“Yes, sir,” Ryan barked, and a few more man echoed him.
“Good,” I said. “Find Vlas, bring him back, and make sure he can talk. I want to hear him beg before I put a bullet through his fucked-up skull. This isn’t just about the family anymore, this is about the city, about our fucking city. That worm Vlas is dangerous, and he’s willing to go to any lengths to hurt us. He’ll burn this place down before he’s finished, and we can’t allow that. Find him, bring him to me, and we’ll end this right now.”
I stared at my men again then nodded once.
“Now get the fuck out there,” I said.
The guys turned and walked off without a word. I saw the determination on their faces and knew they were going to take this seriously. The hunt for Vlas was on, and I knew my boys would rip up every single corner of this city before this was all over.
Vlas was done. He didn’t have the muscle to hold my men back, and unless he ran to some other fucking country, there was no hiding.
Steven walked toward me with a little smile on his face. He put one foot on the bottom steps and stretched his back. “Nice speech,” he said.
“Wasn’t a speech,” I said. “They needed to know what’s going on. Vlas is finished.”
“Yeah, he is.” Steven frowned. “I’d bet anything that little stunt back at your Mt. Airy place was his last desperate move.”
“Doesn’t matter. He’s going to pay for all this.”
“Dante,” Aida spoke up, her voice soft. “Did you… did you talk to Don Leone about this yet?”
I frowned and stared down at her for a moment. “There’s no time for that,” I said. “If he knew—”
“But he doesn’t know,” she said. “He wasn’t at the house.”
Steven laughed. “She’s right,” he said.
“The Don was really angry,” Aida said. “You need to go to him and ask permission before you start tearing up the city.”
I clenched my jaw and pressed my fist against the black railing that cordoned off my porch. I stared at her for a long moment before letting out a long breath and calming myself.
She was right, of course. I pissed off the Don once already by running off on my own, it would be pretty damn stupid to do it again. I knew he’d give me his blessing after hearing about what happened at the house, all I had to do was talk to him.
“All right,” I said. “Steven, go talk to the Don’s people, tell them what happened, and ask for a meeting tomorrow morning at the bakery.”
“I can do that,” he said.
“Good. When you’re done, send a message to the boys. Until they hear from me again, nobody’s to make any big moves. Keep asking around, but if they hear anything or find anything, just keep an eye on it for now.”
“Understood.” Steven grinned at me. “You should’ve brought her around more often.”
I glared at him. “Get out of here.”
He laughed and walked off with a wave. I watched him get into his car and pull out before I turned to Aida. She was smiling sweetly at me, and I just shook my head.
“What?” she asked.
“Nothing. You’re just going to drive me insane.”
“You’re just mad I had a good idea and made you look stupid in front of Steven.”
“Damn right,” I said and laughed. “But I’m glad you’re here. He’s right, maybe I should’ve brought you around sooner.”
“Good thing I’m here now.” She leaned up against me and looked into my eyes. “Now, I’m hungry and exhausted.”
“I’d offer to cook, but you saw the house.” I leaned down and kissed her. “I’ll order something.”
“Sounds good.” She took my hand and led me into the house. I followed with a smile on my lips.
She was already proving to me why I want her around. The girl’s smart, sharp as hell. I had a feeling she would become my better half, the little bit of thought and restrained I needed to balance out my rash, violent tendencies.
Together, we’d take on this whole city.
27
Aida
We fell asleep early that night wrapped in each other’s arms. He woke me early after a deep, dreamless sleep. The sun still hadn’t risen yet, and the bedside clock said it was just after five in the morning.
“Come on,” he whispered and kissed my forehead, rustling my hair a little. “We have to meet with the Don at six.”
“Why so early?” I asked.
“Safer this way.” He walked over toward the door and opened it. “Get out of bed, lazy ass.”
I grunted something at him and he laughed before turning on the lights. He grabbed the sheets and yanked them off me before leaving the room.
“Asshole!” I called after him but managed to drag myself out of bed.
It was strange getting ready in his place. Since I didn’t have any clothes there, I was forced to hand wash my underwear the night before and hang dry it in the bathroom. I found the oldest, smallest shirt I could and a pair of jean shorts that must’ve been left behind by some other girl that was nearly my size. I looked silly, but I’d worry about finding better clothes later.
Dante looked immaculate in his suit as always. I came down to the kitchen and walked to the counter where a coffee machine chugged away. He grinned at me from the table. He had a gun in his hand and was loading bullets into a magazine.
“Morning. I made coffee.”
“You’re a saint.”
“No, darling. I’m definitely the sinner here.” He chuckled to himself then pushed the clip into the gun and pulled back the slide with a loud thunk. He nodded to himself and put the gun down gently. “Now, are you ready to
