Page 203 of Rise of the Queen

“And Dario’s men?” Adrik asked.

“They’re good. They said to give them a call if needed, otherwise they were staying out of this fight,” Viktor said.

“What about Massimo’s underbosses? Do we know what they’re doing?” I asked.

Ivan walked into the kitchen, answering my question. “We do know. They’re sitting this one out along with Dario’s men. Massimo’s area of the city pushed back harder than the other areas at first. Without Massimo to tell them otherwise, they feel like this isn’t their fight.”

“Let’s hope they don’t change their minds anytime soon,” I said. “Misha, do you know where Niko is?”

Misha’s eyes switched to black without him blinking as he checked the city, trying to find Niko. We could see his grin slowly appear as he found him. His eyes slowly faded to their normal green as he rejoined us in the present moment. “He knowssomething happened to Vito. He just doesn’t know what yet. He’s scared, but he’s still trying to send his underbosses back out. It looks like he’s more scared of Sal.”

“If he sends his underbosses out again, that’s the perfect chance to pick him up too,” Ivan said.

“That’s what I was thinking. Do you have his exact location?” Adrik asked Misha. He nodded. “Can you see if his underbosses are actually going to listen to him and go back out?”

Misha’s eyes went black one more time as he checked on that outcome. His eyes didn’t switch back to their normal green this time. He was fully in boss mode. We could all feel it. “We need to move quickly, but there’s a small window when he’ll be incredibly easy to grab.”

We didn’t say another word. Andrei and I shut everything down in the kitchen until we returned and we were out the door within two minutes, on our way to grab Niko.

Viktor and Ivan coordinated extra guys to meet us close to Niko’s location. Adrik wanted to stay out of sight as much as possible, but he was also nervous about Niko getting away. We would serve as backup for the extra guys. He wanted it to look like the people of the city had revolted, more than he had stepped in. It was just one more way to give a “fuck you” to Sal and Ricardo. If the people of the city rejected them, it was a very big hurdle to them ever coming back. And Sal knew it.

Misha spent the drive to Niko trying to get as many details of the layout of the building he was in as possible. He shared everything with Andrei and Ivan. They relayed the information to the guys who met us a block away.

We stayed behind while they left to grab Niko. The whole thing was over in under twenty minutes and Niko was on his way to a separate safe house from Vito.

Chapter Fifty-Nine

Adrik

I couldn’t help but feela huge relief once I knew Niko and Vito were in our custody and unable to escape the city once more. They had lost more underbosses in a few hours than the city had lost good people, so I was considering it a win. Boris was the help the people needed to defend their businesses and stand up to the bosses once and for all. Best of all, it looked like we weren’t involved.

Now our plan to return peace and order to the city would finally be set in motion.

After Sephie and the Wonder Twins restarted dinner, I made a call to the mayor, as well as Trino. I wanted both of them to know that our plans would be moving forward, hopefully at a quick pace. Doug was prepared to hold a press conference announcing the arrest of Dr. Moretti. After that, it would be revealed that he had ties to both Sal and Henry. Sal would quickly discover that coming back to the city was no longer an option for him.

Trino needed to be prepared for anything when it came to Martin. The Mexicans were still very much a wild card in all of this. They were unpredictable. They were savage. I detestedworking with them. Trino had sent a very strong message when he took over, but people like that only listen to violence. They’d grown bolder since they had Sal’s backing. We were hoping that boldness would die with Sal, but we were also prepared to send a message they would never forget.

“Jefe, are you going after Sal and Ricardo first?” Trino asked.

“That’s the plan so far. Unless you tell me there’s a better reason to go after Martin first,” I said.

“No, no. I think they need to fall first. I think without them, the Mexicans won’t be as big of an issue. I’ve got plenty of eyes within Martin’s circle that can get word to me of his plans. Same for the Mexicans. There’s talk, Jefe. You have time to meet before you leave?” he asked.

“Yeah, it won’t be for a few days. How urgent is this? Do you need to meet right away?”

“Tomorrow, Jefe. I think you’re going to be able to shed more light on the situation,” Trino said.

“Tomorrow night. Chen knows where. We’re being watched right now so I don’t want you at the building. We’re not there at the moment, but we’ve got a spot we can meet.”

Sephie noticed my clenched jaw when I walked back into the kitchen. She immediately freed up her hands and wrapped her arms around me. “That doesn’t look so good,” she said, resting her head against my chest.

I sighed. “I don’t know yet. I just know that now I feel better about it,” I said, running my hands over her back and through her hair.

She looked up at me, searching my eyes, looking for answers to questions she didn’t want to bother me with. She found what she was looking for and put her head back on my chest. We stood in silence for a few minutes when Misha said, “Boss, Trino knows about the Mexicans praying to the Saint of Death. He’s havingtrouble connecting that they know something about Martin and his deal.”

I put my hand on the back of Sephie’s neck, pulling her away from my chest. “You asked him to look?”

She smiled sweetly at me. “I would prefer you weren’t so stressed. Yes, I asked him to look. I know how much you hate surprises. I also know it’s not something Trino wanted to discuss over the phone.”

---