Wolfe
We went to Enosteria Sicula, a restaurant only open for dinner except for Cosa Nostra.
We had a backroom deal with them, selling them their supplies for a fraction of the price from our network in exchange for being open for us during the day a couple days a week.
We had that connection with a lot of the restaurants in Palermo.
Cosa Nostra was the best-kept open secret in the city.
We sat on the patio together, drinking wine while we waited for our entrees.
“Francesca won’t be coming?” Uncle Marco asked.
“No,” I said. “Said she’s not hungry.”
Don Russo held his glass by the stem, watching the white wine swirl inside. “I can only imagine the emotional hardship she faces.”
“Yeah, it’s hit her pretty hard,” I said. “She watched it happen.”
“Damn, that’s ruthless,” Uncle Marco said. “And that’s saying a lot coming from me.”
A car pulled up on the street, and a young guy hopped out.
“Boss, we’ve got a situation at the yard.
Maraschi doesn’t want to pay because the parts are scuffed, and then Tullio didn’t come in today because he’s got the stomach flu, so he left the padlock unlocked…
” He ran down a list of all the shit that went wrong.
Just another day in the life of Cosa Nostra.
Don Russo kept calm as he listened to it all. “Tell Bill to call me. Drop the price of the parts by half. And, Charlie, send a crew to the distributors to make sure nothing gets scuffed again in the next shipment.”
“Got it, boss.” Charlie was about to leave when his eyes settled on me. He stared for a second, knowing exactly who I was, even though I didn’t recognize him. “Glad you’re back, Wolfe.” He nodded and then headed back to the car. He hopped in the passenger seat, and then the car took off.
The waiter came out and brought our entrees before he went back inside.
“Business hasn’t changed,” I said as I dropped the linen across my lap.
“No, it’s changed,” Don Russo said. “They’re all still a bunch of idiots.”
“We promoted Emil to lieutenant, but he wasn’t up for the job,” Don Russo said. “Immediately went on a power trip and caused more problems than he fixed. Demoted him down to wall security to remind him how insignificant he is.”
I smirked. “I never liked Emil.”
“And you were right not to,” Uncle Marco said. “Should have listened to you.”
“I won’t disagree with that.” I was an arrogant asshole, but I’d never been on a power trip.
“How would you feel if we promoted you to lieutenant?” Don Russo asked after he took a bite of pasta with red shrimp.
“Seems like a big position for a temp.” Both of my arms moved to the table as I shifted my weight forward to eat over my plate. I hadn’t eaten here in months, and the smell was immediately like a walk down memory lane. “My employment terminates when Icarus is dead.”
Don Russo took another bite of his food and took his time. “Your position hasn’t been filled since you vacated it. I think it’s for the best if you take it now, whether you choose to stay or not.”
I knew they were doing whatever they could to cement my position, to give me everything I wanted in the hope I’d want the life I’d left behind.
But I was a different person now. I’d left a furious bachelor and returned as a man with a different set of priorities. “Does that mean I get the same pay?”
“We would never expect you to work for free,” Don Russo said. “And I know you would never work for free either.”
I didn’t need the money, but it was the principle of the matter. If someone wanted me to fix the problems, they’d better line my pockets. “Alright, you’ve got a deal.”
Don Russo got the intel I needed to intercept Leo.
They were having dinner in Trapani. Warren was meeting with Claudio, a private security distributor, for some kind of deal. The details of that meeting were unclear, but it was taking place in a public restaurant over dinner, which was my best chance of getting to Leo.
“I don’t know about this.” Francesca followed me downstairs.
“Baby, I’ll be fine.”
“If you get caught, you’ll be outnumbered—”
“I won’t get caught.”
“I still don’t like this.”
“I’ve got a couple guys coming with me, alright?” I stopped by the door that led to the parking garage underneath the house. “Leo is a shithead, so he’ll be on external detail. I’m sure I’ll be able to talk to him without issue.”
“Why don’t you just go to the vineyard when Warren isn’t there?”
“Because he’ll expect that, and he’ll be ready. This is the only way.”
“But—”
“Baby.” My hands went to her arms, and I gently grabbed her. “I understand you’re scared after what happened, but don’t forget who I am. I can handle this with my eyes closed, alright?”
She still looked terrified. “What if they see you and try to kill you?”
“Then I’ll kill them first like I always do.” I cupped her face and gave her my signature smirk. “I’ll text you the second I’m on my way home, alright?”
Her eyes shifted back and forth between mine before she finally gave a nod.
“There’s my girl.” I bent my head and gave her a kiss. “Love you.”
“Love you too.”
I finally left the house and picked up the guys at headquarters before we made the drive to Trapani.
Now that I was a lieutenant again, I had free rein to do whatever I wanted.
I could recruit whomever I wanted for these jobs.
Don Russo had given me carte blanche, and no one hesitated when I gave my orders.
We arrived at the restaurant early and left our car farther down the road before we all took up our positions in various spots. One guy was on the roof of the opposite building, while another was on a bench farther down the street. We were all spread outside the restaurant that was mostly indoors.
An hour later, Warren and his men arrived. Made a huge spectacle of it in a line of SUVs like they were going to war instead of dinner. I was seated in the café down the block, looking through the window and mostly out of sight.
Warren was dressed in trousers and a blazer as he headed inside, flanked by some of his men.
I could only see the back of his head, but I was furious at the sight, knowing what he’d wanted to do to my woman.
Don Mancini had berated me for the way I’d body-slammed him into the table, and now I wished I’d put a knife through his neck.
He’d taken one look at Francesca and the obsession had kicked in, just the way it had for me.
I would carve his eyes out of his fucking head just for looking at her.
Some of the men went inside with Warren, but the rest of them took exterior positions.
I spotted Leo, his shoulders slumped like he had no desire to be there but didn’t have a choice.
He lit up a cigar then leaned against the wall in the alleyway with his ankles crossed.
He’d only been there for a minute, and he’d already checked his watch.
“Gonna move in. Make a distraction to the east.”
“On it,” Damiano said.
I left my untouched espresso on the plate and exited the café before I crossed the street and headed to the restaurant.
I heard the sound of brakes and saw the streak of a car across the road then the audible crash that happened afterward. Up ahead, I noticed all the men on guard turn to see the collision that was out of my line of sight.
It was a small crash, more of a fender bender between a little car and a motorbike, and Leo didn’t seem concerned about it because he continued to smoke his cigar, his eyes staring at the commotion.
I scanned the men around me, all of them looking at the collision in the middle of the narrow street. I made it into the alleyway between the restaurant and the other building, and Leo was so engrossed in the crash he didn’t see me approach him from the side.
I grabbed him by the arm and tugged him with me. “Come on.”
“What the—” He tried to twist out of my grasp before he realized it was me. Then his eyes snapped open in abject terror.
Good. “I’m not going to kill you, so keep your mouth shut.” I moved to the locked door of the other business, a closed seamstress operation, and I kicked the door one time before it broke open. I shoved him inside then shut the door behind me.
“Wolfe, what the fuck are you doing here?”
I found the light switch and flicked it on. Clothes were hanging from racks and needles and thread were everywhere. A bowl of different buttons were on a table with clothes waiting for alterations.
Leo took several steps back, running into a rack of clothes covered in plastic before he stepped back out again. He was tense and nervous, like we were about to have a brawl right here in the middle of this shop.
I’d thought this would be a straightforward task, but the second I looked at his face, I was paralyzed by monstrous rage.
He must have been able to see it because he backed up into the clothes again.
It was more than bloodthirsty anger, but rather disappointment.
I’d never lost respect for someone so quickly and so irrevocably.
Don Mancini and I hadn’t seen eye to eye at the end, but I respected the hell out of him for raising Francesca to be so capable.
And the fact that Leo had taken that away out of sheer fucking stupidity sent me over the edge.
He looked like someone trapped by a wild bear. One wrong move might set me off.
I wanted to say my piece, to viciously destroy him with my words, but I knew he wasn’t worth the effort. “You’re going to share Warren’s plans and movements so I can kill him, everyone who works for him, and then you.”
I reached into my pocket for the phone I’d brought.
He jerked like I was about to pull out a gun.
I tossed it at him.
His hands automatically moved, and he caught it like it was instinct. Then he looked down at the phone in his hand.
“You’re my snitch now.”
He glanced at the phone again. “I didn’t want it to be this way—”
“Refuse, and I’ll torture you before I kill you. Skin you alive and let you watch me feed pounds of your flesh to the hogs.”
“I want to help you—”