22. Derek
CHAPTER 22
We were under house arrest. Since Marco and Javier showed up at Dias’s house to get Em, we’d all been exposed. He and his men might not remember Cruz from the yacht, but it wasn’t a risk Rod was willing to take.
None of us fought the decision five days ago. For the first time in our lives, we didn’t want to fight back. Staying together, assured of our safety, was all any of us wanted.
We maintained the schedule of two on and two off. Em sat with us in the surveillance room for stretches but spent most of her time on the couch cuddled up with one of us. I hated seeing her so despondent. Her fire was out. This mission had taken pieces of all of us, but she’d suffered more than we could imagine. She gave over her whole heart and soul. It was the reason we’d been so successful thus far, but it cost her.
She grieved the loss of a friend while working through the trauma of being kidnapped and accepting she couldn’t have changed anything.
“Beta team has an update,” Javi announced. “They’ll call in a second.”
The teams brought in to help were now taking point. We’d done our jobs well. They had more than enough information to destroy Dias here, in Cuba, and in Mexico.
Our final act was coming up. The last time Em would have to see him. This nightmare was almost over.
“Should I get the others?”
He shook his head as his phone rang. “We can tell them when they wake up. Hello?”
“We ran into a delay.”
I didn’t recognize the voice.
Javi sighed. “I was told we were days away.”
“There’s been a complication.” He paused. “We were going to use Brazzi as cover. Have Dias think it’s him pulling the strings.”
“Right.” Javi drew out the word. “What’s changed?”
“There was an attack earlier tonight. Brazzi’s dead.”
I blew out a breath and fell back in my chair. That was not what I expected.
“What happened?” Javi rubbed the back of his neck.
“It was Dias himself.”
“Fuck.” He was one crazy bastard.
“Dias showed up at one of the Italian’s clubs with only four others. Brazzi and all his top men were there for a meeting. Dias took out him and most of his men. The survivors scrambled.”
“The others who were there?” I asked.
“No, all of Brazzi’s remaining men. They’re gone.”
Javi and I shared a look. “They’re not the type to stick around for revenge. They’re leeches. They’ll find another rich idiot to latch onto and drain.”
“We’re not worried,” he agreed. “It’s just thrown the plan off a bit. We’re adjusting.”
“Let me know if we can help.” Javi stared at the screen. “Hold on, zeta team is calling.”
“I’ll keep you updated.”
He hung up, and Javi switched to the new call.
“Yeah?”
“There was an attack.” a deep voice said.
“We just heard about it. Brazzi is no longer a problem.”
There was a long pause. “What? Since when?”
Javi narrowed his eyes. “What are you talking about?”
“The gang. They just destroyed Dias’s weapons warehouse.”
What was going on tonight?
“They won’t stop,” I muttered. Dias and the gang had gone back and forth since Em’s fake birthday party.
“Do you have numbers?” Javi asked.
“Seventeen.”
With Dias’s dwindling numbers, that was a huge blow.
“What happened with Brazzi?” the other man asked.
“Dias went to his club and killed him and most of his men. The rest scattered.”
“Fuck. This is getting messy.”
Yeah, no shit.
“Have you told Rod?” Javi asked.
“Yes, he’s been updated, but he didn’t mention Brazzi.”
“I’ll call him next. Thanks for the call.”
Javi hung up and dropped back against his chair.
I spun to my computer and went through our feeds until I found Dias. He was home, in his office. His head was in his hands as two men stood before him. I turned on the sound and sat back.
“There’s no one left, sir. We don’t have enough men to run the drugs, and the weapons building is gone,” one of the men explained.
“Where is he?” Dias asked without lifting his head.
“Michael? We trailed him from his club to the docks.”
“Let’s go.” He didn’t give any other explanation as he led the men out of the office.
I changed views, watching as they got into one of his cars and left his property.
“Do we have men close?” I asked Javi.
He was already on his phone. “Rod? Are there any teams available near the port?”
“Let me check where delta is.” There was typing from his side. “Gamma is still monitoring the cleanup at Brazzi’s place. You heard about that, right?”
“Yeah, just a minute ago. I wasn’t sure if you had yet,” Javi replied.
Rod sighed. “He’s crossing items off his checklist and ours. Epsilon is closest. I’m sending them over. What’s happening?”
“We just watched Dias get the update about his warehouse. He’s going after Michael.”
“Well, shit. I wasn’t expecting tonight to go like this.”
“None of us were.” Javi rubbed his face. “It’s about damn time he did something productive.”
“The second, Martin, took the bait,” Rod mentioned casually, as if this wasn’t a crucial part of our plan.
“Really?” I leaned toward the phone as if that would get him to tell us faster.
“He took the call and agreed Alessio is unstable and not what the family needs, especially after losing Ama and Maria. He can’t be the one to take Alessio out. Obviously, he can’t risk the Dias men turning on him, but he was open to discussions of working with us.”
I shook my head. He was a traitor, but his help would ensure our success.
“Sounds good.”
“I’ll let you know when I have more.” Rod hung up, and Javi and I faced each other.
“It feels close,” I admitted. “We’re almost there.”
He agreed and rocked back, staring up at the ceiling. “Are we ready?”
“Marco is waiting on a few details, but we will be.”
He dropped his head to the side, meeting my eyes. “Are you sure?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“No second-guessing?”
“None.”
He closed his eyes. “Good.”
We ran through the various feeds for new activity but found nothing until about an hour later when his phone rang again.
“Epsilon team,” he said before answering. “Hello?”
“Only Alessio and one of his men survived.”
Well, that was direct and to the point.
“None of the gang? Michael?” I clarified.
“Dead, and all that were present are too.”
This was a game-changing night. Alessio flipped a switch and got down to business.
“How many did Dias lose?” Javi asked.
“Seven.”
“So he’s got to be under fifty now,” he said mostly to himself.
“Close,” the man on the phone confirmed.
“Thanks for the update.”
I went through the video feeds until I found Dias’s drug warehouse. The men were celebrating.
They knew.
This was a huge win for Dias, but was it enough?
Fifty men did not make an army. It was barely a small gang. He no longer had the numbers to run his business in Miami, let alone offshore.
Emilia had done it. She brought him down from the inside out.
I wished her role was complete. I hated that she was still involved, but the plan hinged on her.
I yawned and spun in my chair when the door opened. The angel herself stepped inside wearing one of Marco’s shirts. It hung to the middle of her thighs.
“Hey.” I held out my arms for her, and she sat in my lap.
Javi smiled at her. “You okay?”
It was only four in the morning, way too early for her to be up.
“I got up to get water and checked my phone.” She held up her screen to show us the texts from Dias. He messaged her two or three times a day without her responding, but the most recent one was from only a few minutes ago.
Alessio: It’s safe now. You can come home
“What does that mean?” she asked.
“Brazzi is dead. So is Michael,” Javi explained.
Her brows rose. “When?”
I rubbed my hand over her back. “Tonight. He took out Brazzi and most of his men. Then Michael sent men to Dias’s warehouse and killed them all. Dias found out and went after Michael and nearly wiped out the entire gang.”
She leaned into me. “So many people.”
“He’s on a war path. He’s lost everything he cares about.”
“But he’s holding out hope Millie will come back,” Javi pointed out.
“I wonder if he truly believes I’d go back to him. Like killing all his enemies would make me forgive and forget everything else,” she mused.
“I don’t want to even begin to try to understand how that man’s mind works.” I cringed, and she laughed.
“What would you do? If you were the boss?”
Her question caught me off guard. “Boss of a crime family?”
She shrugged. “Of whatever you want.”
I leaned my head back against the chair. “I wouldn’t want to be a mob boss. If I could do anything where I got to be in control, I’d do something much more low-key.”
“Nothing illegal?” she asked.
I pursed my lips, thinking it over. “Probably not. I don’t care about money enough to risk my life or freedom over it.”
“You’d own some sort of comic book store plus video and arcade games plus a training gym,” Javi joined in.
“Excuse me? I’m not that big of a nerd.” I scoffed.
He waved his hand in surrender. “I don’t think you are either, but you’d want a place where all your interests could come together. A place where you’d want to spend time to provide a safe, judgment-free space for others with similar interests.”
Well, when he said it like that, the idea had some merit.
“So people could come in and take martial arts classes, then go read a comic book or play video games?” Em nodded. “I like it.”
I smiled at Javi. “I do too.”
He grinned and checked the screens.
“What would you do?” She turned in my lap to face him.
“I would run a self-defense center,” he answered immediately. It was clearly something he’d thought about before now.
“Wow, really?” Em lifted her brows.
“Yeah. I would make classes and workshops available for everyone. Men, women, and children. Victims of abuse could come and receive help and shelter too.”
Damn. Now my idea of a nerd sanctuary sounded shallow.
Her voice softened. “You’d be good at teaching others how to protect themselves. You’re really patient when we train.”
He grinned. “Or maybe you’re an excellent pupil.”
I rolled my eyes. “What about you, Em? If you could be the boss of anything, what would it be?”
She rested her head against my shoulder. “I’m not sure. I don’t have a ton of experience or interests outside of what we do now.”
“A clothing store?” Javi offered.
She shook her head. “That’s lame.”
“It’s not if it’s something you’d enjoy or be passionate about.”
“I don’t like fashion that much,” she said with a shrug. “It’s fun sometimes but not something I’d want to center my life around.”
“You like reading. What about a bookstore?” I offered.
“Could it be attached to yours?”
“Of course.”
She smiled back at me. “Perfect. You can run things, and I’ll make a cozy corner with pillows and blankets and read all day.”
I chuckled and kissed the top of her head. “That sounds perfect.”
Javier smiled, then leaned toward the desk, reading his phone screen. His grin faded. “Wake up Cruz and Marco.”
“What?” I asked, but Em was already up and rushing out of the room.
“Guys!” she called. “Get up!”
“What’s going on?” I asked, but he shook his head.
A moment later, Marco and Cruz came running in, both only wearing boxers, with Em behind them.
“What?” Marco barked.
Javier lifted his phone. “Rod just sent this to all teams.” I leaned forward, but he turned and read aloud, “We’re ready.”
My heart froze. This was it. The moment we’d been waiting for since we’d landed in this forsaken city.