Page 70 of Mafia Angel

I nod before he leads me to an armchair. He pulls up the cushion and sweeps his hand over the chair before unzipping the cushion and sticking his hand in. He pulls out something and shows me. It’s like what he found at my place. My eyes hurt they’re so wide. He puts the cushion back on the chair and points to it. I shake my head, but he eases me onto it. I glance at Armando, and he appears shocked. I don’t know if he’s shocked that there’s a bug, or that Gabriele found it already.

Gabriele uses his phone flashlight to look everywhere. Baseboards, drawers, cabinets, doors, window frames. Everything gets examined. He finds four others before he flushes them. When he returns to squat in front of me, Armando speaks up.

“She can’t stay here.”

“I know. She’s coming with me.”

ChapterFifteen

Gabriele

It didn’t surprise me to see Armando Jimenez in the lobby, but that doesn’t mean it thrilled me either. Enrique’s security company is legitimately one of the best in the city. So it’s reasonable that a top law firm like Sinead’s would already have them on speed dial. Even if it hadn’t been Armando and Hunter, I would have spotted anyone who was a bodyguard within five seconds of walking in. If you know what to look for, we stand out.

It didn’t surprise me to find the bugs in the room, either. The only surprise there was that I only found five. But they were high end, so super sensitive with almost perfect sound quality. It pleases me that Armando immediately suggests Sinead needs to leave. At least, that tells me he isn’t in on this, even if it turns out to be Enrique. It means I don’t have to kill him. It doesn’t mean I trust him.

“Sinead, we’re going to stick to the original plan.”

She nods, but remains quiet. I’m certain she fears I missed a device, so she wants to say nothing. It’s why I’m not giving any more details. I reach out my hand, and she takes it without hesitation as she stands. I slide my arm around her waist and draw my gun again. I let it rest against my thigh as we head to the door.

“I’ll call Enrique in the car, Mondo. Stay here and make it look like Sinead’s still inside. Order room service for her in an hour and insist upon taking it inside yourself. Do you know who’s relieving you?”

“Yeah, Manny.”

“Your brother?”

“No, Manny Vasquez.”

“That fucknut? Fuck no. Sinead would leave regardless of this shit. Now I’m really going to speak to Enrique. The fuck Manny’s ever going near Sinead.”

I feel Sinead stiffen next to me, and I don’t mean to scare her. But making Armando understand I’m not playing is more important.

“I was going to call Enrique to tell him to switch Vasquez for someone else. We all know how you feel about him.”

“Good.”

Sinead’s still staring up at me, but I shake my head. I’m not getting into how Emmanuel Vasquez shot me. The shitbag was fucking around, thinking he was Wild Bill Hickok doing some Wild West show, twirling his weapon while we were both at a shipyard guarding goods bound for the same ship to Amsterdam. Motherfucker got me in the thigh. This was two years ago. So not like we were teenagers or some shit. Stupid sack of fucking ass.

Just as we get to the door, my phone vibrates in my pocket. While I checked for bugs, I texted Carmine, and now he’s calling me.

“Ciao.”

“Ciao. Siamo qui accanto.” We’re next door.

“Stiamo uscendo ora.” We’re walking out now.

I end the call as I gesture Armando to go ahead of us. I hear another door open and watch Armando nod. I know Carmine is out there, so I guide Sinead into the hallway. Across from us, the door opens, and Marco and Lorenzo step out. I look over my shoulder and see Matteo and Luca come out of the room on the other side. Armando’s shut out of the circle we make around Sinead, but that’s fine. He knows I expect him to stand outside her door and not fuck up.

I glance down at Sinead, and I follow her gaze. She’s looking at the gun in Carmine’s hand as he walks in front of us, then her gaze darts to Lorenzo, who’s walking beside Carmine. He has his gun resting against his right thigh, just like Carmine and I do. Anyone approaching wouldn’t easily see them, and when we get on the service elevator, no one watching the camera will be able to tell. But we can’t wait around. We shouldn’t be on the freight elevator, and that’ll raise the alarm. As soon as we step off, we’re near the loading dock. Lorenzo pushes open the door, and an SUV is parked out front. One of our most trusted Made Men, Luigi, is in the front seat.

Luca, Lorenzo, and Matteo clamber into the third-row. It’s an insanely tight fit since it’s a seat made for two. I hear Luca grumble and roll over the seatback into the trunk. Carmine and I sandwich Sinead between us. Marco gets in beside Luigi. When we pull onto the street, I watch a black sedan pull into traffic after us. I know it’s Damian, another one of our Made Men, and he’ll trail us until we get to Auntie Paola’s.

I help Sinead with her seat belt, then wrap an arm around her shoulders. I glare over my shoulder at the smirks I’m already sure are on Luca, Lorenzo, and Matteo’s faces.

“Fanculo.” Fuck off.

I see Marco’s expression in the mirror as he rolls his eyes. He’s intentionally leaning on the center console to make sure I see him. Sinead lifts her head from where she’d just rested it against my chest.

“Don’t worry,piccolina. It’s all right.”

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