Chapter 20
Look Who Decided to Join the Party
Wire
Seeing that Sutton is a small town, our plan needs to happen after the sun goes down.
That leaves us most of the day to get what we need in place.
The initial plan was to infiltrate Atilio at home, but no matter what's going on with his wife and kid, we don’t want them involved in this.
From what I understand, his wife would have left him long ago if it weren’t for her daughter.
Atilio had made it plain that if his wife tried anything, their daughter would disappear, never to be seen again by his wife.
We need a truck that will just happen to be stalled on the main road leading to the garage. This will force Atilio’s driver to take the secondary route. I’ll manipulate the traffic lights to coincide with the team’s readiness to strike.
Meanwhile, back home, Vic has staged a scene and is taking photos of a very dead-looking Maria and Franco.
They told the little guy it was a Halloween prank they were going to play on the rest of us, and then they’d pop out and surprise us.
At first, Franco thought this was a mean trick, but they managed to convince him otherwise.
Franco’s a little kid with a big heart, which makes this mission even more important.
Bull and Rebel have seen to the guns and ammo necessary.
Falcon and Phoenix have gone out to check every inch of the site to make sure we don’t have any unnecessary surprises.
There could be a homeless person using the alley as their refuge, and the last thing we want is witnesses or, worse, casualties.
I have been working on tapping into Vito’s emails and replicating Atilio’s messages.
I send sinister notes under Atilio’s name.
This isn’t far-fetched, seeing as Atilio’s been openly badmouthing Vito.
I’m surprised that Vito hasn’t struck back, but then again, he probably wouldn’t waste his time on someone as unimportant as Atilio.
Unfortunately, Atilio thinks highly of himself when others don’t even have him on their radar.
Luke is practicing his part. He’ll be the one calling Atilio to offer a deal.
Luke needs to convince Atilio to go to the garage himself.
Atilio doesn’t like to get his hands dirty, and his bodyguard does the grunt work, which means Phoenix is going to be watching Atilio’s house and making sure he gets in the car, or else this plan is doomed from the start.
“One more time, Luke,” I tell him. Luke’s voice is still shaky, but that could work in our favor. He’s worried about his family’s safety, and Atilio is out looking for them.
“It’s time we put an end to this. I have the information you want, but in return, I want your assurance that my family remains safe.
Come to the shop. I’ll hand you the address, I’ll walk away, and you won’t see or hear from us again.
Our relationship is over. Take the restaurant and the shop, I just want my family away from all this. ” Luke repeats the words again.
“What if he doesn’t come?” Nick asks.
“The minute we know that Atilio isn’t getting into the car, we make another call. This time, Luke is going to threaten to give the information to Vito himself and tell him what Atilio has planned. It’s a threat he won’t be able to ignore if he wants the revenge he’s after,” I tell him.
“I just want this done and over with,” Luke says wearily. “I’ve done stuff I’m not proud of, but I would never hurt a woman and her child. How did everything go so badly when I just wanted to settle down and run my restaurant and raise a family?”
“This will be over soon, but you’ll have to start your restaurant somewhere else. Even when Atilio is gone, there’ll always be a new player who pops up. The best chance for your family is to leave this place and keep a low profile,” I respond.
The worst part of any mission is the utter silence before the games begin.
It’s supposed to be a time where we can just have a moment to ourselves to think, but for me, it’s the worst part.
My mind wanders to Remmi and how much I miss her.
Then come the reeling thoughts of what she’s doing, and what she’s thinking, and wondering if she’s missing me as much as I’m missing her.
I make the call, wanting to hear her voice. “Hey, baby. How are you doing?” I murmur quietly into the phone.
“Colton, honey, is it over? Are you coming home?” She sounds edgy and worried.
“Not yet, but soon,” I soothe. “We’ll be done by morning if all goes well. What’s going on over there? How are you ladies holding up?”
“Kailyn’s a rock and says that everything is going to be fine, but deep down, I think she’s scared for Phoenix.
Maya and Sadie are keeping busy. They tried their hand at creating their own pottery.
They suggest I rent a space in town and give lessons,” she says with a giggle.
“Your parents are doing well. Your dad won’t let any of us out of his sight.
It’s really sweet.” There’s a pause before she asks, “Are you and the team safe?”
“We’re looking after each other, and we’re good. We’ll be even better when we’re on our way home.”
In the background, I hear Kailyn. “Is that Wire?” she asks. Then she says, “Can I talk to him for a minute?”
“Wire, it’s Kaylie. Listen, I got a call from Archer. He’s okay. He wanted to know where you guys were. I told him that you were on a mission. He really wanted to have a word with Falcon, but the line was fuzzy, and we got disconnected. Can you let Falcon know Archer’s safe?”
“Hell, yeah. That’s great news. I know it’s been bothering Falcon since we haven’t heard from him in a while.” The door opens, and Phoenix walks in. “Your husband just came through the door. Do you want a word?”
“I’ll call him from my phone. I think Remmi wants to say goodbye. Be safe, Wire,” Kailyn says.
“Always,” I answer.
Remmi’s sweet voice purrs in my ear. “I need you to come home so I can show you how much I miss you. I love you, Colton Wire Reid, and I need you to know that my heart is yours.”
Her words are so heartfelt that my chest aches, and I wish I could hold her in my arms. “Baby, I love you too.” I manage to get the words out around the lump in my throat. “Home soon, promise.”
Once I hang up, I give Falcon Kailyn’s message. I can see the relief on his face. At least it’s one less worry on his mind, and he can focus on the task at hand.
It’s go time. Phoenix leaves to take his position and keep an eye on Atilio from the moment he leaves his house. Rebel is driving to the location in the truck, where it’s going to stall and block traffic. Bull is waiting on the alternate road and is waiting to force Atilio into the alley.
Falcon and I are at the motel, ready to leave as soon as Luke makes the call.
I have to say, Luke’s desperation is very convincing.
Atilio agrees to meet with him at the garage.
From this point on, it’s all systems go.
We’re grabbing our stuff and heading for the van with Luke and Nick when out of the shadows comes a figure.
Falcon and I are stunned. Archer approaches us with a huge grin and says, “Can you use a hand?”
“Well, fuck! Look who decided to join the party,” I respond.
Falcon locks his arms around Archer in a brotherly hug. “Get in,” Falcon orders. “We’ll fill you in on the way.”