Page 16 of Ice
“Who else do you have?” Wolf questioned.
Sofia turned around with a small smile on her face. “Nico and Bebo’s crew with Smoke and Mirrors and Otto’s crew.”
“Otto and Gianna?” Wolf’s voice went up an octave. “Who work out of Tres Bellas?” Sofia nodded. “You really are crazy. That’s Bruno’s spot. You do know what goes on over there?” Wolf took the shot glass to his lips and drowned the contents in one gulp. He slammed the cup on the desk and refilled it. “You trying to go to war with Bruno and Vinny?”
Sofia waved her hand in front of her in a dismissive way. “That’s a little dramatic. Vinny’s currently head of an organization that actually belongs to me.”
Carter jumped out of his seat and headed over to the wall with the video monitors. They all looked at the monitors, trying to see what pulled Carter out of his chair. Dom completely forgot he’d been in the room with how quiet he’d been. “These aren’t on a delay, are they?” Carter asked, pointing to one of the screens that showed the front of the casino.
Wolf turned around to look at his monitors, and Dom and Sofia were right behind him. Dom scanned each of the monitors watching as a shitload of men showed up with their guns out. They eliminated the bouncer in the front and were making their way into the casino. Dom did a quick head count and cursed. They were too many of them if the Unhinged Brothers decided to tuck tail and leave them high and dry.
“We need guns,” Carter and Sofia said at the same time. Wolf opened another closet and pulled out enough firepower to light up a city block.
A face on one of the monitors caught Dom’s attention and he cursed. He grabbed Sofia and pointed to the screen. That icy cold stare of hers was instantly in place, and he knew he was dealing with the Ice Princess of Colombia now—the killer who wouldn’t blink at taking a life.
Sofia got Wolf’s attention. “Looks like Vinny is forcing your hand.” Her tone was all business as she pointed to the monitor. “Don’t kill him. I want him alive. That goes for your boys too.” She addressed Carter. “If they kill him, you’ll owe me a life.”
BRUNO PULLED UP TOTRESBellas with one of his bodyguards. The place was swarming with cops. He cursed, pulling out his phone. They were expecting a shipment tonight, and with the cops there, there was no way they could make the delivery or store the merchandise there.
Bruno dialed his connect, and he picked up on the first ring. “We have a problem,” Bruno snapped into the phone. This was going to put a major kink in their plans. The buyers were going to want these goods within two day’s time, but they had nowhere to store them that wasn’t being watched.
“Boss ain’t going to like this. What’s the problem?” his connect responded.
“Shootout. Cops are going to be watching the place.”
His connect let out a string of curses. “You’re going to have to call the boss and tell him the news. I’m still a ways out. I’ll slow down a little to give you guys enough time to come up with something.”
The line went dead, and Bruno stepped out of the car, his temper flaring. Tres Bellas had been the one spot the cops left alone because there were no problems here. The girls never complained about being harassed, no overdoses, nothing that would draw unwanted attention—until tonight. Now there was an SUV riddled with bullet holes and two dead bodies—going by the white sheets in the car—sitting across from his club.
Bruno scanned the crowd looking for Otto and Gianna. If anyone knew what the hell happened, it would be those two. He spotted Otto cuffed and sitting on the curb next to a few of his guys, but Gianna was nowhere in sight.
He tried to make his way over to Otto, but a cop stopped him. “That’s far enough. No one is allowed in or out unless you’re the owner.”
Bruno looked at the cop and back to where Otto sat. “That’s my brother.” He tried to sound worried, but even to his own ears it didn’t come off as sincere.
The cop looked behind him and back to Bruno. “If that is your brother, we just need to question him. As soon as we get to the bottom of what’s going on, he’ll be good to go.”
Bruno nodded and headed back to the car where his guard was still waiting with a look of concern on his face. “What’s wrong?” Bruno wasn’t sure how he was going to handle any more bad news.
The guard looked up from his phone. “Looks like we missed all the excitement tonight.” Gino showed Bruno the phone with the breaking news alert on his screen: “Gunfire erupts at Wolf’s Casino in Queens, making this the third shootout today. Is this the signs of a turf war coming?”
Bruno looked back at his guard and turned around to look at the aftermath of the shooting in front of Tres Bellas. Wolf’s was supposed to be neutral territory, no one was allowed to do anything other than gamble or host a sit-down if necessary. Bruno found it odd that a gun fight would break out at his place.
It hit him then, like a slap upside the head, and he started laughing. Why hadn’t he seen it before? This had to be about Sofia. It was too much of a coincidence that these shootings happened as soon as she got home. Someone was trying awfully hard—and failing—to take her out.
Bruno looked back at Otto and the men who were sitting on the curb or against the police cars. They were all Otto’s men, and he was now wondering where his soldier’s loyalties were. Otto couldn’t offer Tres Bellas, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t offer Sofia his services.
“When is my meeting with Sofia?” Bruno asked.
“The day after tomorrow,” his guard quickly responded.
“Good. Do me a favor, have someone check in on Natalya for me. I think someone needs a small reminder of who’s in charge around here.”
A bullet whizzed past Sofia, and she ducked down, making sure she didn’t get hit. The gunfight had moved to the main area of the casino, which afforded them the cover they needed but was costing Wolf a couple a thousand dollars, if not more, in damages. Dom stayed close to her left, and the Unhinged Brothers improved their numbers, evening the odds since Wolf had sent Cree and Seven off to pick up another gun shipment.
Another bullet clipped the table offering them coverage—missing Sofia’s shoulder by an inch. She cursed, annoyed how this night had turned out. Three shootouts in one day; this was getting ridiculous even for her. She should put a bullet in Vinny’s head and call it a day, but that wouldn’t be as effective as taking him out in front of her family’s organization and anyone else gunning for her.
“We’re running out of ammo,” Smoke barked over the gunfire.
