Chapter 13 | Michael
Michael
Istepped out of the SUV, slamming the door before I walked brusquely toward the warehouse.
The soles of my expensive leather shoes clicked on the pavement, echoing the steady hum of anger that pulsed in my veins.
The shoes glistened in the winter sunlight, but I felt a foreboding that they might be covered with blood when I exited.
Two of my best men, Chris and Joaquin, flanked me, and Chris pulled open the door, the creak of the metal ominous as I stepped inside.
Once the door closed behind me, the only flickers of sunlight that lit the dim warehouse were the ones that streamed from the dirty windows that lined the top of the abandoned space.
I approached John Armetta, rage coursing through my veins. He was strapped to a chair, his wrists and ankles bound, and a piece of duct tape covered his mouth. Stopping only inches before him, I harshly ripped off the tape.
“Fuck you!” he hissed, spittle flying from his lips.
I slammed my gun into his jaw, snapping his head to the side as he groaned in pain.
Lowering to a crouch, I held up the gun, slowly turning it as his gaze returned to me.
“Let’s get something straight, cafone. You’re alive for one reason, and one reason only: you know where Nick and Alexis are. You’re going to tell me where to find them, and if you tell me quickly, I might let you live long enough to say goodbye to your family.”
John’s eyes narrowed and he spit out a bloody tooth that I’d knocked free when I struck him. “Where are my men?”
“Your worthless bodyguards?” I asked, my eyes drifting to the two men who were bound behind him. “They’re both unconscious on the other side of a concussion. We’ll let them rest for now.”
John inhaled through his broken nose, and I rose to address Damien, one of my men who’d abducted him. “You rearranged his face pretty good,” I said, approval in my tone.
“You told us to rough him up.”
My gaze returned to John. “Where are Nick and Alexis?”
John sighed with resignation. “In a cabin near Indian Lake. My men were supposed to get the flash drive info from Alexis. I told them not to do detrimental harm to her. If she was difficult, they were supposed to torture Nick in front of her to get her talk. I expected her to break quickly, and my men were going to leave them on the side of the road to find their way back.”
“What do you mean ‘were?’”
John exhaled a breath, full of pain from his recent rough-up. “A fucking blizzard blew in and I haven’t heard from my men in a few days.”
I cursed as a thousand possibilities ran through my head. Had the men killed Nick and Alexis? Or had Nick somehow managed to escape and turn the tables? Had they trekked out in the woods to find help only to be ambushed by a blizzard?
“Bring him to me,” I said, pointing to one of John’s tied, unconscious men.
Damien tugged the chair with the unconscious man tied to it, coming to a stop when he was in view of John. I slowly approached and lifted the gun to the man’s temple.
“I want an address,” I said through clenched teeth.
John’s lips curved in a cruel smile as an evil laugh escaped his throat. “Shoot him. I don’t care. I’ll never cooperate with you.”
As much as I wanted to shoot all of the bastards aligned with John, I also valued human life and tried my best not to squander it. “You have no honor,” I said softly.
“Like you?” John spat, tugging at his binds. “Your men broke my fucking nose!”
I strode toward him and pistol-whipped him again. Blood trickled from his mouth as he groaned in pain.
“You would sacrifice your own soldier?” I screamed.
“Shame on you and your family! Your men deserve better. I’ll be taking your two bodyguards with me and turning them.
By the end of the day, the word will spread along the Eastern seaboard how little loyalty you possess.
Your days are numbered, John. This turf war is beneath me, and I’m putting an end to it. ”
His eyes filled with the first hint of fear I’d ever seen from him. “Are you going to kill me?”
“No.” I waved Joaquin forward and he pressed the screen on his phone, replaying the taped conversation with John’s blatant disregard for his soldier’s life.
“After hearing that, your own men will kill you. Let them have your blood on their hands. I’ll have that recording distributed to every cell phone of every man in the syndicate by this evening.
You’re done, John. I wish I could say you’ve been a worthy opponent, but you’re just a piece of shit on the bottom of my shoe. ”
Facing Damien, I spoke quietly. “You and Rocco take the bodyguards to the safehouse we discussed earlier. Let them heal and make it known that I spared their lives.”
“Yes, sir.” Daimen glanced at John. “What should we do with him?”
My eyes narrowed with hate as I gazed at the man who’d caused me so much trouble over the past few months.
“Leave him here to rot. Once his men hear that recording, they’ll come to finish him off.
Spread the word that any man willing to pledge loyalty to me won’t be harmed, but John is finished.
Rossi’s empire is mine. Any dissenters will be killed. ”
“Understood,” Damien said with a nod.
I patted his face, thankful for his loyalty, and turned to Joaquin and Chris.
“I want you and Enzo to head to Upstate New York,” I said to Joaquin.
“Once the blizzard dies down, ask around and figure out where the fuck that cabin is. The cottage up there should be stocked with basics and have electricity if the blizzard hasn’t knocked it out.
You two can stay there while you work. Be careful and smart, okay, son? ”
“Okay, boss,” Joaquin said.
“Chris, you’ll stay with me until we get Nick home.”
“My honor, sir,” Chris said with a nod.
We stood there for a moment, silently acknowledging Nick might never come home. Unable to accept that outcome, I gestured toward the warehouse door.
“Come on,” I said, pivoting as Joaquin and Chris followed me. “I need to update my wife, and we need to get that recording to every one of John’s men so they can see him for the disloyal coward he is.”
Once I was back in the SUV, I called Bianca.
“Michael?” Her voice was fraught with worry, and I ached to soothe her. “Did you find them?”
“I’ll be home in ten minutes, stella, and I’ll update you on everything.”
A slow breath echoed through the phone. “That fucking bastard. I’m going to murder him for even thinking about touching her.”
My lips curved at her strength. She’d been through so much over the past few months, and had emerged stronger than I’d ever seen her. “You’ll have to get in line behind his men. I think they’ll murder him before you get the chance.”
“Good riddance.”
“I’ll be home soon, mia. I don’t want you to worry.”
She breathed a laugh. “Impossible. But I feel better knowing you’re on it. I know you’re going to save them.”
Armed with her love and unfailing confidence, I inhaled a deep breath.
“My love, I’ll work until my dying breath to save them both.”
“I love you,” she whispered.
“Ti amo, stella. See you soon.”
Filled with resolve, I gazed out the window, ready to hold my wife and put this terrible chapter behind me once and for all.