the heat off them. Meanwhile, he’s causing problems for me with his relentless investigations into my men, working off information the Zetas are feeding him. To his superiors, he’s a model agent. They won’t take it well when he’s murdered by the Camorra. Especially when you have no business being in Mexico City.”
“I don’t intend to be caught,” I replied coolly. “They won’t know of our involvement. And you’ll be kept out of it entirely.”
He cocked his head at me. “The authorities will suspect cartel involvement in his unfortunate disappearance.”
“And they won’t have any evidence to lead back to you,” I assured him. “They won’t be able to pin anything on you. Crawford won’t cause you any more trouble.”
He leaned back in his chair, considering me. “You don’t strike me as a subtle man. But I’m trusting you to handle this delicately. Make sure this doesn’t blow back on me. That would be a very unfortunate end to our friendship.”
I offered him a grim nod. “I know how to make a man disappear. Don’t worry about that.”
“I trust Massimo with my life,” Gian interjected.
“Despite his brutish appearance, he can handle a situation like this carefully and quietly,” Enzo provided, backing me up with a bit of a jibe.
With my imposing size, I looked the part of the dumb muscle to the brothers’ wickedly clever, cold composure. But I’d been sure to educate myself despite my impoverished upbringing, a value instilled by my parents when I was a boy. I’d lost that innocence quickly and brutally at a young age, but I hadn’t stopped reading everything I could get my hands on. Knowledge was as good a weapon as a knife, a truth that Enzo and Gian also understood.
“George Crawford is a dead man,” I promised Duarte. “You don’t have anything to worry about.”
To his superiors, Crawford appeared to be a model agent, but he was getting rich by doing favors for a cartel. I would put an end to his promising career, and he’d never put his innocent fiancée at risk ever again.
The memory of Evelyn lying on that basement floor, broken and bleeding, flashed across my mind. It took effort to prevent my fists from clenching with renewed anger. That motherfucker, Crawford, was the reason she’d been targeted. He was just as responsible for her victimization as the men who’d kidnapped and beaten her.
Soon, he would be dead, and Evelyn would be safe from his corruption. I would make sure of it.
Chapter 5
Massimo
It hadn’t been difficult to discover where George Crawford lived. The corrupt bastard kept his DEA friends close during the day, but it’d been easy enough to stalk him, hiding myself in crowds as he moved through the busy streets. Now, I concealed myself in shadows, closing in on my prey in the dead of night.
The lights in their small ground floor apartment had gone out over two hours ago. They should be fast asleep by now.
Both of them: George and Evelyn, his innocent fiancée who had no involvement in my dark underworld. His criminal actions endangered her. That would’ve been reason enough for me to end him, even without my promise to Stefano Duarte.
I approached their building with a nonchalant stride, as though I was returning to my own home after a night out. I doubted any neighbors would take particular notice of me at this hour, but I kept my baseball cap pulled low over my eyes just in case.
Once I reached their front door, I made quick, quiet work of picking the lock with practiced ease. I’d have to move silently if I didn’t want to rouse George, who was likely to keep a weapon near his bed, especially after Evelyn had been targeted.
As it turned out, navigating their cramped, one bedroom apartment was almost laughably easy. I was quiet as a shadow as I moved through the darkened space, crossing the small living room in five strides before reaching the threshold of their bedroom. Soft illumination glowed through the closed curtains, the ever-present city lights impossible to shut out entirely. They caught on her platinum hair, the sheen drawing my eye to where she lay in the bed. Her fair complexion seemed to glow, like she was made of moonlight.
His slightly darker form shaped around her delicate body, an arm draped possessively over her waist. His hand curved around her hip, locking her tightly in his embrace.
My muscles tensed with a pulse of rage, an echo of the fury that’d gripped my mind in that basement and caused me to murder Duarte’s associates. This motherfucker dared to hold her when he was the reason she’d been kidnapped and brutalized. If not for me, she’d be dead now. Because of him and his selfish, greedy choices.
I took a step toward him, drawing my knife from the sheath at my belt. The wickedly sharp blade glinted in the dim lighting, flashing brighter than her moonlight hair.
