Page 77 of Memento Mori
“All right, we have two individuals,” I said to everyone gathered around. “This isn’t a kill mission. But if it’s them or you, then take them out. This is an in and out situation because it won’t be long before the cops show up. In and out, understand?”
“Yes, Don,” my men said in unison.
“Team entering from the street once you hear the flash bang, breach the house.”
“Yes, Don.”
“Okay, Aaliyah. Knock out the security system,” I said.
With each keystroke, her fingers glided effortlessly across the laptop keyboard. “Done,” she said with a satisfied smile, then gently closing the laptop.
“All right, head out,” I ordered. “You’re with me,Bella.”
I could see the protest coming, but there was no way I was letting her out of my sight. So, I didn’t wait around to hear whatever she had to say, and I followed behind my men, having no doubt that she would follow me. After all of this was over, she’d remind me about it.
Upon reaching the back of the residence, the team at the front waited for my signal. As I surveyed my men, each one of them nodded that they were ready.
I tossed a flash grenade onto the balcony, and in an instant, a blinding explosion filled the air. My men successfully entered the house, from the front and the back. As the sound of gunshots reverberated around us, we knew we had to hurry. Within minutes, this place would be crawling with cops, and we didn’t need to stick around for that.
As I hurried up the steps with my men, the sounds of screaming and cursing filled the air from a man and a woman. As I entered the bedroom, I couldn’t believe my damn eyes.
“Let me the fuck go!” Alessandro screamed while being restrained by some of my men.
His shoulder was drenched in blood, flowing freely from a deep wound, while a thin line of blood marked his face, starting from his eyebrow and running down to his cheek. He was naked, on his knees, and so was the woman we’d been looking for.
“Alessandro?”
He stopped struggling, his breath ragged.
“Tony?” his voice called out. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
Aaliyah’s footsteps echoed softly as she entered the room beside me.
“Let him go,” I said, and my men dropped their hold on him. “I could ask you the same thing.”
“It should be fucking clear,” he said, his gaze fixated on the naked woman sprawled on the floor. Her body was wet, so I assumed she might have been in the shower.
“Put some goddamn clothes on,” I said, pulling Aaliyah to my side.
He hastily grabbed a pair of boxers from the bed and slipped them on.
“For God’s sake, Tony,” Aaliyah said.
“I don’t want you seeing any other man without their fucking clothes.”
She rolled her eyes, her annoyance clear. Alessandro chuckled at her reaction, before making his way back to the bed to retrieve his pants from the floor. Wincing, he slid on the sweatpants and gingerly sat on the edge of the bed.
“Let me go!” she screamed, her voice filled with anger, as she continued to struggle. “Sweetheart, tell them to let me go.”
“Sweetheart,” Aaliyah and I said simultaneously.
“What’s going on?” Alessandro asked, ignoring the woman.
“You should start answering the fucking phone,” I said. “How long have you’ve known this woman?”
He gave a shrug, glancing at her before returning his gaze to me. “We’ve been fucking for a while. Well over a year now,” he said.
“You have no fucking idea who she is, do you?” I asked.
