Eli holds up his wrinkly old hands. “I handle my own men when they step out of line, Mr. Simone,” he says, his eyes flicking from me to Aiden. “I believe Mr. Doyle can attest that I’m honorable when it comes to my family and their misdeeds.”
There it is again, something I’m not privy to, but I don’t really give a fuck. As long as Sasha is handled, I’ve got better shit to be spending my time on. “Do you agree with that sentiment, Aiden?” I ask, brow lifted.
He narrows his eyes at the old man and stays quiet for a few seconds before looking to me. “He made the right fucking choice in the past, but I’ll keep Sasha under guard here until you’ve fucking landed in Miami.”
“I assume this will be soon?” Eli asks, looking to me.
“Very.”
“You have until nightfall,” Eli responds with a nod. “At that time, I will take my grandson and return home.”
Sasha’s out of his seat and has a knife to the old man’s throat before anyone can stop him. His eyes are wild, and he sounds like a lunatic. “You can’t keep me here! I run this organization! No one contro—”
A deadly shot from my Glock shuts him up instantly, the fucking idiot, and I turn, leaving all the men behind as I lead Carlos from the room. Lorenzo stays, probably hoping to smooth things over, and I motion for the Outfit soldier to follow us into the hallway. As soon as we’re alone, I start barking orders.
I have Carlos make sure Janine is in charge of the crews and order Riley to hire more armed guards for our home base. I send the soldier to buy black tactical clothing while giving him a one-hour time limit.
Leaving them to their work, I move to the other end of the hall to personally call Special Agent Tate. I inform him of the attack, though he already knows, and I assure him Piper is safe. He knows there’s more to it, but I won’t fucking budge, only offering that he should keep in touch with the Miami field office for unusual activity. I end the call before he can press me any further.
By the time I’m done, Aiden and Lorenzo are in the hallway, and the other Bosses have taken their men and returned to their rooms. The Vegas goons are cleaning the mess I left behind, and Lorenzo informs me that Eli is distressed but also understanding of my actions.
After all, his life was threatened by his very own blood.
“Weapons?” I say, looking to Aiden. “Where can my men obtain some here in Boston?”
He motions for Johnathon to join us. “See to it that the Outfit men have whatever the fuck they need.”
I flick my head, motioning for Carlos to join Johnathon. “You know what I like.”
“Son, I’m going to return to our room and get in touch with our southern contacts,” Lorenzo says, clapping my shoulder as he passes. “They need to know the timeline has been moved up.”
I nod and watch him go, my mind silent for the first fucking second since I heard the news. But all that does is give me time to think, time to hear the monster’s whispers as he builds my rage and urges me to leave no one alive. He uses the kidnapping to his advantage, reminding me that it could’ve been Piper, insisting that it was probably meant to be Piper, and whether it’s true or not, it’s enough to drive me wild with rage.
I lift my fist and start slamming it into the wall; over and over it strikes the surface until it gives. First a crack, then a hole, but I don’t stop. I can’t. Fear has taken over, and I’m channeling it into fury.
A pair of sturdy arms wraps around me from behind, and I struggle against the hold, desperate to remain lost in my misery. “Calm the fuck down!” Aiden demands, his voice breaking through the void. “She’s upstairs with my Bee. They didn’t fucking take her.”
My body sags at the reminder, giving up the fight, and I shrug him off, pressing my forehead against the wall. “But they took someone else. Someone my brother loves, and all I can think is how glad I am it wasn’t Piper.”
“That’s how it’s supposed to fucking be,” he says, prompting me to turn and give him an are you crazy look. “No fucking one is more important than your wife, or girlfriend in your case. Fuck anyone who thinks otherwise, including yourself.” He jabs his finger to make his point, and his forceful words help somehow. “Now that the pity party is over, have you decided what to do with her while you’re there?”
“My condo in Chicago is better than Fort Knox,” I reply, getting my shit together more and more. “Though I’d have to personally escort her since I can’t trust anyone else with that task.” I ball my fists, angry at myself for failing to take that into account as I barked orders. “Shit!” I pull out my phone. “I need to rearrange some things.”
Aiden pushes the phone down and gives me a hard stare. “She’ll stay here. I swear on my fucking life that nothing will happen to her.”
I hold his gaze, considering everything I’ve learned about him in the past few hours, before giving him a single nod. “She dies, you fucking die.”
He smirks, clapping me on
