Page 47 of The Secrets We Keep

According to what Sienna was able to dig up, they were selling these weapons to up-and-comers in the Greek Mafia. Men who wouldn’t be pleased to have their pricey supply disappear.

Luca imagined their normal routine would be to load the weapons onto a private yacht in crates that could pass for supplies for a long journey and then cruise the three hundred nautical miles from Sicily to Greece with their contraband in the cargo hold. Today would not be their normal routine.

The plan was to ambush the truck at the precise moment it drove over the line from Gallo territory to newly seized Romano territory before it crossed Antonetti’s border. Gallo would know it was a hit because the weapons would be gone, but they’d leave the truck for anyone to find and be sure to give it a splashy front-page story in the press.

Luca’s phone signaled an incoming text, and he dug it out of his pocket, angling the screen away from Alexei’s prying eyes. Sienna.

First check-in complete. Ferry just docked in Messina.

“Right on schedule,” Luca said, sending back a confirmation text. “We shouldn’t have any problems unless they hit traffic. They should do another check-in just as we get into position.”

The sun was high in the sky by the time they were pulling onto the shoulder of the road outside Enna. It was close to the same location Dom had run surveillance on a few months ago. When they’d learned Gallo had been gifting weapons to Varda in exchange for protection should the Bianchis ever set Gallo in their sights.

Too bad for Gallo he’d bet on the wrong man. The weapons he’d given to Varda had been useless against Bianchi firepower. Now he was out the investment and the protection. Gallo didn’t have the ranks to match them. That’s why he’d gone running to Varda, and as soon as they stripped him of his wealth and influence, he’d collapse like a house of cards.

Luca climbed out of the SUV and moved around to the trunk. Pulling on thick gloves, he carefully hefted out one of the spike strips and carried it to the side of the road. They had a spotter a few miles up warning people away from this stretch. They only had one target today. No need to draw attention to themselves by taking out multiple vehicles.

Positioning two strips across the road, he leaned back against the side of the SUV hidden in the brush and waited. Alexei’s knife was twisting through his fingers at a dizzying speed when Luca’s phone signaled again.

Enna check-in complete. Be safe.

“Any minute now,” Luca warned, seconds before a warning text came through from their spotter that the truck was on its way.

He watched from his vantage point as the truck rounded the bend ahead of them and came into view. It picked up speed on the straight stretch, and his muscles tensed in anticipation as it neared the spike strips.

The tires popped like gunshots when they hit the strip, and the truck swerved violently onto the shoulder, kicking up dirt and gravel. Luca thought they’d stay upright, but the front tires protested as the car veered back onto the smooth surface of the road, splitting off and catching under the back tires.

The truck shuddered and swayed before ultimately tipping over and sliding along the pavement for a few feet, metal scraping against asphalt and sending up sparks. As soon as the truck jerked to a stop, his men poured from the tree line and advanced, weapons drawn.

Smoke from the mangled tires rose into the sky, the smell of burned rubber filling his nose as men advanced on the cab to make sure the driver was dead. Luca rounded the back of the truck and crouched down to undo the latch on the tailgate, only to find it bolted shut.

Gesturing to the man closest to him for bolt cutters, his head jerked up when shouts and then shots rang out from the front of the truck. It didn’t last long. Everything was silent by the time he sprinted around to where his man was dismounting from the open door on the driver’s side.

“What the fuck was that?” Luca demanded.

“There was a passenger we didn’t anticipate,” Torelli said. “He started shooting.”

Luca gave an irritated huff. “Well, dig him out and clean up as much as you can. We can’t leave a body with bullet holes for the cops.”

“On it,” Torelli assured him.

Luca left them to their work and went to check on the other group. The door was now pried open, severed bolts on the ground at their feet. The contents of the back of the truck were tossed around, some of the crates open with their guts spilling out. Gallo was hiding his weapons among a shipment of electronics.

“Load up the weapons quickly,” Luca said, picking up a game console and tossing it back into a box full of other smashed video game parts. “I want to be gone in fifteen.”

“What was the shooting?” Alexei wondered as the men began loading crates into the SUVs.

“A passenger who didn’t have the sense to die on impact.”

Alexei chuckled softly, standing next to Luca and watching them transfer the cargo from the truck to their waiting cars.

“So,” Alexei began, keeping his voice low to avoid being overheard. “Does Matteo know your contact is a woman?”

Luca forced his voice to remain neutral. “No. Does it matter?”

“Not necessarily. He’d probably be more interested in the fact that you’re sleeping with her.”

Alexei’s stare was searching instead of mocking when Luca met his gaze. “What makes you think I’m sleeping with her?”

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