Page 60 of Corrupted Deception

Charlotte had certainly proven she could do some damage with her fuck-me heels. I still had the remnants of the bruise on my thigh to prove it.

She laughed. “I didn’t know you had a sense of humor. This is good.”

“Just call meSignorChuckles.We’ll talk again soon,amica.Be safe.”

I disconnected the call a moment later and spent the remainder of the short flight reviewing the intel from John Doe, turning the pieces this way and that, but the puzzle I was putting together had nothing to do with our shipment sitting in one of Val’s warehouses.

Unfortunately, by the time the plane touched down in New York, I still had no answers. Nothing but a sinking feeling that no matter how the pieces finally fitted together, Charlotte was going to end up hurt.

Chapter Eighteen

Cielo Luciano

“Everything is in order in Atlantic City,” I told Deo as I stopped next to him inside our warehouse and handed him the documents from Anthony Sorrento.

I gave him a moment to glance through them and watched as Vito and another one of our men, Carmine, pried open the false bottoms of the tall, wooden crates that had arrived recently, ensuring each one had been properly stocked.

“Bene.It looks like we’re ahead of schedule,” he said with a satisfied nod.

“Si,that’s the good news.”

“And the bad news is?”

I handed him the folder from John Doe. “This is less encouraging,” I said as he skimmed through the intel on the cartel and Miguel Silva who was virtually untouchable . He surrounded himself with enough protection to guard a small city. It would take some careful planning to get close. Charlotte’s particular… skillset would have been perfect for it, but there was no way in hell that was happening.

“So,” Deo said, reading over the intel, “I guess having a conversation with Silva when he’s at his most vulnerable is going to be no simple task.”

I shook my head. “Not simple, no. It will take time and planning.” But whether for my family or for Charlotte, I would get to the man.

“Any ideas in the meantime?” he asked, shaking his head disapprovingly as he came to the photo of the cartel men and their bodyless victim.

It wasn’t that my brother was opposed to violence, but many of the South American cartels had a reputation for using it carelessly.

I nodded. “For now, Mendoza and his men in New York—we wipe them out and make sureLos Cazadores Sangrientosknows it was us who did it. Retaliation for the man they killed, and it will let them know that any plans they make for distribution here will be put down.”

Deo nodded, but his eyes were caught up in thought. “We’ll be looking at dealing withtheirretaliation if we don’t take them all down in one night.”

“Si,it’s a gamble,”I conceded, maintaining my composure even if I wasn’t used to having to work with others, even my brother. The type of tasks for which I was responsible were solo operations. “The risk is minimal if we act rationally. And if we succeed, it will either make the cartel back down or bring them here to us.”

“And that puts any confrontation with them on our home turf, not theirs,” Deo said with another satisfied nod.

“Si.”

He clapped me on the back. “I like it.”

Vito and Carmine were nodding, which pleased me. We would be asking them to put their lives on the line to see this plan through, something else to which I wasn’t accustomed. My life was generally the only one I put on the line.

“There is a possible complication,” I admitted. “Though, I don’t know what impact it will have in the long run.”

“Your little runaway?” Deo asked while the corners of his lips twitched with amusement.

“Very funny.”

He shook his head, smiling as he leaned back against one of the crates. “What are the chances,fratello? The two of you end up in the same hotel room, both of you looking for answers from the same man?”

I scoffed. “That’s nothing.You’ll never guess who she knows.”

Deo cocked an inquisitive eyebrow.

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