Wolfe
We met up with Cosa Nostra again, and under the cover of darkness, we drove hours to my home in Caltanissetta.
The gate was busted in from when Warren’s men had rammed into it, but from the outside, it didn’t look any different.
There was plenty of room to park in the driveway and in the roundabout in front of the house, so the line of SUVs was all able to pull in.
The property was surrounded by a wall, so the only way to see all our cars was if someone drove past the gate, and since it was off the main road, there was no reason for Warren to come here unless he was suspicious.
We all entered the house and found the knocked-over tables and the mess the assholes had left behind. Wordlessly, the guys started to right all the furniture and put everything back where it belonged, even when I hadn’t asked them to. Francesca helped too.
I knew there wouldn’t be much to eat in the house, so I’d brought food from the grocery store and put it in the fridge. I got enough to feed all of us for a couple days.
Francesca returned to me in the kitchen. “Doesn’t look like they took anything.”
“Not really anything here worth taking,” I said. “And it’s not like they could fit into my clothes.”
She smiled at that.
“I don’t want to sound like a sexist asshole or anything, but would you mind cooking dinner for everyone?” I’d quickly grabbed stuff at the store, meat and pasta and ingredients so she would be able to make lemon chicken or lasagna.
She didn’t hesitate at the request. “Of course I can. I’ll get to work now.”
“Thanks, baby.” I gave her ass a playful smack before I headed back outside.
Santino sat on one of the stone benches and smoked a cigar as he stared out at the gate in the distance to keep watch.
Everyone else started to settle while they waited for Leo to contact me.
Because we didn’t know how long we’d be here, Don Russo had stayed behind because he had to run other things.
For all we knew, Leo might not text for a week… or at all.
I took a seat beside Santino.
He reached into his pocket and wordlessly offered me a cigar.
I shook my head.
“Your woman wants you to quit?”
“Just trying to cut back.”
He returned it to his pocket.
He crossed his arms and let the cigar rest between his lips, smoke rising from the tip and into the evening air.
“Francesca is going to make dinner for everyone.”
“Yeah?” he asked. “She a good cook?”
“Oh yeah.” I wasn’t sure if she was a better cook or a better fuck, but I didn’t tell him that.
“Good. Makes the trip worth it.”
“So what have the guys been saying about me since I’ve come back?”
He shrugged before he pulled the cigar out of his mouth and let the smoke escape in a hazy cloud. “At first, they were merely receptive. But after the shit with Icarus, they think it’s time for the boss to retire.”
“Don Russo didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Yeah, but you did everything right.” He brought the cigar back to his mouth, took a puff, and then blew the smoke out of his mouth. “Not only would we be dead, but Cosa Nostra would probably be overrun right now. I watched the whole thing, Wolfe. I’m not sure if Don Russo would have faced Icarus.”
“You’re saying he would have just continued to hide?”
He shrugged. “Or tried to get into the car and take off and leave us behind.”
I shook my head. “He wouldn’t have done that.”
“Well, he shouldn’t have let you take his place. He’s in charge, not you.”
“We would all be dead if it hadn’t been me.”
“Exactly,” he said. “You were supposed to succeed him before you left, and now that you’re back, perhaps you should take over now instead of waiting for him to die or retire or whatever.”
“Be careful, Santino,” I said, even though no one was in earshot. “What you’re talking about is treasonous.”
“Well, then everyone’s about to be executed for treason.”
“I don’t think it’s fair to turn your back on Don Russo over one incident.”
“But it’s not one incident.” He angled his head to look at me, his cigar between his fingertips. “We lost you for months because of his stupidity. You’re the best guy we have, and he threw you out like trash.”
That still stung a bit. “We’ve squashed it.”
“Doesn’t change the fact that his decision-making has become questionable,” he said. “I don’t consider him old by any means, but his mentality seems to have aged decades recently. The guys were joking that he might have a brain tumor, but it doesn’t seem like a joke anymore.”
I shouldn’t feel bad that Don Russo was losing the respect of his men after what he’d done to me, but I did. Maybe his logic was faulty, but I knew he would bleed for Cosa Nostra without hesitation. “The threat we’re facing is unprecedented. I think everyone should cut him some slack.”
Santino released a quiet chuckle.
“What?”
“I don’t understand why you’re loyal to him when he wasn’t loyal to you.”
“Because the issue between us isn’t reflective of his dedication to Cosa Nostra. Just because he burned me doesn’t mean he’s unfit to lead the organization. He pissed me the fuck off, but I understand our issue is separate.”
“Well, his hesitation with Icarus wasn’t separate.”
That was all it took to lose the respect of his men—a single flinch.
“You’re the one who should be in charge, Wolfe.” He turned to look at me again. “And I’m not the only one who thinks that.”
Francesca managed to make dinner for dozens of men in my kitchen and keep everything warm. I didn’t have enough real plates to feed everyone, so Francesca had to use the paper plates in the pantry, which wasn’t ideal for a heavy meal of chicken and pasta, but the men made it work.
Everyone found a place to eat, some crowded at the dining table or seated in the living room.
A lot of the others sat outside in the backyard.
Francesca and I sat together at one of the outdoor tables in the garden.
There were two open chairs available at our table, but none of the guys took them, as if they didn’t want to piss me off by getting too close to Francesca.
“Thank you for dinner, baby.”
“Sure, no problem.”
“It’s fucking good.”
She smirked as she looked at her plate and spun her pasta around her fork.
My phone buzzed with a text message in my pocket, so I fished it out and glanced at the screen.
It was Leo.
He’s gonna be here tomorrow at noon.
Adrenaline, excitement, and ecstasy spiked in my blood when I read that.
“What?” Francesca asked. “Why are you smiling like that?”
I set the phone on the table before I looked at her. “Because Warren is going to be there tomorrow at noon.”
She was about to take a bite of her food, but she put her fork down on the table.
I rubbed my hands together greedily. “Showtime.”
We prepared the vehicles and had them parked in a line facing the gate as we waited for Leo to notify me that Warren had arrived at the property.
Francesca was at the very back of the line, Santino and a couple other guys with her. I’d kept some of my best men with her since I wouldn’t be there to look out for her.
She had her vest strapped across her chest over her shirt, her tits pushed up higher because of the heavy material. Instead of looking flustered, she seemed calm, her hands gripping the straps of her vest.
I walked up to her and examined her stare, seeing the rage and blood lust that I’d seen in myself so many times. “I’ll radio for you when we’ve cleared the site.”
She nodded.
“But just because I say it’s clear doesn’t mean you drop your guard. You treat every step like you’re in the middle of a war zone.”
She nodded again.
“Ready?”
“I’ve been ready for this since I watched the life leave my father’s eyes.”
I knew she was pissed off, but she also searched for closure or comfort in her revenge. Killing Warren would be a high, but it would only be temporary. Once she came back down, she would be stuck with her grief without relief.
I hooked my arm around her lower back, and I pulled her in to give her a kiss. “Love you.”
She looked up at me, her hand on my arm. “Love you too.”
I kissed her forehead before I walked off and headed back to the front of the line.
Then we all waited, and I had my phone in my hand as I leaned against the driver’s door, waiting for it to vibrate.
I’d had a good breakfast full of protein and carbs, so I’d be a killing machine for this fight.
I wanted to take back the vineyard for Francesca, but my true ambition was to make Warren suffer for trying to take my girl for himself.
To punish him for thinking he had any chance to be successful.
I knew his death should belong to Francesca, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t knock him around a bit.
The text came through. He’s here.