Page 57 of King of the Bronx

“They’re fucking idiots. They took her and have been keeping her in a hotel room,” I said, looking around the sidewalk at all the people. The sun had set, but it was still early in the evening, so people walked the streets. Maybe this is what they wanted. Maybe they think I won’t go after them in the middle of the city. They’re wrong. I couldn’t give a fuck about all these people. The mob runs this city, and I made a promise to my wife. I looked in the rearview mirror to see Tommy pull up behind me. Cole got out of the car first and grabbed the big duffel bag.

“What’s the plan?” Tommy asked, meeting me behind the Lamborghini. He had a man from his crew with him that I didn’t recognize. I haven’t had time to think of a plan, but I was good on my feet. I looked at the big duffel bag on Cole’s shoulder.

“We’re not going to need that.” I might not care about witnesses, but I also wasn’t going to be obvious. “Grab the silencers I have under my seat,” I told Cole. “You packin’?” I asked Tommy.

Tommy raised his eyebrow. “You serious?”

It was a stupid question. Of course he was packin’. Cole opened the car door and set the duffel bag back inside.

“No plan. We find out what room they’re in, and we take care of them. This is going to be easier than I thought.”

Cole handed out the silencers, and we screwed them onto our handguns.

Tommy nodded. “Let’s go.”

I led the way into the hotel. A couple people were in the lobby sitting on a couch. The receptionist, a young man dressed in the company’s dark green uniform, stood at the front desk. His name tag read Jerry. The hotel wasn’t upscale by any means, so we looked slightly out of place. Not that it mattered. The man’s eyes widened as we got closer to the desk.

“I need to know what room they’re in,” I told the man.

He blinked twice as if not hearing me correctly. “Um…who…whose room?” he stuttered.

I grabbed the gun from my back and casually set it on the desk. “I don’t have much time, Jerry. You know exactly who I’m looking for, because when they checked in this hotel, you feared this exact situation. They were also probably dragging a woman along with them who didn’t look too willing.”

I could almost hear the man’s heart racing. His hand shook as he reached behind the desk and grabbed a key card. He slid it across the desk to me.

“Room 501.”

I flashed him a smile. “Thank you.”

I walked away with the key card in my hand. We all huddled in the elevator.

“I’ll take out the hallway cameras on the floor,” Cole said.

I nodded. I hadn’t even thought about that. The elevator doors opened to a hallway with old green carpeting. Cole went ahead of us, breaking the cameras off the walls. I looked behind me to see Tommy and a man from his crew with their handguns out. I clenched my hand around my Desert Eagle as room 501 came into view. Cole looked at me and nodded, signaling that all the cameras were gone. I could hear the sound of voices on the other side of the door. I took a deep breath before kicking the door in. Five men all jumped up from their seated position. I didn’t hesitate before opening fire on one of the guys to the left of the door. The other men scurried, probably trying to find where they put their gun. Amateurs.

“If you point a gun at me, I’ll kill you. Your chances of coming out here alive are up to you,” I said between gritted teeth.

Two of the men stopped searching. Cole and Tommy stepped into the room. Tommy used the butt of his gun to hit one of the men over the top of the head. The man passed out, his body slumping to the floor. The only man left raised his gun and aimed, but I was faster. I pulled the trigger, and the man’s body jerked from the impact.

“Ah, fuck!” the man screamed out. The cops would be here any minute. I was sure the receptionist had called by now. As if Tommy could read my mind, he pulled out his phone and called Giovanni.

“We need footage from the Double Tree hotel deleted. The cops will be here soon and we’re still here.” He paused listening to Giovanni’s response. “Yes, Boss,” he said before hanging up.

“Gio’s on it, but we need to get the fuck out of here.”

I scanned the room, looking at what we were dealing with. One man was passed out on the floor. One was dead. Two more stood frozen with fear. Cole had his gun pointed at them so they wouldn’t try to run. I looked at the last man on the floor, who had blood pooling from his arm. I tucked my gun into my waistband and crouched down next to the bleeding man.

“Where is she?” I asked.

“I don’t—”

I grabbed his arm and twisted it. More blood squirted out onto the carpet.

“Ahhh!” he screamed.

“Now, I don’t have much time, so I suggest you start talking.”

“In the bathroom! Please! Fuck, man!”

I let go of the man, and he moaned as he rolled around the floor in agony. Tommy, Cole, and the guy from Tommy’s crew watched as I crossed the room. I listened at the bathroom door for any sound. When I didn’t hear anything, I opened the door to see a gun pointed at my face. I didn’t have time to react before a shot rang out.

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