Chapter 5 Vin
Vin
The front door detonates inward.
I spin, one hand shoving Sophie—Sophia? fuck, what is her name?—behind me as the world erupts into chaos. Men bellowing. Gunshots flying around us. I grab her arm, yanking her from the kitchen toward Siena, Matti, Tommy, and Giovanna .
Matti’s already got his piece drawn, barrel trained on the entrance. I signal him with two fingers to follow me as I haul Sophie down the hallway, passing each door until I get to the last door and yank it open.
The stairwell is steep and long leading down into more darkness.
“Stay behind me.” The words come out clipped as I start down, gun raised, finger resting against the trigger guard. At the bottom, I flip the light switch and drop into a crouch, sweeping left then right.
Nothing.
“Clear,” I whisper.
Behind me, Sophie stands frozen at the top of the stairs. Siena taps her shoulder, pointing down at me, and the spell breaks. Sophie moves, her feet quick and quiet on the steps, positioning herself exactly where I told her to.
Good girl.
I press against the wall, edge toward the window, and peel back the curtain’s corner.
The safe house clings to the hillside, the upper floor at street level, lower floor opening onto the pool and unfenced landscaped yard.
Two cop cars sit at the top of the hill, lights flashing red and blue across the pavement.
Two uniforms stand by the vehicles, weapons drawn, eyes locked on the front entrance above us.
They haven’t spotted the lower level yet.
“Cops.” I glance at Matti.
He shakes his head, keeps his gun aimed at our six, Siena huddled behind him. “Cops don’t usually knock with a battering ram.”
“And they sure as hell don’t roll up without backup when they do.” I let the curtain fall, cross to the opposite window, away from the flashing lights.
Tommy grimaces, one hand splayed protectively over Giovanna’s swollen belly. “What’s our situation?”
“Two cars. Four to eight hostiles, probably. Two posted outside. Rest are upstairs.”
“Recognize anyone?”
“Too dark.” I squint through the glass.
Above us, screams filter down through floorboards like smoke. Gunshots explode in rapid bursts, and I wave Matti and Tommy over to me.
They cross the room instantly, their women right behind them.
I shove the window open, swing one leg over the sill. The drop’s manageable but not ideal with the concrete below and women who need to make the landing. I land with a grunt, shove the gun into my pants at the small of my back, and reach up.
“Siena first.”
Matti maneuvers her carefully through the frame, hands gentle on her pregnant belly as he lowers her down. I catch her waist and steady her on the ground before helping Giovanna and then Sophie.
My hands span her waist and her fingertips dig into my shoulders.
She’s clutching her shoes in one hand. As she slides down my body, I feel every curve, every soft inch of her pressed against me for a half second.
When her feet touch the ground, she tilts her face up, those enormous brown eyes finding mine.
Seconds tick by, my hands on her waist, her hands still gripping my shoulders.
“Move!” Matti hisses from above.
I snap back to reality, shift her aside. Matti drops soundlessly, and Tommy follows.
A window shatters upstairs, glass raining down onto the concrete around us. The screams are louder, the shouting as rapid and loud as the gunfire. I signal Matti and Tommy to follow me around the side of the house up to where the cop cars sit idling.
Matti shoots a look at Siena, specifically at her belly, and shakes his head at me. His entire world has narrowed to protecting her and that baby. Tommy’s no different; he won’t pry his hands off Giovanna long enough to even look at me and see my signal.
I get it. I do. But we’re in the middle of a God damn war, and I need to know who found our safe house and why.
“Take the women.” I shove Sophie toward my brothers. She stumbles, and Siena glares at me.
I roll my eyes, catch Sophie’s elbow, pull her back. She looks scared, but fuck, this isn’t the time for fucking feelings. “Put your fucking shoes on, and go with them.”
She obeys without a word, darting one quick glance at me before falling in line behind Matti, Tommy, and the girls. I watch as they head down the hill until they vanish into the darkness.
Even with the chaos exploding around me, even as my brain catalogs threats and tactical exit, Sophie’s ass commands a split second of my complete attention.
Once they’re gone, I hug the wall and slip around to the side of the house. The two cops are arguing, one whiny and one irritated. Both voices are familiar, but the irritated one I definitely recognize.
“We shouldn’t even be here right now. Did Aurelio sanction this?” The whiny one sounds like he’s about to shit himself.
Fucking Aurelio. Definitely not cops.
“Not your concern, bitch. We got the call. We do the job. That’s all you need to know.”
Another volley of shots erupts from inside, boots thundering across floors.
“VIN DEMONIO!”
My name, bellowed at top volume from inside the house, slams into me like a physical hit. I freeze. Does he see me? I look around carefully but don’t see anyone in the windows or outside other than the clueless fake cops.
No, they’re inside, tearing the place apart, looking for me. But that means this isn’t a random hit on the family. This is targeted, and I’m at the center of that target.
Outside, one of the fake cops yells toward the house. “You didn’t find him?”
Crashes sound from inside, furniture smashing. My name again: “VIN DEMONIO!”
“If Vin gets out of here alive, we’re dead.” The whiny one sounds close to hyperventilating.
I step out from the shadows and drop into a shooting stance. “You’re already dead, fucker.”
I put two rounds in his head before he can turn, and he drops like a bag of cement.
I pivot, set my sights on the second man. Un-fucking-believable. It’s Silk Alessi. I’ve known this piece of shit for years, and he’s definitely no cop.
“You want me dead, you traitorous fuck?” I edge away from the building, putting the cruiser between us.
“It’s not personal, Vin.” His voice loses its edge and shifts to something almost apologetic.
“Fuck you it’s not personal. Who gave the order?”
We’re locked in a standoff, his gun on me and mine on him. My finger tightens on the trigger. If I’m going down, I’m taking this mother fucker with me.
“I don’t know. That’s the truth, Vin. My capos got the call a couple hours ago. They said dress up like cops, break up the party. Then 20 minutes ago you were marked as the primary target.”
Silk’s been on my father’s payroll for a decade, but never on my crew or Matti’s. He runs with the scorched earth squad, Jimmy and Dante’s boys. They only get called when it’s time to burn everything to the ground and salt the fucking earth with the corpses.
I knew Jimmy and Dante stayed loyal to Aurelio when this war kicked off. I didn’t know where Silk’s loyalties landed. Guess I do now.
“Jimmy and Dante handed down the orders? Who the hell’s pulling their strings besides Aurelio?”
“I just told you I don’t fucking know! Aurelio wouldn’t send us just to crash a party.”
“But he’d send you to put me in the ground.”
Silk’s jaw works. “That’s a standing order at this point, and you know it, Vin. It’s a fucking war.”
He throws a glance over his shoulder as more crashes come from inside.
I use the distraction to close the distance, inch by inch. “So you gonna try it, you piece of shit?”
His hands fly up, palms out, his gun pointed at the sky. “Nobody wants Aurelio, man. Nobody. Including me.”
“I bet you say that to all the girls, Silk.”
He earned that nickname for a reason. He’s a smooth talker, the kind of guy who can talk his way out of a body bag. But I’ve heard this song before. More than half of Aurelio’s crew defected when the war started and even more are feeding me intel on the side.
“You know it’s the truth. Let me prove it.”
I arch an eyebrow. “You want to prove your loyalty? Go inside and kill Jimmy and Dante.”
Silence stretches between us then Silk turns on his heel and strides into the house.
I rise from my crouch, move behind the cruiser, weapon trained on the entrance. I don’t know if he’s doing what I asked, making a run for it, or gathering reinforcements to take me down. Guess I’ll find out.
Shots ring out inside, and I drop behind the cruiser, sights locked on the doorway. Thirty seconds later, Silk emerges. The strobing red and blue lights wash over his face, highlighting the blood spatter across his shirt and cheek.
Silk gives me a quick nod. “What’s next, boss?”
I straighten slowly, keeping my gun steady.
“Find out who ordered the hit.”