Page 27 of Surrender

“Don Cresci’s been waiting for you,” Enzo, Cresci’s main enforcer, says. He grimaces as he leads me through the manor. “He was not pleased when he heard about the explosion.”

“As someone who was there,” I say, my voice dry, “I was also displeased about the explosion.” I shake my head. “Thanks for the heads-up.”

I follow him, trying to figure out what I’m going to tell the boss. I trust the head of the Cresci family with my life, but I don’t know how he’d feel about me having an assassin under my roof. He’s not forgiving, and he’s right not to be.

I thank Enzo when he opens the door to Cresci’s office, and I step inside. Silvano and Dan are there, and I know I can’t say a word about Fox until I figure out why Dan acted so paranoid around me at the club.

Don Giovanni Cresci, head of the Cresci Crime Family, sits at his heavy desk with an angry scowl. He’s in his sixties, his hair fully silver and thinning at the temples. The heavy jaw and broad shoulders hint at the kind of violence he was able to enforce in his youth. Thirty years ago, I wouldn’t have wanted to meet him in a dark alley.

Twenty years ago, it was lucky that I did. That one single meeting changed my life forever.

“Cristiano. Kept me waiting long enough. I almost wondered if you’d been taken out after all. If Silvano hadn’t told me he’d seen you at the club the other day…” Cresci growls.

I fight not to wince. I should’ve reached out sooner, but I’ve been so caught up in Fox that it’s been hard to think of anything else. “I apologize.” I glance at Dan, not wanting him there, and I clear my throat. “May I speak to you and Silvano alone?”

“In a moment. We have other business first.” Cresci turns his attention to Silvano. “Tell Cristiano what you discovered, Silvano.”

Dan shifts uncomfortably. He’s significantly lower ranked than anyone else in the room, and there’s no good reason for him to be here in a private meeting between Don Cresci, his underboss, and his consigliere.

Silvano motions to Enzo, and I hear the lock click behind me. I instinctively tense, but if I didn’t trust Cresci with my life, I would never have gotten this far in the organization. Years of toiling and working for him have taught me that Cresci is a man who might be quick to anger, but he believes in rewarding those who are loyal to him.

I’ve been nothing if not loyal.

“I was doing some math,” Silvano says, going to sit on the large leather armchair. “It’s funny how easily numbers can lie. For example, if the paper says we received a shipment of twenty assault rifles, but I go out to the warehouse and discover only fifteen.” He rests his chin on his hand and stares at Dan. “Even weirder is when the containers have clearly been pried open and then clumsily been hammered shut. How the fuck does that happen?”

I look at Dan, too, who’s red-faced and sweating under the scrutiny. It’s as much an admission of guilt as if he screamed it from the rooftops, but Silvano isn’t going to make this painless for him.

I don’t pity Dan one bit.

“Huh. That’s a pretty good question,” I say slowly. I wonder if this is enough of a secret to kill for—probably so, since it’s enough to die over. It’s easy to pinpoint Dan as the one who wanted me killed, perhaps wanting to frame me for the crime, but it feels too easy somehow.

“Um. I don’t know,” Dan mumbles, taking a few steps back. He looks past me toward the locked door, but Enzo is standing right there, ready to thwart any attempts to escape.

“You can fuck off with the innocent act,” Cresci says thunderously, slamming his fist on the table. “You stole from me! Did you think we wouldn’t notice?”

Dan shakes his head and takes another step back, bumping against the sofa. He stumbles and falls into the seat. “No! I mean, I didn’t! It wasn’t me! What about, uh, Peter? Or…” He looks over at me. “Fiore! He’s the one who was gone for over a week! And he has that new friend!”

“Yes,” I say. “I stole arms, sloppily put things back together, arranged for someone to try to assassinate me, then decided to conspicuously lay low for a week while I recovered.” I slowly clap for him. “You’ve solved the case, Danny.”

“If there’s one thing I hate worse than traitors,” Cresci says, “it’s stupid traitors. How the fuck did you even get this far?”

Silvano laughs into his hand. “Coasting on others’ coattails, it seems. As soon as Cristiano was out of commission, he lost what little cover he had.”

Dan looks squeamish now, and he runs a hand over his sweaty forehead. He squirms, though he doesn’t get up. “I didn’t do anything, Boss,” he protests.

I shake my head. Either way, Dan is screwed. Cresci has him in his sights, and he’ll find some crime he’s guilty of if it exists.

Maybe even if it doesn’t, but hell, Dan is certainly being a fucking idiot—and that’s a liability as much as anything else these days.

“Cristiano. I assume you’re armed? Take care of this trash.” Cresci waves dismissively. “Then we can finally get on with business.”

I nod, meeting Dan’s terrified eyes. He goes to get off the couch at last, but I’m on him before he has a chance to even try to dart toward the door. I grab him by his hair and shove him face down onto the couch, wrestling him into position. I don’t particularly want to be covered in blood, so I grab the back cushion and push it down onto Dan’s head. He’s shouting now, something incoherent, but I ignore him as I push the muzzle of the gun against the pillow and shoot.

Dan’s body goes limp instantly. I lift the cushion away, noting how clean the gunshot looks on Dan’s temple with satisfaction. I should use sofa cushions more often. They always do the job.

“Enzo, go get somebody to come clean this up,” Cresci orders. Once Enzo has left the room, Cresci nods at me. “All right. Now, what the fuck happened, and how did you almost get fucking killed?”

I sigh, getting up and straightening my suit. I inspect the white shirt beneath it, pleased to see that no blood got through onto it. “Someone set me up,” I say, glancing between Cresci and Silvano. “Everything had been vetted, but when it came down to it, someone tried to fucking shoot me, and somehow they got around the cameras and alarms to rig up fucking explosives.” I grit my teeth, still pissed that that happened under my watch.

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