Page 152 of King of Obsession

She fell back, her presence to my rear, crouched low on the ground.

The seconds stretched each one an eternity as a new, approaching noise ratcheted.

Through the trees, I glimpsed sleek, black metal glinting in the morning light.

At least ten SUVs raced up the Contis’ driveway rapidly in a roaring convoy, the rumble of powerful engines filling the air.

Lorenzo held up a hand, a silent command to hold position.

‘Who are these fuckers? Unintended collateral?’ he whispered to me.

‘I have a hunch,’ I muttered under my breath, sliding my hand to the grip of my Sig Sauer, thumb poised over the safety. ‘Uninvited company.’

Whatever this was, it didn’t bode well—not with this many wheelers storming the Contis property just after we’d un-alived the Head of the Conti family.

‘Renzo, I’ll take the lead,’ I told my brother.

When he appeared to protest, I shook my head. ‘This is my fight,’ I growled.

He flicked his dark aqua gaze over me and then nodded.

The SUVs roared into the courtyard and formed a semicircle, a phalanx of steel and glass, each one disgorging well-armed men.

They fanned out, weapons ready, their faces stern and uncompromising.

Fuck. The Caputos must have called in reinforcements.

The chopper thundered overhead now, so close the downdraft whipped at my hair and clothes.

We observed through the leaves as the machine settled ontothe front lawn in a vortex of dust and debris in the center of the arc.

It was a great, black beast, its rotors decelerating, the airflow from its rotors flattening the grass.

I crouched low, my senses on high alert.

I tightened my grip on the Sig in my other hand, finger hovering near the trigger.

With slow deliberation, the helicopter’s door opened.

A tall figure emerged from beneath the slowing blades, flanked by armed bodyguards.

Even from a distance, I sensed his power, the aura of command. He strode forward, his steps sure and purposeful.

I tensed, ready to spring into action at the slightest provocation.

The man stopped at the edge of the semicircle, his gaze sweeping over the destruction. Then, as if sensing our presence, his eyes locked on the shadows where we hid, like predators detecting prey.

‘To whom do we owe the pleasure?’ I drawled, nonchalant-as-fuck, stepping out of the barn’s overhang.

The man smiled, a slow, dangerous curve of his lips. ‘I’m Don Sebastian Caputo, head of the Caputo family. And I presume you are the man who brought the AFP down on ourheads.’

I smirked back, a wolf baring its teeth. ‘Guilty as charged.’

The air around us seemed to vibrate with the promise of violence.

The Don’s henchmen bristled, mitts twitching for their weapons.

I raised a hand.

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