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“We’ll meet up at the main,” Nick said.
“On my way,” Zander replied. Before he could fully disconnect the line, Zsanine’s brothers were asking questions.
“The Di’Carlo’s? Who are they, and what do they want with our sister?” Shareef asked.
Zander was already moving toward the door. Mustapha stepped in his way. When he did, Isaac stepped up, too. The moment was tense. Mustapha and Isaac eyed each other. Zander lifted his hand in Isaac’s direction, silently instructing him to stand down. He understood Mustapha’s angst, and as long as he asked what he needed to without getting disrespectful, Zander would respond in kind.
“My brother asked you a question. Who are these people?”
“Some folks we’re going to handle.” Zander was ready to move out. The longer he stood there talking, the longer Zsanine was in danger. There was urgency in his soul. He wouldn’t be held up for long.
“Who are these people? Mustapha insisted. “You owe us an answer.”
Zander didn’t feel like he owed them shit, but the situation wasn’t about him or them. It was about Zsanine.
“Italian Mafia.”
Zsanine’s brothers were stupefied by Zander’s response. They didn’t understand. Zander was less concerned with their lack of understanding. He had a bead on Zsanine, and that was his primary focus. It was his only focus. Isaac understood the urgency of getting to the Di’Carlo mansion as quickly as possible. Speed was irrelevant. Safety was important, but he knew to get Zander to the location as quickly as possible. Mustapha still rode with Zander. This time he didn’t bother to raise any questions even though he had them. He felt like, for the first time, they had a legitimate lead on finding his sister. That was paramount. Everything else would have to wait.
As the cars that contained Zsanine’s brothers pulled up to the mansion, they were surprised to see the presence already there. As soon as the vehicle stopped, Zander stepped out of it. The brothers followed behind him, unsure of why they were there and what was happening.
“You all should stay out here,” Zander said as he and his brothers got ready to move.
“Why?” Shareef asked.
“Because,” Zander replied, pivoting on his heels and coming face to face with him. “This ain’t gone be pretty, and I don’t have time to explain shit to you.” Zander had been as patient as he could, but his patience was wearing thin. Nothing, no one would come between him rescuing Zsanine, not even her own family.
Just then, a message from the Elite team came through. “Three exterior guards have been immobilized. Two observed inside, and two Betty’s inside.”
The brothers heard Zander’s warning but didn’t want to heed it.
“We can handle it,” Mustapha said, speaking for everyone.
Nick and Zander made eye contact. They came to an unspoken agreement. Nicholas understood Zander’s response. It would have been his response as well. He also felt for Zsanine’s brothers and if they wanted to man up in this situation, then let them man up.
“We won’t stop until we get what we need,” Zander said to the St. Laurent trio. “Understand?”
“Understood.”
Gianna and Alessa had no idea what was happening. They had no idea that their compound was under assault until it was too late. Security dragged them from wherever they were in the house and took them to the dining room, a familiar space to the St. Clair brothers. They protested, but their protestation with the guards fell on deaf ears. Then, the situation for the Di’Carlo women went from bad to worse when they saw their arch enemies enter the room.
“We’ve done this dance before,” Nicholas said as he and his entourage entered the room.
Alessa immediately grabbed her sister’s arms when she saw the men, some she unfortunately recognized, some she didn’t. Gianna tried to remain fierce in the face of danger. She had to as the head of the family. She couldn’t look weak even though she quaked inside.
“If you don’t want what happened to your brothers to happen to you, tell us where Zsanine is,” Nicholas said, his voice low and intentional.
“What are they talking about, Gianna?” Alessa asked. “Who is Zsanine?” Alessa had no clue what was going on. Since her family died in front of her, Alessa kept to herself, experiencing depression mostly in isolation. She was too sad to be angry like some of her sisters. Now, her life was at risk, and she had no idea why.
“So, you’re the one who knows,” Zander said, stepping forward. His gaze permeated through Gianna. She remembered him from before, from the moment he stepped into the room. Her heart skipped a loud beat when he moved toward her, decisively eradicating any space between them. “Where is she?”
Gianna leaned back as far as she could in her seat, trying to add space to that he’d subtracted. But Zander moved with her, lauding over her.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Gianna replied, averting her eyes.
Zander had no tolerance. He slammed his hand so hard on the table everyone who didn’t anticipate it jumped.
“The next time you lie to me, it’s your face. Understand?”
