Chapter 33
ENZO
It’s a little late in the morning, but I’m finally heading out. I’m in the back of one of the SUVs, a few blocks from our building, when my phone rings, breaking the silence in the vehicle.
“Yes, what is it?” I ask into the phone.
“Boss!” the frantic voice of Buzz, one of my men, yells into the line just as I hear gunshots going off in the background. “We’re being attacked at the North point warehouse!”
“Motherfucker!” I curse. “Try to stay alive and catch as many of them as you can. I’m sending backup!”
“What’s going on?” Aldo questions, already on alert.
“Change directions and head to the North point warehouse. Someone is fucking attacking my men there!” I growl.
“Fuck! Those motherfucking cocksuckers!” he seethes before grabbing his phone from the console, dialing Frankie’s number, and putting it on speaker since he’s currently racing through the streets. Thankfully, we’re not too far away.
“Sir?” Frankie answers the line a second later.
“Send backup to the North point warehouse now! Some asshole is attacking the guys there!” Aldo orders into the phone.
“Shit! We’re on it, sir! Our men will be there in two minutes with backup!” Frankie says, before the line goes dead.
Right now, my brilliant idea is about to work. I have safe houses close to all my warehouses. Though I only have a team stationed there whenever there is actually merchandise in any of the warehouses. I have that system in place for scenarios just like this.
I grab the rifle along with extra bullets that are always in the SUV and get it ready because I have no clue what I’ll be walking into. Plus, I have the regular guns I keep on me, ready too.
We’re just about to reach the warehouse, and it takes me a second to assess the situation. I roll my window down and stick half my body out as I begin shooting the bastards, just as Aldo comes to a screeching stop in front of the building.
I move quickly and fling my door open, using it for cover as I shoot someone who’s on the rooftop of the other building across the street.
All that can be heard around the place is gunfire as we pick the men off one by one. My men wear specific work clothes, which makes it easier to identify them in situations like this.
When my immediate area is clear, I move from behind the SUV door I was using as my shield and make my way up the street a little to make sure it’s all clear. I see someone running in front of me and don’t hesitate to pull the trigger.
I hear more footsteps thundering on the pavement and move on instinct, diving behind a stack of crates as splinters of wood explode off the wood where my head was a second ago. Close call!
I hear my men returning fire, more bullets ricocheting around us. I see two men rush from the shadows, trying to run in the opposite direction away from us and draw out my gun, aim, and shoot. My bullet hits him in the head, and then I aim for the other one.
He ducks behind a dumpster and returns fire. More footsteps pound on the asphalt as I hear maybe another two retreating.
“After them!” I bark at my guys, who take off after the men.
I hear a noise from above me on the other building and lift my head just in time to dodge out of the way, but not before I feel a sting on my arm. I hear one of my men return fire, and the asshole falls off the roof a second later. Good riddance!
“Fuck!” I mutter. My wife is absolutely going to kill me for getting nicked by that dumbass.
It doesn’t take long for the gunfire to end. I see bodies littered all around the outside of the warehouse, but when I step inside, it’s clear, and all my weapons are still here.
“What the hell happened here?” I ask Buzz who was in charge of today’s operation. I’m a little confused because something is not adding up.
“I’m not really sure what happened, boss. We were loading the shipment in the trucks to get ready for delivery when out of nowhere they surrounded the warehouse and opened fire,” Buzz explains.
“What else?” I question.
“The weird thing is that they weren’t even trying to shoot their way in here. They were just surrounding us, but stayed in place if that makes any sense,” he says.
“Did anyone see their faces?” I ask.
“They were all wearing masks, but from what I can tell… they were amateurs.” He tells me his observations.
“So, someone intentionally sent them here to die? None of this makes any fucking sense,” I mutter.
“I know, boss. It doesn’t make any sense to me either,” Buzz tells me.
Hearing sirens in the distance, I push my fingers in my mouth and let out a loud whistle to get everyone’s attention. “Were you guys finished packing everything in the trucks?”
“Yes, boss,” a few of them reply.
“Get it all out of here before the cops show up and take it to the red harbor warehouse and lock this one down,” I instruct, and they immediately get in the trucks and drive them away. I turn back to Buzz. “Do we have any survivors?”
“Yes, boss. We managed to capture a few of them alive,” he tells me.
“Good job. Take them to the black harbor warehouse,” I say, and Buzz nods to a few of his guys. They jog over to two SUVs, get in, and drive off. I let out another loud whistle to get everyone’s attention. “The rest of you get out of here and don’t fucking let the cops catch you.”
They’re still a good distance away, but I hear the sirens getting closer.
I’m confident that no evidence that could implicate our family or me is in the warehouse, and the only thing the cops will find when they get here are the bodies littered around the building.
And if anyone were to dig, the property is buried under so many shell companies that it’s nearly impossible to find out who really owns it.
Besides, with the astronomical amount of money I pay the chief, he'd better clean this shit up and make sure none of it gets linked to me, or I’ll be paying him a visit.
I make sure everyone is in their vehicles before I head to mine, with Aldo and Buzz following. Aldo gets in the driver's seat and pulls out before making his way to the black harbor warehouse.
“I was just thinking, boss…” Buzz says when we’re a few blocks away from the warehouse we just left.
“What is it?”
“Something about this whole attack felt staged. It’s like they were sent there to keep us occupied. I mean, no one who has ever attacked a warehouse full of arms just opened fire without trying to steal the shipment.”
“You’re absolutely right, and I was just thinking the same thing,” I mutter, deep in thought.
Was this a taunt? A trap? Or a distraction? Something else?
Well, whatever the fuck it was, there’s only one way to find out, and that’s getting answers from our captives.
“Boss, we need to get your arm looked at. It’s still bleeding,” Aldo says, and that’s when I remember some asshole nicked me in the arm.
I wasn’t feeling the pain before now, mostly because I was fueled with adrenaline, but now that it’s mostly drained out of me, I can feel the constant throbbing in my arm. I don’t think I was actually shot. I’m leaning more toward a graze.
“Well, shit! I forgot about that. When we get to the warehouse, I’ll get it looked at. Though it’s just a graze,” I reassure Aldo.
“Are you sure?” he questions.
“Yes.”
“Well, we’re going to look after your arm first, before you go off to torture those assholes,” he says, laying down the law.
“Fuck, Aldo, I know,” I grumble.
“I’m just making sure you do. After all, Mrs. Andretti did say it was going to be my balls if anything happens to you,” he grumbles, grumpily.
“Oh, right. I forgot all about that. My wife really would hang you by the balls, just so you know,” I laugh, thinking about my five-foot-six wife going against a giant like Aldo.
“I have no doubt about it,” he chuckles.
We pull up to the warehouse, get out, and head inside.
I nod for the guys to go ahead of me, because I need to give my wife a call.
She answers a few seconds later, and I talk to her for a minute before hanging up.
I just wanted to hear her voice because I miss her.
When I’m done with the call, I make my way down to the torture room.
As soon as I step into the room, I see three men kneeling on the floor against the wall.
I pull my gun out from behind my back, choosing the one in the middle, and pull the trigger. It’s a clean shot to the head. His eyes widen in surprise before the life drains from his eyes, blood starts to pour out of the hole, and he falls to the floor.
The other two look at me with fear in their eyes. These men do not look like criminals at all. I mean, made men usually have a certain look in their eyes, a dead and uncaring aura about them that these two are certainly lacking.
“I’ll get to the two of you in a second, and it won’t be as easy for you as it was for your friend there. I just have to do something before my second-in-command starts to bitch at me,” I say, just as Aldo grumbles out his response.
“It’s for your own good, or you can be the one who explains to your wife why you didn’t get your arm looked at. I’ll let her chew your ass out,” the man says, like he’s actually pouting.
Not wanting to hear him bitch at me anymore, I take a seat on one of the chairs and take my shirt off. The doctor Aldo had come here sits in front of me with his tools ready as he takes a look at my wound.
He cleans the blood on my skin and inspects it more thoroughly. “You’re in luck, Mr. Andretti. The bullet just grazed your outer arm. You won’t need any stitches, just some bandages.”
“Thanks, Doc,” I say to the man before turning to Aldo. “See? I’m fine, and you were acting like I was on the verge of dying.”
“Better to be safe than sorry, boss.” He grins, not even apologetic.
The doc takes his leave, and I stand up and walk over to the two men who are still alive. They’re both whimpering already. Who the fuck hired these idiots?