Chapter 30—Bobby
“Are you sure this is wise?” I ask as I look through the weapons Danny has laid out for us to pick through.
We parked in a hangar, and his team got to work setting out what we had available. We brought a small arsenal with us when we left New York, and from the looks of it, we plan to use everything. Even if that means one of us or more aren’t walking out of this alive.
“What?” Liam asks as he looks up and sees me staring right at him.
“Mason,” I growl. Not because of who it is—only because of the situation. I want to leave more men here to protect my girl, but she asked me to get her daughters, and I won’t deny her that request. Still, I have several men staying behind. Liam was the one who said Mason was staying as well.
“What? Because he’s a psychopath?” The man smiles as he twirls a blade in the air before catching it on the hilt, weighing the balance in his hand, and then pocketing it.
I’ve got a feeling we won’t be seeing that one again.
Liam already has his own weapons on him, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t snooping for something else.
“That’s part of it,” Tommy mutters as he picks up his own set of knives.
Liam rolls his eyes at both of us. “Trust me, Mason has his demons in check. Well, today he does. Mostly.” I raise an eyebrow, and the guy actually laughs in my face. “Relax. He knows not to harm your girl. Besides, you want him watching Willow and not going in with us.”
“Why?” Marco’s question is blunt and forceful. He might not have feelings for Willow like I do, but he cares for her in his own way.
Liam snorts. “He’s psychotic. Clinically so.
It’s not just a word for him. It is him.
Alexander doesn’t even let him go out and play most nights like he wants to.
We keep him as contained as we can and only let him out when we want a complete bloodbath.
And if he does go in with us, that’s what it’ll be.
And he won’t see the girls. He won’t see any of us.
He’ll just kill until there’s no one left standing. ”
“Really? You’re saying he’d even kill you?
His brother?” Tommy asks with an eye roll as if he doesn’t believe him.
And he doesn’t use the term brother loosely.
The Strays are known for protecting each other.
All four of them. They’re closer than blood, bonded together by battles during disturbed childhoods and molded by the pain and revenge they share in creating what they are today.
It’s one of the main reasons they’re so feared, as well as respected, by many groups. Not just the House of Leone.
Liam’s smile fades, and any joy deflates from his entire being.
“We don’t chance it.” He holds a dead-eyed look for a second before he shakes out of it and smiles.
“But he’s good at watching your girl. He knows how to protect someone.
He’s more likely to kill her and himself before he’ll let either of them get taken. ”
“Oh, I feel better,” Tommy deadpans before adding another Glock to his shoulder holster and sauntering off.
“Keep him away from Willow,” I growl. I feel the same way as Tommy. But unlike him, I’m not able to joke about it.
I turn and tell one of our men to stay behind, just to be sure, then continue to gear up with Marco at my side.
Liam just smirks and leaves, so it’s the two of us left at the table with only a few selections remaining to choose from.
“You know what I want,” I say to Marco out of the side of my mouth so those who are still close by won’t hear.
“Yes, sir.” His reply is instant.
The girls’ safety comes before my own. Today, at least.
Danny will kick me and Marco off this extraction if he gets even a sniff of what we’re talking about.
But Marco and I have an unspoken understanding.
I think we both agreed on it after the night we had ramen with Willow and the girls.
Ivy and Lily are special, and they should be treated as such.
Which means their lives come before mine.
This is the first time I’ve ever felt that Marco would question his loyalty toward me for another.
And I don’t fault him for it. Though when we get out of this, I will need to make sure I have a good team willing to step in to protect each of my girls like Marco does with me.
His loyalty can sway today, though just today.
Next time, it will be another’s responsibility to die for them and Marco to die for me.
It’s the way of our world, and everyone who comes into our world understands that.
Willow doesn’t. Not yet. But she will. Because once I get the girls back and we’re all together again, I’ll explain it to her. She hasn’t run away from me yet. It gives me hope that she understands my life enough to continue with me.
Because if I didn’t make it clear before, this solidifies it.
Willow is mine. My girl. I’ve claimed her before too many men in the famiglia in the last twelve hours for her not to be.
And her girls are now mine too.
Mama is going to be thrilled.
“Okay, listen up.” Danny gets all of our attention as he stands in the middle of the circle that forms around him.
“We’ll have two teams: one on the outside and one on the inside.
When I give the signal, the power will be cut and we’ll go in.
This is a standard two-story home, no basement from what we found.
However, there are several rooms on each floor, and we have intel that there’s a panic room on the second floor. ”
“How did you find that out?” Liam asks.
“It was part of the listing we found three sales before this last one,” Marco adds.
He’s been attached to Danny’s intel team since we boarded the plane.
What they knew, he wanted to know at the same time.
Danny’s giving him grace, but the side looks he gives him now lets me know that grace will only go so far.
But he does nod in agreement with my second’s explanation.
That’s my little brother for you. He doesn’t look back at one sale. He gets all the details. And if someone is stupid enough to mention a panic room in a public listing when probably only the homeowner should know, more power to us.
“The home Trevor is in doesn’t seem to have any connection to him, but we think it belongs to a family friend of Jessica’s.
Really, it doesn’t matter. The cell phone pinged to this location, and it hasn’t moved in the last three hours it took us to get over here and set up,” Danny adds before anyone asks another question.
Three hours doesn’t give us a lot of time, but it’s enough for his team. They do this on a regular basis.
Danny might have most of his men protecting famiglia assets, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t occasionally take on some outside work for his boys to keep them up-to-date and not bored with just guarding middle-aged men who are in the famiglia simply because of their father’s ties.
“Tommy, you’re with the team outside. Marco and Bobby, you’re inside looking for the girls only. You find Trevor, you don’t engage.”
“Come again?” Marco asks with a look of indignation. I feel the same—no doubt my face reflects it, too, as I take a step closer to my little brother. Perhaps I should remind him that I was born second and he third.
“You heard the man. No touchy,” Liam adds with a shake of his finger.
“Why?” I seethe.
“He’s mine.” Liam grins with all teeth, and I look to my brother for confirmation.
Danny shrugs. “Vinny made the call. It was their only request in exchange for the plane. Liam gets to take him out.”
“You know something we don’t about him?” Tommy asks with a head tilt.
There’s not an ounce of anger in his voice, just pure curiosity.
It’s why he’s good at his job in the famiglia.
He’s curious, and most just think he’s a party animal.
The youngest brother who’s only there to have a good time.
But he gets more information than most of the men in this room just by asking a simple question here and there.
“Trevor? No.” Liam shakes his head.
“You know of him outside of this?” Tommy keeps pushing.
A one-shoulder shrug from Liam. “No clue what the man even looks like.”
I can’t hold back my own question. “Then why ask for this?” This kill should be mine. At the very least, a Leone’s. Willow is family, after all. And if I have to give Trevor’s death to anyone, I’d rather it stay within the family.
That same dead-eyed look from before comes over Liam. It’s obvious why he’s a Stray when he looks like this. There’s not an ounce of soul in his gaze, just death and vengeance. “Mason ain’t the only one with demons. I might not be able to kill mine, but I can kill those with similar traits.”
Right. So, Mason’s the one to fear? Because the way Liam’s talking, I kind of think maybe he should have stayed on the plane to protect Willow as well.
“As I was saying,” Danny continues, “Marco and Bobby will lead a team of three men to look for the girls. Liam and I will take another team of three to find Trevor. Another team will be in the house to take out anyone we aren’t planning on seeing.”
“Is the wife there?” I ask.
“Trevor filed a two-person manifest a few days ago. Since we know the girls were on that plane, we already know the paperwork is bullshit. What we don't know is whether Jessica was with him or stayed behind. So far, we don’t have eyes on her in New York,” Danny says.
“She’s pregnant,” I add.
“We are aware” is all Danny says as he holds my stare, and I nod. Good. We’re using the same sheet of music.
Pregnant or not, if she was involved in this, she won’t be living a life of luxury once we’re done. She won’t be on the instant-kill list, but if she goes after one of our men, I can’t be sure if she’ll make it out. The priority is the girls’ safety—no one else’s.
“Questions?” Danny looks at his men and then the rest of us. No one says anything, and he nods. That’s all it takes for the teams to load up to the waiting SUVs Danny had on the ready when we arrived.