Chapter 24
24
LAZARO
I put a final bullet in the head of the man sprawled out on the floor in front of me, gripping his shoulder from where I just shot him. I don’t give a fuck about anything he has to say, and the Russian bastard knew he was dead anyway. When I turn, I see Massimo and Alonzo handling the last few who are trying to escape.
When they finish, we move to the middle of the hallway, looking around at the bodies littering the floor. “Any of them ours?” I ask.
“We lost two here,” Alonzo says grimly. “I’ll have their bodies sent back to their families. Neither of them is married or have children.”
“We’ll ensure they’re taken care of,” Massimo nods. “And I’ll let Aurelio know to send money to their families for anything they need. There will probably be more, but knowing that most of our men are fine, is a fucking relief.”
“These fuckers certainly gave it a hard try to catch us by surprise,” I agree, kicking at one of the bodies by my feet in disgust.
“None of them seemed all that trained. These were probably their new recruits or men they didn’t give a damn about,” Alonzo sneers with a shake of his head. “Waste. But what can you expect from Russians, and a man that has never run anything in his life?”
On that we’re in agreement.
Massimo’s phone rings and he quickly pulls it out. “You’re alive then?” He smirks to whoever is on the other end. He listens, agrees, hangs up, and then looks at us and says, “Nico and Dante have three hostages and have taken them to the basement. We can head there to question them while the soldiers deal with the bodies. The cops tried to involve themselves, but Dante and Aurelio handled them without too much of a fuss. We need to get down there.”
“And the women?” I ask, my mind turning to Amara, who is probably scared out of her mind.
“They’re safe in Amara’s new salon,” Massimo says as we make our way down the hallway, side-stepping or walking over the men littering the floor. “Mario, Thomas, and Nico’s man Peter are guarding the door and the hallway. They killed men that tried to get through, but no one succeeded.”
“Good,” Alonzo says with a nod. “Rori is in there with Hades, though, and no one would get past those two without a fight. And I let her keep a gun, so she isn’t without protection either.”
“Sofia’s in there too, and she’s pissed.” Massimo grins wickedly. “And this time, she’s not pissed at us, but at that slimy fucker who thinks he can touch her and live. He might not be looking so pretty when she’s done with him.”
Alonzo and I share conspiratorial smiles, but a small part of me kind of respects him for being willing to face her wrath if it meant she was safe. Not that I’ll ever tell him that. Fucker can handle a pissed off Sofia all on his own.
“Did she have a weapon?” I ask Massimo.
He shrugs. “No idea, but knowing her, probably. It’s rare she isn’t walking around without something. And after the last attack, she said that was the last time she was going to be without a weapon until everything is fixed.”
Yeah, that sounds like our sister.
“They’ll be fine for a little while longer,” Alonzo assures me as we finally get to the door that leads to the basement. “Probably better that none of them walk out of there until this whole fucking mess is cleaned up anyway. It’ll probably traumatize them.”
He’s probably right, but I still ache to go and see Amara and Sofia myself, to make sure they’re okay.
When we enter the basement, I’m flooded with anticipation when I see the three men suspended from the ceiling. Two of them struggle, curse, and plead, while one hangs quietly, his head down and body still. I can’t tell if he’s passed out, or just conserving his energy.
He’s the one that will have what we need. The others will have a lot to say, but nothing of use. The last one, he’ll be tough to break, but unlucky for him, this is exactly our speciality.
“Oh goody,” Alessio says with a wicked smile when he sees us. “Now the real fun can begin.”
The two men turn their heads toward us. I keep my expression dark, foreboding, and their protests and struggles increase. The clanging of chains fills the room, but the third man never so much as glances our way.
“Two Russians and an Italian.” Zeno snickers. “It’s like the start of one of your stupid American jokes.” He grins at Nico, who ignores him. Not that Zeno cares; he says something to Urso, who snickers.
“Lazaro, which one do you want?” Alessio asks me with a knowing grin. He already knows exactly which one I’ll be tackling. “I promised Dante he can have a crack at one of them though, so you can’t be greedy.”
“Fucking hell, just get the fuck on with it,” Nico snaps, clearly irritated. “We don’t have time to waste with your antics.”
“He’s cranky,” Alessio says with a roll of his eyes toward where Papa and Pietro are standing. The two of them give him bland stares in return. “Tough crowd. Fine, fine, I’ll be quiet and let you all handle them.” He steps back, arms crossed over his chest with a disgruntled expression.
Nico and Dante share an exasperated look, clearly not understanding what Alessio is doing. For smart men, they underestimate him a lot. The two Russian men hanging are now focused on Alessio and the little show he’s putting on, and Alonzo and I are using their distraction to get ourselves ready. On silent feet, we move behind them, and they realize it too late, screaming in pain when we strike them both at the same time. I hit the man in front of me hard in the kidneys, followed up by a knife into his side. Years of experience means I know where to hit to cause pain, and that he’ll die slowly as long as I don’t pull out that knife.
Alonzo does the same to his man, but he knifes him in the belly, twisting it just enough to have him wailing in agony and puking his guts up all over the floor. We quickly step out of the way to avoid getting any of the mess on us, but the vibe in the room instantly changes. Nico and Dante scowl at us, unhappy that we’re not letting them have their turn. “Stop pissing around,” I tell them simply.
Nico curses at me in a low voice, but I turn my attention back to the men in front of me as Alonzo barks sharply, “Speak!”
“Fuck you!” the one with the knife in his side grits out between clenched teeth, even as his ashen face starts to sweat. His accent isn’t as thick, which means he’s been in America longer than their home country.
I punch him straight in the gut, and he screams. “Try again,” I order darkly. “Or the rest of your time on this earth will have you praying to the devil to take you.” For good measure, I reach up and grip one of his fingers tight in my hand and snap it with little effort. When he doesn’t start talking, I move to the next one. By the time I break all the fingers on one hand, he’s begging for me to stop and promising to tell us everything.
I give him a disgusted look. I was just getting warmed up, the pussy. I step back and Nico steps forward, Pietro flanking him as well. “Why were you sent here?” Nico demands.
“The girls. They sent us to get the girls,” he pants out. “Said not to leave until we got them and took out any of you still here.”
“Idiot,” Massimo scoffs. “They sent you to your death and you were too stupid to notice. Did you really think that with the men you had, you would be able to defeat our two forces together?”
“They said you were going to be out,” the man argues angrily. “That Italian fucker said he was going to make sure you were busy with their distraction.”
“Shut the fuck up!” the other Russian screams at him. “Shut the fuck up, Yuri.”
“We’re going to die anyway,” he screams back.
“Quiet,” Alonzo barks, gripping the knife in the gut of the second guy and twisting it a little more. He screams, but he doesn’t say anything else.
“Talk,” I order Yuri. “What distraction did they tell you they were sending us to, again? And if I hear one lie come out of your wretched mouth, I’ll kill you before you take your next breath.” I twist the knife in his side to make my point. More blood oozes out, and his screams echo around the room again.
“H-he told us t-that h-he was g-giving a false t-tip about finding some other girl,” he stammers. His eyes are already going glassy from shock, so we don’t have much time left. “T-that he would handle getting them out of the way while we took care of the girls and killed the rest of you.”
“And your Pakhan was in full agreement with this?” Nico demands. “He willingly sent you to slaughter?”
“H-he g-gave the order,” he gasps out. “P-please. Kill me.”
I glance at Pietro, and he gives a terse nod. I yank out my knife, and then slash his throat with it. Blood pours from his wounds, and I move to the other man. He kicks and screams and he stares in horror as Yuri chokes on his own blood, gurgling pleas that quickly fall silent. “Talk,” I order, tapping the knife just hard enough to ensure I have his full attention.
“I don’t know anything else,” he sobs, tears streaming down his face. Looking at him, he’s much younger than the other man, barely in his early twenties, if that. I don’t have an ounce of sympathy for him. He is nothing more than a tool that Ivan and Giovanni used to try and take my woman and kill my family. For that alone, he’ll die. Though it remains to be seen whether he’ll hold out longer than his friend.
“I think we’re going to have to get creative,” I reply, my lips pulling up into a rictus grin. I scan around the room until I spot the propane and torch in the corner. I pick it up and carry it back toward the absolutely horrified kid. “You will tell us everything, or I start burning.”
The kid’s mouth opens, but no sound comes out. He struggles, trying to curl his body away from me. Like that’s going to save him. “Please no,” he begs. “Please. No. I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.”
“Where is Giovanni De Luca?” Pietro demands.
“W-we don’t know. He never told Ivan where to find him, he just calls him or shows up when he needs him,” he gasps out. “He sends one of his sons to deliver messages. Ivan was getting pissed about the disrespect of it and put a beating on the son.”
“Which son?” Nico asks.
“It’s a different one than the one he came with initially,” he finally answers after a moment. “He back-talked Ivan and Ivan taught him a lesson.”
I glance at Pietro and then Alessio, who both look thoughtful at that. Clearly the alliance between Giovanni and Ivan is off to a rocky start. Not that it surprises me. Italians and Russians have never gotten along.
“What else?” Pietro demands, and the kid jumps, crying out in pain at the sudden movement.
“I-I d-don’t know,” the kid sobs. “That’s all we were told.”
Pietro nods at Alonzo, who yanks out the knife and fires a bullet between the kid’s eyes. We all turn to look at the final man, who has remained quiet with his head down. I grab a fistful of hair and yank his head back. He doesn’t utter a sound as his dark eyes stare up at me. They show acceptance and intelligence, which tells me he knows exactly how this will end, and he doesn’t care. Perhaps he won’t be so hard to get information from after all.
“Talk,” I order.
He’s quiet for a moment, watching me before he glances at Pietro and Alonzo. Then he looks back at me and asks, “If I tell you what I know, you’ll kill me quickly?” I look over at Pietro and then Nico, who both nod sharply. When I release his hair and step back, his head drops forward before he lifts it again and starts talking.
“Giovanni lost a lot of men in the last fight here, and when he found out he lost his son and Parisi, he was pissed. His force is only a quarter of the size from when he split off from Don De Luca. Lorenzo was helping him run things, but now that he’s dead, Orlando has stepped up, and that crazy motherfucker is the one who came up with the idea of joining with Morozov. They’re keeping a lot of things close to their chest, but some of the men have heard them talking about something that Ivan is hiding. Something that might turn the tide for them and give them a leg up, but no one, not even Orlando, has been able to figure it out, and it’s pissing him off. They’re trying to get dirt on Morozov through his sons, but that’s not working either, and Orlando took the brunt of that beating, and it’s pissed him off even more. We all thought that was the end of the alliance, but Giovanni has nothing, and he refuses to bow out, so he apologized to Ivan and told him he’ll handle Orlando.”
“And did he?” Dante asks.
The guy shakes his head. “He mostly told him to watch his mouth around Ivan until they were in place to take over, and then he could get his revenge. Orlando was pissed about it, and I was sure he was going to kill Giovanni for suggesting such a thing, but the other brother calmed him down. They started planning to speed things up. Orlando wanted to take the new girl from you at the airport as soon as you landed, but Ivan refused to send men to make it happen, so they had to sit and wait. Ivan said he didn’t want Armani’s men coming down on him before they were ready. He wanted to bring in more men from other areas and build some alliances in case things went to shit.
“After that, Giovanni and Orlando cooked up the idea that they needed to get things moving, because neither Leonardo or Marco were making any moves other than aligning themselves with others. Giovanni was especially pissed that Marco aligned with Gallo, because Giovanni had been planning to approach him himself with the idea that he would offer up one of his sons for a marriage alliance with one of Gallo’s daughters. When that fell through, Orlando convinced him to go to Ivan, but Ivan refused. Doesn’t want Italian blood polluting his Russian lines.”
“So what did Giovanni offer him instead? Help him win, and he’d let him keep his territory?” Nico scoffs.
“No. Ivan told him that he would take fifty percent of the territory, while Giovanni could have the other half, but Giovanni would have no claim on the ports. That will remain with Ivan. Giovanni was pissed, but it’s not like he has much of a choice. Word is that he doesn’t want to approach any other Italian families because of how badly things worked out with Parisi. He also doesn’t want to bring any wrath from other families in the country he’s already burned bridges with, when he was Underboss for Leonardo.”
“None of that answers what Giovanni offered him if the marriage pact didn’t work out,” Nico snaps.
“None of us know. Giovanni and Orlando have kept it to themselves, and their head of security in the room hasn’t said or even hinted at anything. One stupid fucker tried to pry, and died instantly for it. No one has asked since, but it has to be something good for Ivan to agree.”
That doesn’t sit right with me. What the hell would Giovanni have to offer, if not marriage? And no one, not even this Ivan fucker, is going to trust a known traitor to keep his word on a fifty-fifty partnership. “You’re fucking lying,” I hiss, punching him in the stomach and making him grunt. “Lie again, and I’ll start burning,” I threaten.
He coughs, gasping for a moment before he composes himself enough to look at me. “Not a fucking lie,” he tells me seriously. “Giovanni and Orlando have been having private meetings, ones that his other sons aren’t even invited to, and it’s possible they don’t know about them either, from the way things have been rumored. A few days ago, one of the men heard Giovanni ask Orlando about the other girl, but didn’t hear anything more before the door shut. They talk in hushed tones, and sweep every room they go into for any kind of bugs immediately. Whatever they’re working on, it must be big enough that they don’t want anyone to leak it.”
I glance over at Alessio and I can see the same thought in his eyes. We need to find out what the hell they’re up to.
“What’s their plan for the girls?” Pietro demands. “All of them.”
“Giovanni hasn’t said much, only that he wants them back under his thumb. They’re the key to getting all the power. Armani will make mistakes to get his wife back, and the other one that’s his niece, he just wants to pay her back for helping kill his son. His daughter, he hasn’t said much about, only that he wants her put somewhere she can’t cause any more trouble, and will be kept in hand while he deals with finding the last one.”
My blood runs cold at his words, then burns with fury and determination. There is no fucking way any of that is going to happen. I’ll die first, and even if I do, my family will ensure that nothing happens no matter what. I manage to keep my expression blank, but from the looks Massimo and Alessio shoot me, they understand. I glance at Nico, and his eyes are burning with pure rage.
“What is Giovanni planning for tonight while you and your men were here?” Dante demands. “And leave nothing fucking out or I’ll help them roast you, then finish you off myself.”
I glance at Alonzo, who’s scowling. Fucker thinks he can step in on our interrogation techniques? Like fuck.
“Giovanni and Ivan gave the orders for two teams, but the majority of us were to come here. They want the girls, and we’re not to return without them. The other team was to watch Marco and Leonardo, but then just before we left, I overheard the head of their security team pull a couple of them away to talk quietly. I maneuvered myself into place to listen and I heard him say that there was a secret mission for them, and to make sure it got handled. Giovanni found out that a call went from Gallo to Leonardo and they have plans to meet at Esposito’s tonight. Guess he took that to mean it was the perfect time to strike them both out.”
“You’re telling me that Giovanni sent men to take out his brother, Gallo, and Esposito?” Nico demands. “But not Marco? Why?”
“Giovanni has always said that Marco is too hot-tempered and irrational. He doesn’t think things through. So he doesn’t see him as a real challenge, and if he kills Gallo, then…” He leaves that to hang, staring at Nico.
“Then there goes Marco’s alliance anyway and any foothold he has,” Alessio finishes grimly.
“He also has a chance to take out three major rivals all in one go if he succeeds,” Massimo agrees. “But there is no way that just a couple of men are going to be able to get there and sneak in undetected and kill them all.”
“Ivan is sending his men with them and they have orders to leave no survivors,” the man says matter-of-factly. “And I overheard in the conversation that Ivan was sending some of his allies' best men. Ones that are known for getting the job done.”
“And they sent the not-so-great ones here to keep us occupied,” I finish, everything starting to click into place.
“Aurelio,” Pietro says simply. Papa, Urso, and Zeno all leave, knowing they need to move fast to verify the information. “Anything else?” he asks the man.
The man’s eyes are void of any emotion, knowing his time is almost up. Perhaps indifference has already set in, but he’s thankfully not done. “Giovanni has been splitting himself between two different places. He still has the vacation estate that he was using with Parisi, but behind it is another house, one he can access from a tunnel underground so no one can see him leaving or entering it. Most of the time he’s there, but a few of us know that he has another secret location, one he’s hidden from most of the men and even his brother and nephews. He doesn’t want them knowing, so he only lets it slip to those he feels won’t tell.”
“And you were one of those people?” Pietro asks, sounding unconvinced.
“No, but one of the people he trusted got drunk and told a few of us that were playing poker while waiting for our next shift. It’s a smaller place, and that’s where Giovanni takes his mistresses to keep them off Leonardo’s radar.”
“Where is it?” Dante demands.
“He didn’t know, and he never shared. We just know it exists.”
“Anything else?” Pietro demands.
He’s quiet, and I see his shoulders slump. His time is up and he knows it. “Most of us didn’t want to leave Don De Luca, but the Don is also losing control. It’s not obvious yet, but that whore he married was fucking so many men to get inside information to fuck him over, that he has a lot of work to do to gain trust and favor back. It’s why he wanted the daughter to marry Esposito’s son. It would have gone a long way in rebuilding his standing.”
I glance over at Alessio, who’s eyes have sharpened. That’s new information that can work in our favor. Now to see how to use it.
Pietro takes his gun out and shoots him straight between the eyes, keeping his word. He turns to look at Nico, his expression hard. “Giovanni is making some big moves.”
“And he’s making them with a man like Ivan behind him,” Nico agrees grimly. “Ivan is insane on a normal day, but add in Giovanni’s desperation for power, and it’s a recipe for disaster. Our rats in Ivan’s camp have little to no good information when we require it. Ivan and his sons can sniff them out far better than Gallo or the De Lucas have ever been able to in the past.”
“I’ll put a call out to those we do have and see if they have any information,” Dante offers, pulling out his phone. “Though if Ivan suspects any of them, he’ll have put them at the front line of the fight to ensure we take them out ourselves.”
“I want to know what it is that Giovanni is offering Ivan to secure this kind of cooperation, if it’s not marriage,” Nico says irritably.
“Maybe it’s not an offering,” Alessio suggests thoughtfully. “Maybe Giovanni has something on him to make him cooperate. Or at least enough to agree to provide him aid.”
“It would have to be something pretty big for Ivan to allow him to blackmail him that way,” Dante replies doubtfully. “Esposito tried that once, and Ivan laughed him right out of the meeting. He took out half his army just for the attempt. Took Esposito years to recover, and that was only with help from the previous Don Armani, and maybe some from Leonardo. He and Ivan have steered clear of each other since.”
“Your father is a waste of breath,” Pietro says in disgust, reminding me of the statement he made to Dante weeks ago when he heard his name. None of us are clear on that rivalry, though, and even Papa seems to be in the dark. Or he’s just decided to keep Pietro’s secrets, which is very likely as well.
Dante gives Pietro a cool smile. “On that, we both can agree. Still, he’s trusted enough by Leonardo and Seamus if they are both going to his house for their little meeting to discuss this shit show.”
My phone starts to ring, and I pull it out to see Papa’s name on the screen. “Go ahead,” I tell him, putting it on speaker.
“The fucker was telling the truth,” Papa says briskly. “Leonardo arrived not long before Seamus, and they only had about half an hour to talk before Giovanni and Ivan’s men all showed up to break it up. Fire-fight much like here, with just as many casualties.”
“Any news on whether they managed to take out those they were after?”
“Just got a call from one of our men that was there to check in, and he said Leonardo got away, but barely, and with far less men. He sent a couple of our men after him to see where he went, and he’s just gotten back to his home and closed it up tight. It looks like Gallo wasn’t as lucky. He reports that his guards managed to get him out of the house, but only by being supported by his men. They’re pretty sure he was majorly injured, and his shirt and those of his men were covered in blood.”
“That old fucker is too damn stubborn to die,” Nico instantly replies. “Dante, get through to Eion and find out what the hell happened and what is happening over there. It would be just like Marco to use this as a coup.”
“They’ll never let that happen,” Massimo argues. “No Irishman is going to take orders from an Italian that isn’t even part of the family yet. His sons will take over and that will be the end of it.”
I have to agree, though Nico and Dante don’t look convinced.
“What about Giovanni and Ivan’s men? Where did they go?”
“From reports and cameras, they went back to Ivan’s location, and they haven’t left since. They got back about twenty minutes ago, from the timestamps on the cameras in the area,” Aurelio finishes.
“Keep an eye on them,” Pietro orders. “We don’t know if they’re going to try a second attack when they realize none of their men have come back from here. We need constant watches, and double the guards on the women. His plan worked somewhat and he’ll be cocky enough to try again soon.”
“We need to get to that house he uses,” I remind them. “I bet any information about what he has on Ivan is there. He’s not going to trust it at their regular home, from the things the traitor said.”
“That’s assuming he was telling the truth,” Alonzo adds pointedly. “He could be sending us to chase our tails.”
“Already on it,” Urso calls out. “If he’s hiding shit, we’ll find it. We have a direction to look, and I’ll have our guys working round the clock. That Orlando prick is good, but he’s not as good as us,” he adds cockily.
“Alright, we know what we’re doing. Lazaro, I’ll leave it to you and Dante to schedule things with the men,” Pietro tells me with a nod. “For now, collect the women and get this place cleaned and reinforced. We don’t want any more surprises.”
“What about the passages?” I ask Nico and Dante. “Have they been changed to only allow access to you and the women?”
Dante confirms with a bob of his head. “But I only did that this morning. I don’t have Amara added yet, but we can set her up.”
“No one uses them unless absolutely necessary,” Nico adds firmly. “The biometrics may have been changed, but I don’t trust that Tommaso didn’t get in there and find the exits at some point. Any place in there could be compromised until we have time to thoroughly search them and make sure that no new ones have been created.”
“Well, there goes my plan to use them to sneak back into your bed, Boo Bear,” Alessio teases. “But that’s okay, because now we don’t have to hide our love.” He laughs like an idiot as he dodges away from the fist Nico aims at his face.
Pietro rolls his eyes. “Son, I worry about you.” He sighs. “Come, let’s get out of here. We have things to see to.” Then he looks at us and grins. “And I’m not the one who still has to deal with what I’m sure are a few very pissed off women.”
I share a look with the others, and see them all lose their smiles. Well, all but Alessio. He just grins and says, “Sienna will be understanding. The most she’ll do is try to knife me, but that’s just foreplay. Someone needs to take a picture so we can add it to our collection.”
“You’re fucked in the head,” Massimo groans as we start to leave.
“Personally, I think it’s Sofia and Rori we need to worry about,” I remark as we head up the steps.
Massimo starts to laugh. “Oh, yeah, I fucking forgot about that.” He looks back at Dante once we’re all out of the basement and back in the hallway. “We might not have to kill you, with how pissed she was. She’ll do it herself, and we’ll just stand back and watch. Nico, I hope you have a backup ready.” Nico ignores him in favor of shutting and locking the door.
“You forgot that Rori has Hades. She’ll have him chomping on the first sucker to step through the door,” I remind them, looking at Alonzo pointedly. Alonzo just glares at me, making me grin.
Pietro shakes his head in exasperation and walks away, one of our men stepping into the hallway to follow him.
I’m anxious to get to Amara, so I head down the hall, ignoring the bickering behind me. I want to make sure she’s alright, because if not, I have a feeling that I’m going to be back at square one with her.
Or she’s going to run screaming, and I’ll have to chase her down and bring her back. Good thing I’ve studied this place so well, otherwise it’d take me days to find her.