Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 83755 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83755 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
“We dragged you into this,” Cesare pointed out. “We didn’t mean to, but this doesn’t change the truth. We should be the ones to get you out of this mess, alive and in one piece.”
“Oh,” I huffed out, starting off towards them. I threw my arms forward, in my attempt to hold just one of them. I must have looked quite ridiculous… I needed to be six or seven inches taller to have any hope of closing my arms around one of them. Before I knew it, I was snuggled up against a broad chest, with six, masculine arms over my back. A gentle squeeze intensified that enormous sense of security, my heartbeat slowing with each passing second. Even after the revelation of that hit, I wasn’t feeling scared. On the contrary, I was peaceful. Aware that those three would gamble their own lives, in order to protect me.
32
CESARE
It was unbelievable how people could amaze me.
Even the ones I had known all my life, like Matteo and Leonardo.
Nevertheless, Piper was the one who had blown me away the most.
I considered myself smart. Able to analyze situations by using my brain. And, once I’d left that hospital, I felt beaten.
By her.
She had destroyed me. Rejecting my accusations was one thing. Anybody could do that. Proving my mistake to me was a whole different matter. I was really struck by how she had managed to maintain her composure and offer me her counterargument. She had a point, while I felt like I had made a complete fool of myself. How the hell could I have been so wrong? Was it pressure that had blinded me like that? Was it stress? Or was something else at play? I didn’t know. Worse still, I didn’t wish to delve deeper into this.
We had more urgent matters to take care of. My pride could wait.
We had to have a sit-down with Maggie’s men.
I never thought I’d be in this position. Planning a meeting with a group of wise guys who had stormed into a bar, guns blazing? If anyone had told me this about a month ago, I would have laughed in their faces and told them to get lost. Now, this was the only way forward. The only thing we could do, to make sure that we didn’t get whacked by another crew.
After a lengthy exchange of texts, we agreed to meet on Roselli’s turf. Nowhere near Brooklyn and far away from typical mob hangouts, that two-story building housed Maggie’s office. I found myself admiring her idea. That woman had brains. Knowing she had to stay away from crappy neighborhoods, she had chosen Upper East Side to run the shelter next to her building. Of course, wise guys could get to her there if they wanted. Yet, this place had everything a spot in Brooklyn just didn’t have.
Peace.
Prestige.
An average nobody wouldn’t suspect that the heir to one of the most notorious gangsters in New York was the only tenant of that building.
We found Rocco, Julian, and Slater in the waiting room outside the office, enjoying whiskey over a casual chat. In the few moments it took us to join them, I realized how valuable their experience was. Those three were acting like they were about to go for a walk in the park. Definitely not how to take down someone who had ordered their death.
“Evening,” Rocco greeted us in a gruff voice, screwing the cap back on. “You’re a pain in my ass, boys. Ever since you showed up, a lot of bad things have been happening to me and my crew. That hit’s the fucking icing on the cake.”
“DeLuca, shut up and hear me out for a change,” I snarled, casting a nasty glare over at him. “None of us is exactly thrilled to be in the same room as you. When I mentioned that I wanted to work with you to my guys, they fucking hated it. But, seeing as we’ve got a common enemy and your boss is scared of losing you, I thought we should suck it up and do it. You don’t want us here? All you have to do is say the word and we’ll be out of your hair in no time.”
“I wish,” he spoke in a lazy tone, resuming his seat across from the empty couch. Leonardo, Matteo, and I sitting down on it, I leaned forward. “Have either of you been to Vegas?”
“I have,” Leonardo said, raising his hand a little over his head. “It was a long time ago, though. Why?”
“That’s where our target is,” Rocco revealed, Matteo handing him a large building schematic. “Atlas Construction is just off Vegas Boulevard. We’re talking about a twelve-story building, with similar size buildings all around it. Raiding it in broad daylight is fucking suicide. The cops will be all over us before we can say ‘gun.’”