Page 25 of Stone

When we arrived, a tall man with olive skin, dark hair, and shrewd green eyes approached me. He was clearly of Italian descent, so I assumed it was one of Francesco’s men. “Ciao,” he murmured, reaching out to shake my hand.

I was shocked when I immediately recognized his voice. “Francesco?”

I had expected him to send men, not be there himself.

“Sì. It’s nice to finally meet you, but I would have preferred better circumstances.”

“Agreed.”

“Fox and I ran through many scenarios, but ultimately, we decided it was best to eliminate the threat altogether. We don’t want to chance anyone finding loopholes and slithering their way out of the system.”

I was relieved to hear that they wouldn’t attempt to find another solution, like trying to fix it so that Tommaso and his key people ended up in jail. There would be no negotiation. Just a whole lot of pain before they ended up at the bottom of Lake Michigan.

“My sources tell me that Portia is currently at the office building with several other key players. When King arrives, he and his men will handle them. I have men on several warehouses waiting for the order to rescue anyone they find and take out whoever is holding them.”

“That leaves Tommaso and Elio,” I said, an evil smile curling my lips.

“Sì.We all agreed that it was your right to deal with them as you see fit.”

I bobbed my head up and down in agreement.

“When Elio returned, Carlos was relieved of guard duty. However, before he left, he dropped subtle hints that it seemed like Marylin was ready to crack.”

“Did he take the bait?”

“Sì.”Francesco smiled, but it was sinister with a coldness in his eyes that would make most men cower. Coupled with his reputation for being merciless and extremely…creative with anyone who crossed him, it was easy to see why he was the head of the largest Mafia family in the Midwest.

“He is already waiting at the house, but the man I have watching it tells me that he hasn’t gone past the front room. My assumption is that he’s waiting for Tommaso, hoping his father will beat the truth out of Marylin.”

“And Tommaso?”

“Currently being processed for release. We probably have about an hour before he arrives at the house.”

“Thanks,” I said as we shook hands again. “Couldn’t have done this without you.”

Francesco cocked his head and smirked. “My pleasure. You are aiding me in getting rid of a dirty organization. One that was trying to compete with me. We intend to send a very clear message about what happens to people who fuck with the Family.”

I turned to head back to my bike but stopped when he spoke again. “Feel free to make Tommaso and Elio suffer as long as possible. After King takes care of the office building, he and his guys will be watching your backs at the house. When you’re done, just leave everything behind. My cleaners will take care of it.”

Damn, I seriously owed Francesco. And I had no doubt he’d eventually call in his chips.

When everyone had their orders, a few of our men left to help King while Maverick, Hunter, Racer, and I drove to a house a fewstreets over from our destination. Felicia and Donovan, a couple in Francesco’s organization, lived there and hid our bikes in a shed in their backyard.

It would have been easier to wait for darkness, but after we’d been there about twenty minutes, Donovan came out back to tell us that Tommaso was ten minutes away.

Night made things easier, but it really didn’t matter what time it was. We knew how to remain unnoticed. We split up across the street and took different routes to approach the house.

Deviant had provided the blueprints so we’d be familiar with the layout to avoid surprises. His best guess was that Marylin was either being held in the basement or the attic.

I crept up to the back door and glanced at Maverick. I was torn over saving my woman’s mother and making the men responsible pay.

He narrowed his eyes and tapped my temple before whispering, “I’ll get Marylin.”

There was a bond between brothers, one that was stronger than the ties of blood. And it meant that we knew each other in a way that outsiders never would. Maverick had known me for a long time, and after I patched, he’d seen the rage that lurked in my soul. It came out when we brought someone to The Room. I let it take over because punishing our enemies seemed to be the only time I had any peace. I couldn’t take out the bastards who shot me and had killed so many people, including the hostage I was trying to save. But I could make others suffer in their stead.

Maverick knew what I hadn’t wanted to admit. I had to be the one to deal with Tommaso and Elio, or the darkness inside me would fester and consume me. I was afraid that even Britta wouldn’t be able to pull me back. Wiping out the threat to her would be the equivalent of saving those hostages and maybe it would douse the constant fury burning inside me.

The back door was the entrance to a small, dingy kitchen that clearly hadn’t been cleaned in a very long time. If that was where they’d been feeding Marylin from, we’d be lucky if she wasn’t sick. Maverick and Hunter split up, one going for a door that led to the basement and disappearing down the steps. The other paused at the door to a hallway where the stairs went up to the attic. The hallway was short and could be seen from most of the living room, so we had to wait for Elio to be distracted before Maverick could go for the stairs.

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