Page 263 of The Tempted

Claim my brother’s remains and lay him to rest. It’s only right I bury him properly after I took his woman.

Make it right with Reina.

I pulled my bike in front of the compound, slowly lifting my helmet off my head and glanced around the lot. Bianci jumped out of his truck and rushed toward me. I diverted my eyes to the passenger side of his truck and watched a woman step out. She looked familiar, similar to his wife yet older. Realization set in as she came closer. Her eyes were dull, her face tired and worn, all a result of standing beside the man she loved. They say the people who sit quietly behind the scenes are the ones affected the most. Staring at Grace Pastore I became a believer.

“We got trouble,” Bianci stated, eyeing his mother-in-law.

I tore my eyes from Grace’s and was about to ask him what he was talking about when my cell phone vibrated inside my pocket. Blackie’s truck rolled through the gate of the compound and out of the corner of my eye I watched as he parked in his usual spot. The door opened to the compound and a sickening feeling crept inside my gut as Riggs, Bones, Pipe and Wolf emerged. The band of brothers felt it too, the nagging warning of impending doom.

I glanced down at the phone and lifted the screen to Bianci to show him Gold was calling.

He nodded, giving me the green light to answer the phone. I accepted the call and lifted the phone to my ear.

“What can I do for you, Jimmy?” I asked, keeping my eyes trained on Grace who turned to Anthony with pleading eyes.

“Three…two…one,” Jimmy drawled into the phone before disconnecting the call. I looked down at the phone perplexed.

“He hung up,” I said, lifting my head. Bianci took a step back, eyes sharp as they spanned the property.

“Talk to me Bianci,” I ordered.

The thing about lists, about plans, is that they usually go astray—but then again, all the planning in the world wouldn’t have prepared me for what was about to happen.

A blast erupted, amber lights all aglow as Blackie’s truck was blown to smithereens. The impact of the explosion threw us back, knocking some of us to the ground, others dropping voluntarily to take cover.

A lot could happen in twenty-four hours.

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