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“What are you doing here?”
“Roger Foster sent me a message and told me about your suicide mission. I’m here so you don’t get yourself killed.”
“But I just got off the phone with him a few minutes ago. How’d you get here so quickly?”
Dante gestured vaguely. “I live two blocks over.”
“And you just happened to have half a dozen henchmen in suits hanging around?”
He raised a brow and said, “Lucky for you, I happened to be having a business meeting.”
“What type of business are you in, exactly?”
“The type you really need on your side today, kid. Time is of the essence here, so tell me where you think Gabriel might be if he’s in Simeck’s house.”
“My guess would be the sex dungeon in the basement. There are a lot of ways to restrain someone in there.”
Dante nodded, and then he asked, “How many men does he usually have in his house, and are they armed?”
“Four or five, and they’re always carrying guns in shoulder holsters. I should probably mention there’s a chance I could be wrong here. Simeck might not have abducted Gabriel.”
“Roger mentioned Simeck has been hounding you two for years,” he said. “Even if he’s innocent in this case, I plan to get him off your back once and for all.”
“How are you going to accomplish that?”
A grin spread across his face, and he said, “I can be very persuasive.” I totally believed it.
“Okay, so what’s the plan here?”
Dante shrugged and said, “Basically, we go in there and scare Simeck shitless, and if Gabriel’s in the house, we extract him.”
“Are you going to shoot your way in?”
“That won’t be necessary.”
I asked, “Then how are you going to get through the door?”
His grin got wider, and he said, “With my considerable charm and charisma.” Then he picked up a walkie talkie and spoke into it. “Let’s do this, boys. We’re going in calm, so no shock and awe. I’m talking to you, Vincent.”
As we rolled down the block to Simeck’s mansion, I asked, “Wouldn’t a cellphone make more sense than a walkie talkie?”
“Now where’s the fun in that?” A few seconds later, three black SUVs converged on Simeck’s house. Dante’s dark eyes sparkled as he said, “Show time. Just follow my lead.”
“You love this shit, don’t you?”
“You have no idea.” He stepped out of the vehicle and put his sunglasses back on. Then he pulled up his game face and strode toward the house, with about half a dozen men behind him. Meanwhile, three of Simeck’s bodyguards had gathered on the porch. Their game faces weren’t nearly as good as Team Dante’s, because they were clearly nervous.
One of Simeck’s flunkies tried to sound tough as he barked, “What do you want?”
Dante infused his voice with steel as he said, “Tell Simeck Dante Dombruso is here to see him, and he better not keep me waiting.”
Apparently that name meant something to the rent-a-thugs, because all three instantly looked like they wanted to shit themselves. One of them literally ran into the house, while the other two backed up, then turned and retreated through the open doorway of the stately Italianate mansion.
Dante and his men marched through the front door like they owned the place, and I wandered in after them. A tall man in glasses, who looked so much like Dante that they had to be brothers, grinned at me. Then he draped an arm over my shoulders and led me to the front of the pack as he whispered, “Don’t worry, Riley, we’ve got this. Try to look pissed off, it helps sell the whole gangster vibe.”
“Okay. Thanks, um…”
“Vincent Dombruso.”
I whispered, “It seems like you’ve done this shit before, Vincent.”
He shrugged and looked amused as he said, “Once or twice.”
Mason Simeck rushed into the marble foyer, hastily pulling on a tan suit jacket as he blurted, “Mr. Dombruso, I wasn’t expecting you! Is there a problem?” All of his attention was focused on Dante, who was unquestionably the leader of this operation.
“That’s what I hear. Do you know how disappointing that is, Simeck? I allowed you to live here, in my neighborhood, and how did you repay me? By harassing a member of my family.” I didn’t know if it was intentional or not, but Dante was channeling The Godfather in a big way.
It struck me as hilarious, but it clearly didn’t have the same effect on Simeck, who looked terrified as he exclaimed, “I would never do that, Mr. Dombruso! I don’t even know what member of your family you’re referring to.”
Vincent and I reached the front of the pack at that moment, and Simeck’s mouth fell open when he saw me. I glared at him as Dante said, “I’ve recently been informed you’ve been bothering my cousin Riley and his boyfriend Gabriel.”
“Your cousin? I had no idea!” He looked like he wanted to cry. I almost felt bad for Simeck. Almost.
