AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The plan was to arrive first, have snipers in place and scouts making sure they didn’t sneak up on us from behind. I’d made a big fuss about dragging the supplies in, there was no sign that we were being watched, but it always paid to be careful. When it got close to the time for the meeting to start, they closed the barn doors, leaving all their vehicles outside.
We’d been inside for about thirty minutes when Storm got the first reports of dark SUVs pulling onto the property. The plan was to wait until they were right outside the barn and then for Steel’s crew to meet up with the Slayers who weren’t in the barn and surround the interlopers. Nicco and his brothers would arrive first, followed by their fearless leader, who would be none the wiser that the Russo brothers were about to double-cross him, and snipers would take out Don Diavonte and his captains once the fighting started.
It was a good plan. And it was shocking how smoothly it rolled into action. Mason stepped in front of me the minute the fighting started outside. “Stay behind me, Rilia. No matter what happens, use me for cover. Shoot only if you have to.”
“I will. You be careful as well.”
He turned around to look at me. “I’ll be fine. Fought a hundred battles, most worse than this one. This ain’t nothing but a day at the office for me, cher.”
I swallowed thickly and nodded. The thought that he’d been in the line of fire so many times felt like something I should have realized before now, especially as his body bore the evidence of those battles in scars. But they were something we simply didn’t talk about. They were part of his body as much as his washboard abs and huge biceps.
Mason moved along the perimeter of the barn, keeping our back to the wall. This particular barn had cement blocks running about four feet up from the ground to form a foundation, so it gave a measure of protection from the bullets flying outside. Suddenly, the barn door flew open.
Storm and Mason instantly had their guns drawn.
“Aprilia, are you here?” Nicco stepped through with a gun smoking in his hand.
It was Mason who answered. “She’s here. How about Don Diavonte? Is he here yet?”
Nicco rushed over to us. “Yeah, the old man’s just arrived, we managed to slip away.”
“Everyone okay?” Diego’s voice rang out, Lucas followed closely behind his brother, providing cover.
Storm jerked his chin toward the door. “We’d best jump into the mix. I don’t want to end up in a shootout in an enclosed area.”
I stepped forward to follow Storm’s directions, but Mason’s hand came out to block me.
“Head for the ladder. We’re taking the high ground with Teeny.” He pointed to the wooden ladder leading up to the hayloft. It suddenly made sense why he agreed for me to come. It was because I wouldn’t be boots on the ground where bullets were flying, but safe in the loft. I grabbed the ladder and hoisted myself up. Mason and the Russo brothers followed close behind.
Teeny was already lying in front of an open window, taking shots. When I scrambled into place, he spoke without looking over his shoulder at me. “Welcome to the fight Aprilia.”
I fell into place beside him and pulled out my gun. “How’d you know it was me?”
He squeezed off another shot. “It’s that expensive perfume you wear. None of the other women wear it and I can smell you from a hundred paces.”
I almost got the breath knocked out of me when Mason literally landed on my back. “What in the world are you doing?” I asked breathlessly.
“My fuckin’ job, cher. I’m doing my fuckin’ job and protecting you.” He eased over to the far side of my body, putting me squarely between him and Teeny. “Relax, Rilia. We’ve got this. Y’all ready?”
Diego snorted a laugh, “I was born ready,” and he and his brothers took up positions at the other windows. They broke the glass and began shooting.
“I’ve got him in my sights,” Teeny said.
“No. He’s mine,” Mason responded in a dark tone.
A quick glance to my left revealed that Mason was using the scope on his rifle to scan the horizon.
“Diavonte’s in the back, behind the main skirmish. I caught sight of him because the sunlight reflected off the binoculars he’s using to watch the fighting.”
“That’s unsurprising. The old goat isn’t going to risk catching a stray bullet. That’s what he has us for,” Diego said sarcastically.
Nicco responded gleefully, “That’s what he used to have us for. Too bad I can’t see his face when he realizes we orchestrated his downfall.”
“Shut the hell up and kill some enemies,” Lucas hissed.
The Russo brothers continued to give Mason and Teeny a run-down of who’s who on the ground. Most of the mobsters who’d come were loyal to Don Diavonte and they were fair game—but there were others who were allied to the Russos, so they were careful not to aim at them.
Finally, Mason murmured, “I got him.” Without another word, he squeezed the trigger on his sniper rifle.
