Page 1 of Savage Rule

PROLOGUE

SCARLET

AFew Months Ago…

“Devices charged and ready. Front door is within sight,” I say.

“Steady,” my boss’s deep male voice sounds in my earpiece.

I blink to maintain clear vision and force my breathing into a steady rhythm.

I’ve been waiting in the shadows of the woods that flank one side of Raimondo’s, a pizza joint known for their pies as well as their drug supply. The place closed for the night hours ago, which is when their underground business began.

Raimondo Sinacore is part thefamigliathat rules a great part of New York. But that’s not what’s put a target on him. It’s the fact that he knows too much about my boss, Gideon Black, A.K.A, The Ferryman.

With the previous Don’s death blamed on the Ferryman thanks to Raimondo’s ability to copycat my methods, Luca Sinacore is now on the hunt for us.

Fuckers. If it weren’t for their snooping, I’d be chilling in New Orleans right now. They’re not even on my original hit list that consists of those involved in Gideon’s father’s death.

Instead, I was called in right after taking out that mean short prick, Joaquin Gianni, in Boston. I was going to take a few days to myself. But no. Raimondo had to kill his own nephew and stage it as a Ferryman kill.

It was sloppy too. I saw Tony’s crime scene photos—untouched drugs laid out everywhere, bottles of wine left unopened, an autopsy report that showed none of it was in his system.

And the fucking gutting.

Poor guy must have suffered and I doubt he deserved it. At least whenIdo it, I’m precise and fast. Even the worst of them gets a quick death.

But the biggest tell that no one seems to have discovered were the pennies over the eyes. Not many people bother to look at the year they were minted. If they did, they’d see. The devil is in the details, and it’s obvious whoever Raimondo hired to do the job wasn’t detail oriented.

There’s a shadow at the front door of the pizzeria. I shift the sight of my riffle a hair as I bring the stock in tighter against my shoulder.

“An older male is exiting the restaurant,” I whisper.

“Raimondo?”

“No. The cook. He’s carrying a stack of pies.” My heart speeds up as I realize the old man I’ve seen delivering pizzas and other “goods” for the gangster is heading toward Raimondo’s black Land Rover. “He’s going to trigger it.”

“What about Raimondo?” As Gideon asks, the bastard comes lumbering out the door.

I hear him speak as he exits the restaurant behind two other male figures, though I can’t make out what’s being said.

“He’s coming out behind…” I look at the first man. He’s wearing a black leather jacket and has shoulder length hair.“Luca Sinacore is with him. And…” My gaze lands on the huge guy beside him. “Some other guy.”

“Are they within range?”

“Yes.”

“Wait for the blast. Take out the survivors.”

“They’re not on the hit list,” I remind him.

There’s a moment of silence. “They would have been soon enough. We’re being proactive.”

I think about that, quickly assessing these men. Luca Sinacore is not only in the mafia, a criminal with blood on his hands, but he’s without a doubt going to be a problem for us. Might as well take care of the issue now. The cook… Well, he distributes drugs. How good could he be?

But the friend? Is he an innocent?

I glance back at him. Even in the low light provided by the moon, there’s something about him that…

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