Page 147 of The Last Ones Standing, Part Two

“Ah fuck. I swear I haven’t gone next to Izzy or the kid,” the lanky guy says as he enters the basement of the house where Jace and I are waiting.

“Relax, sit down. I’m here with an offer.”

“I was told to stay away,” he says shakily.

“Sit down, Aaron. Let me get you out of this dank-ass basement and get some money in that tired-ass bank account.”

He nods jerkily and takes a seat. Damn, what did Dante do to this kid? He’s harmless. When I had Jace look into him, I was impressed. He has some skills. If he proves himself for this, I’ll hire him long term.

“Do you know who I am?”

“You’re one of the Di Lorenzo brothers. Your brother is the one who knocked me out.”

“You have to forgive Dante. He has a bit of a temper. I want you to do something for me. Do you think you can do that?”

“Ye…yes.”

“Relax, this comes with a nice compensation.”

He nods and rubs his hands on his thighs. Licking his lips as he peeks over at Jace, who remains silent.

“Now, Aaron, how are your acting skills?”

“I was a theater major in college. In theater club in high school.” He shrugs.

“See, I knew I had the right guy.” I smile. “I know you know someone has been doxing Izzy Gunz. I’m going to need you to run with this information. Take this drone and the bag. There’s a uniform and badge inside that will grant you access to the office building Izzy works in. You’re going to need them for this job.”

“Um, okay.”

“I have half a million dollars ready to hit your account if you do this exactly as I lay it out.”

“Is your brother involved?”

“Yes, he is, but you let me handle him.”

“Okay.”

“Good, now this is what I need you to do.”

* * *

Jace

The place smells amazing as the rich aromas of tomato and basil flow from the kitchen. I leave Gio to it and head into the living room.

I can’t say I like this plan. Will I be there to cover Bella with all I am? Yes, that’s never been a question. However, I understand what Gio is doing. We can’t run through another list of witnesses, and this isn’t what we want to spend the rest of our lives doing.

We’re almost where he has planned all along. Everything the Di Lorenzo name is tied to is legal. The internet has changed business on so many levels for crime families. Less violence is needed, at least for Gio, it could be.

Riccardo and Peter Hall, with his snitching ass, are the only things standing in the way. We succeed in turning the tables, we’ll have it all. Ming, Ny, and I worked to make sure the FBI has Peter dead to rights. Talon will be up for a promotion after this.

If Gio has his way, Toni will prosecute the case for the favor she did with that final witness he asked for after getting her the information on her friend. It will be a win for a lot of people.

My mood not the best, I pull my phone and connect it to the sound system. Sitting on the couch, I put on “Somewhere Only We Know” by Keane and close my eyes.

I get lost in thought. This is it. We get rid of Riccardo with this move.

Unfortunately, he might have to meet the same fate as Bethany. Not what we want, but we’re being watched. It’s necessary we become the victims to build a new illusion. One that gets all eyes off us.

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