Page 18 of Primo DeLuca

Chapter Seven

Primo

A selenite gray Mercedes S600 was what I made out. The Malizioso would use every trick in the book to not appear suspicious. Therefore, it astonished me that I had spotted them so easily.

I cruised until the crush of the city started to thin, bobbing my head to the nonexistent tunes bumping in the car.

My loft sat at the edge of the city a few miles before the sturdy foundations of expensive subdivision homes revealed the exquisite masonry work it had taken to create them.

The sound of the tires crushing the crumbs of loose pebbles on the asphalt sounded when I turned into my driveway. The short expanse led me down to the garage and basement level.

Once I stopped at the steepest part of the decline, I reached out and punched a code in the small black box on the wall to spring open my garage door. The building was meant for two occupants, but I owned both apartments which were replicas of each other.

The second apartment was a decoy registered to a tenant that didn’t exist. The building was reserved for special occasions like the one I would soon be engaged in tonight.

I hopped out of my car with a keen sense of purpose. The danger in the air was so thick it clung to my skin and seeped into me with every breath I took. I keyed in the code to the back entrance and took the stairs to the second-level loft area.

I flipped on the lights to set the mood of a man who was in for the night. A few seconds of quick maneuvering allowed me to enter the adjacent loft apartment through a special door cut between the coat closets.

In these spaces, there was no need for any lights. I knew every inch of the building like the back of my hand because I’d spent months staging and memorizing every detail. This space was fully automated, reacting to my voice, my fingerprint, and retinal scan.

I keyed in the numbers to open the state-of-the-art surveillance room to see how many assassins the infamous group had sent on their first attempt to kill me. How would they make their approach? Multiple screens gave me a view of everything inside and outside the building, including the roof of those beside and adjacent to mine.

While waiting, I threw on my protective gear and armed myself with a few handguns, extra ammo, a few knives, and sat my rifle within reach. I slid my cell from my back pocket, dialed, and held it against my ear with my shoulder while operating the surveillance equipment.

Alesso answered before the ringtone sounded on her end.

“Hello.”

“How’s my lady?”

I didn’t have empathy for many things in my life but was finding that I had it in abundance for Nevah. She had been dealt an unfair hand tonight, but what was done was done.

“She’s begging us to let her go one minute and threatening to walk right out the door the next. She’s feisty. I like her.” Alesso snickered, and I could sense her eyes were on Nevah while saying it. “I explained that this is a tumultuous time in our family and not safe for her to be unprotected. I believe she understands, but she’s still having a hard time accepting her new position. She’ll come around. It just hasn’t sunk all the way in yet.”

“Okay. Take good care of her until I get there. I’ve got to go,” I said, eyeballing the two pitch-black motorcycles rolling up to the building across the street. I zoomed the camera in, waiting to see what they would do, but they sat in place, unmoving.

Instincts made me check every camera and angle. It was a good thing that I did. The bikers were decoys, stationed there to distract me while others crept in through the back door of my building, the area I preferred receiving my guests.

The Malizioso were paying me a compliment by sending at least six of their men to try and take me out. However, it would be their loss because I had something special for each one of them. They didn’t call me “Hades” for nothing.

Inside the same coat closet that gave me access to the spare apartment was a trap door in the ceiling. I stepped in, closed myself inside, and climbed up. To cover my tracks, the door was automatic, and when it closed, the area below it became lined again with my old sweaters and jackets.

The confined space I was currently crawling through had small monitors at every turn, allowing me to see a smaller version of what was displayed on the screens inside my surveillance room.

The first floor and second floor loft level above it was set up for living with custom-designed furniture, each piece equipped with its own special surprise. I waited in the far corner of the ceiling above the couch in my upper level loft. My feet hung over the drop behind the wall that would feed me down to level one and further into the basement.

The first two killers were set to enter through the kitchen and sweep the lower level. Their lips moved as they sprung the lock, entered and began their search for me. They appeared to be radioing updates back to their friends.

I waited, observing a second team of two entering through the thick back door off the garage. This area led to the foyer that would heard them up to second level and loft.

The teams were good at their jobs so far. Their technique of covering each other while one overrode the door locks was above average. They didn’t walk right into the foyer but cracked the door open and entered as a team with their silenced guns covering all directions after they stepped inside.

It was a nice solid B performance. Personally, I expected more from The Malizioso, but every group had its weak spots.

They scanned the area, remaining soundless and not flipping on any additional lights. They were equipped with all the good stuff—body armor, night gear, and laser sights on their weapons. Despite their reinforcements, I had rigged this place to be an inescapable obstacle. There was no amount of high-tech gear that was going to help them out of the brutal mess they had stepped into when they entered my house.

The team of bikers sitting out front hadn’t moved an inch, but another pair were scaling the wall and heading to the roof, where there was a way in through the skylight. They too were welcomed into my sanctuary of the damned.

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