Page 46 of Savage Angels

“I could eat.” I glance at Kade, who nods.

“I’ll go.” Kade points across the street to a burger place. “Is it any good?”

Sal shrugs. “No idea. I guess we’ll find out.”

Kade grins and walks away then turns around. “One or two?”

“Two and fries and a Coke.”

“Sal?”

“I’ll have the same.”

Sal opens the door to his building, and I walk back through to the long table. We resume our seats.

“Sal, we need to talk about how we’re going to keep our people safe going forward.”

He nods solemnly. “Agreed. We can’t afford any more slip-ups, Dane. What happened to Kat… it can’t happen again.”

“Damn right,” I growl. “So, how do we do this? How do we make sure nobody messes with our families or our organizations?”

Salvatore thinks for a moment, then says, “We need to tighten security around our homes and businesses. I’ve already increased the number of bodyguards in and around my home, and you might not have noticed them, but there are five men outside keeping an eye on me. No one gets in here without an invite.”

“We did.” I smirk.

“You had an invitation.” Sal shakes his head and says, “We need to install top-of-the-line surveillance systems and make sure we’ve got eyes on every exit and entrance.”

“Good plan,” I agree. “And we should have regular check-ins between our clubs and your organization. If something goes down, everyone needs to know about it ASAP.”

“Absolutely. I also think we need to be more proactive in gathering intel. Tap into the criminal underworld, cultivate informants, and stay one step ahead of our enemies.”

“Smart,” I say, nodding. “We gotta be like fucking ghosts, man. Unseen and unheard until it’s too late for anyone who tries to cross us.”

As we continue to discuss our strategies, I cannot help but reflect on everything we have been through together. The sacrifices we have made, the pain we have endured—it has all taken a toll on us, both emotionally and physically.

“Y’know, Sal…” I say quietly. “We’ve been through some real shit together. We’ve lost people we cared about, and we’ve done things that’ll haunt us for the rest of our lives.”

“I know, Dane. But we did what we had to do to protect our families and our people. And we’ll keep doing it, no matter what it takes.”

“We’ll face whatever comes our way, side by side, like brothers.”

“Like brothers,” he repeats.

Kade knocks on the door and walks in with a couple of bags of food.

“They were quick and did my order before anyone else’s.”

Sal grins. “They must have seen you talking to me.”

“You mean it wasn’t my good looks?” Kade teases as he hands each of us our food and drinks.

Sal chuckles, and we begin to eat.

“It’s good.” I put a fry in my mouth. “We’ll eat, then be on our way.”

“You’re not staying?” asks Sal.

“No. Kade here has a woman who’ll skin me alive if I keep him away too long.”

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