Page 7 of Dangerous King
"She's not here," Silvano calls as he climbs the stairs back up.
I knot Giovanni's shirt tighter underneath his chin, cutting off most of his blood.
"Hey fucker, didn't you hear me? Let him go," Ringo gets up from the ground, grabbing the gun that had flown from his hand. Years of training allow me to let go of Giovanni, twist, and grab the pistol from Ringo's grip, before I whip him across the face with it. Startled, he stares at me as if he can't believe I just did that.
I fire a round into Giovanni's knee. "I'm not asking again."
Giovanni howls, and Ringo tries to climb to his feet, but Silvano has a tight grip on him. Their soldiers stand back, unsure how to handle the situation without killing their boss.
"You have no right, no right at all to come storming in here. I don't even know who the hell you're looking for." Giovanni pants. I have to give the bastard credit; he's a tough old bird.
"I will make sure Don Eduardo knows about this. He will strip you?—"
I kick him in the head to shut him up. Then I turn to Ringo, whose face is bloodless. "Well?"
"I don't know who you're looking for, I swear—" a shot to his elbow makes him scream. Silvano kneels next to him. "Where?"
Next, I shoot him in the foot, and the howling increases. Silvano's face turns concerned as he looks up at me. He doesn't have to say it; if Giovanni truly doesn't have Izzy, there will be hell to pay with Edoardo, no matter how incompetent the man is. He's still he big boss.
Right now, I'm more worried about Izzy than him, though. I know she is here, or was, the signal from her tracker didn't lie.Unless she's dead and they took her somewhere else. I don't like that thought.
"Boss, she's close," Piero, one of my better soldiers, holds up his phone, showing me moving blips on a map. The red one is me, yellow is Silvano, and green… Izzy.
I take the device from his hand, "Watch them," I point at Giovani and Ringo. Marching out through the open patio doors, I hear the aggravated barking of dogs.
"Get them, but don't kill them." I never hesitate to kill a person, but a dog? I shake my head. A man has to draw a line somewhere.
"Enrico," Silvano runs after me, gun out, exasperated that once again I'm out in the open unprotected. "The dogs."
Just then, a Doberman rounds the corner. Silvano lifts his gun, but I nudge it down. "Hey, who's a good girl?"
The Doberman doesn't slow down; she comes barreling straight for me, fangs out, drooling.
"Enrico!" Silvano's voice is filled with concern.
I hold out my hand in a stopping motion. "Stop! Halt! No!" I command, hoping one of the commands will do the job. Each dog owner trains their dogs differently.
"Sit!" I demand in my sternest voice.
The Doberman falters; she's still growling, but she slows down, eyeing me carefully. "Go home!"
She tilts her head, staring at me with those soulful dog eyes. "Go home!"
She whimpers. I repeat the command a third time, before she turns, slinking away.
"Enrico, what the fuck?" Silvano stares at me. "When did you become a dog whisperer?"
"I'm not, but it seems Giovanni and I use the same trainers. Remind me to change the commands for ours and to make sure they won'teverlisten to a stranger."
More dogs are barking further down. Someone must have found collars and leashes somewhere, and I watch as three of my soldiers warily approach the four dogs. Each one appears prepared to be bitten, fully aware of my order not to hurt animals.
If I weren't so worried about Izzy, I would have enjoyed watching the men trying to calm the barking dogs. Manollo and Oscar have cornered one; Manollo is close enough to put a muzzle on it.
I let out a loud whistle and yell, "Go home!"
Instantly, the barking stops. One dog slinks off, and the other three stare at me. "Go home!"
That's all it takes, and all of them rush off to the other side of the property. Now, I have to see about that tree they had surrounded.
