by Dee, Cara
Liam nodded once in agreement and glanced out at the men. “Gio’s not gonna be around either. We’ve talked to T and Mundy, and they’re gonna give the Italians some hell at home over the next few days.”
Pop frowned. “That won’t guarantee Giovanni will head to Bari or whatever safe house he prefers. And if he did, wouldn’t he bring his wife and whatever’s in his office that we want to get our hands on?”
“That’s not why he’ll leave the villa,” I answered. “We’re gonna cut his landline and give his Wi-Fi a shitty connection.”
“We’ll do the same to all the houses on his street,” Eric filled in. “It’ll seem less suspect.”
The good thing was that Gio lived at the very end of his street, and there was nothing but forest behind his property.
“He’ll be pissed and—” Liam shrugged. “I don’t know. He’ll only leave to be able to get into contact with his crews in the US. He won’t think the phone company’s coming to murder his wife.”
“Speaking of,” I said, moving on again. “Considering the number of Italians we’ve seen and dealt with in the US, it’s safe to assume he’s got crews there—as in plural. And we can’t let Uncle T, Mundy, and the other Mikey take that heat alone.”
The men looked around the room, knowing what was next.
We had to send a couple guys home again.
We needed to have one crew stateside, as much as it irritated me to take from the manpower we had here.
“Some’a youse sit safe, because you have skillsets we need here,” I said. “On the flip side, those of you who gotta leave will have free rein to cause destruction at home. As long as you don’t get caught.”
The last part made Joel and Lachlan perk up. I’d learned they had a thing for explosives. However, we kinda wanted Lachlan to stay behind. He’d more than proven himself with how he’d handled the shitshow at the ranch.
Liam pulled the note from his pocket that we’d put together. “If I read your name, you’ll be stuck with us here in Europe a while longer.” He paused. “The management—Finn, meself, Eric, and Kellan. Sullivan—sorry, mate, but you’re our best sniper. Colm, Mikey, and Mack.” Mack was a jack-of-all-trades I didn’t wanna give up. Other than having a linebacker’s build, he was good at security as well as technology. “The rest of you are completely replaceable.”
I grinned, and the guys erupted in “Oi!”s and “I’ll show ye replaceable.”
Colm nudged Conn. “Hear that, brother? You’re more replaceable than me.”
Liam chuckled. “You know we want you all to stay, fuckers. Don’t make me stroke yer egos.”
“We need two volunteers.” I hoped they knew how much we didn’t want to do this.
Joel shrugged. “I don’t mind. Can I call Adam? We’ve worked some gigs together.”
Liam and I exchanged a glance, and he nodded to me. It was my call. To be honest, I wasn’t sure. Adam was a great bloke; we’d grown up together, and he’d gone to Aberdeen Grange in the UK with Pat and me. I trusted him—kind of. We had his loyalty, but he’d lost his brother and father thanks to John, then gotten three years in prison for a crime he’d been framed for. He hated John more than most, and I couldn’t be sure his hotheadedness wouldn’t get the best of him.
On the other hand, we had to give him something. What our crew would be doing in the US wasn’t directly related to John.
I nodded my okay in the end. “Just keep an eye on him. I love the fucker, but he’s running on hatred.”
“Copy that,” Joel replied.
Pop lifted a brow in question to me, and I shook my head discreetly. I didn’t want him to volunteer because he’d have a more hands-on role in the US, something I wasn’t sure he was ready for.
There was something else I wanted him to do. Aunt Viv was safe back in Ireland, and I wanted Alec and Nessa to join her there. They’d be surrounded by cousins and other family. It would mean a lot if Pop could take them.
“I can go with Joel,” Seán said.
I was surprised he was offering, but glad nonetheless. He was a natural leader, and he could call the shots with Uncle T.
“Well, all right, then.” Liam seemed surprised too. “We appreciate it, lads. Finn and Eric have some shite to go over with ye, and I’ll go get yer tickets.”
“I like first class, mate,” Joel piped up with.
I laughed.
Liam puckered his lips in a kiss. “We’ll strap you to a wing.”
The only one protesting about leaving was Alec. Pop had been visibly pleased and relieved to hear about our idea to send the twins to Ireland, and he’d been happy to take them there. It meant more family members in safety. And Nessa was looking forward to seeing her cousins and attending correspondence school for a bit.
Alec was…too eager to grow up. He wanted to help out, he’d said.
I had plans for the lad, but he could focus on turning thirteen first.
The men left that same evening, in separate cars so we could clear our driveway a little, and then we ate and continued fine-tuning the details for the gig on Thursday.
Not counting the girls, we were down to eleven guys in our crew.
After dinner, Eric, Liam, Kellan, and I retreated to the terrace. While Liam got a fire started in the barbecue area, the rest of us sat down in the chairs around the firepit, and I sparked up a smoke and asked Eric if he needed a supply run to Florence tomorrow.
“It’s such a fuckin’ drive,” he muttered. “But yeah, I need to go.”
“You can go with Mikey then, eh?” Kellan spoke my mind.
“Aye.” Eric looked at something behind me, and I glanced over my shoulder to see Autumn walking over slowly, carefully, with a tray of drinks. “Hey, hon. You got something there for us?”
“Yes, I’m helping Emilia.” She beamed proudly, albeit sleepily. She was too fucking cute, all pigtails, pajamas, and freckles. She was around nine, I was pretty sure, but she was small for her age. “I gotta show her I’m not tired,” she added as she reached us. “She wants me to go to sleep.”
I smiled and accepted the tray from her.
My wife was going to be a fantastic mother.
Fuck, that reminded me. I had to switch out Emilia’s birth control again. Pop had managed to get his hands on four of those blister packs this time, which meant four months of unsafe sex with her delightful husband.
Pop had also checked my gunshot wound and given me a round of antibiotics to fight off any infection since I, according to him, didn’t take care of my leg properly. Bullshit, in my opinion.
Kellan extended the tray to Eric and Liam across from us.
“You should listen to Emilia,” Eric advised. “We share a room with her and Finn, and you know he snores. If you fall asleep before he does, you won’t hear it.”
I scoffed and took a sip of my whiskey.
Autumn giggled and rested her butt on my armrest. “It’s okay. He doesn’t sleep until much later.”
She wasn’t wrong.
The heat from the fire reached me, and I leaned back with a contented sigh. Millions of stars were out tonight, and the only thing that could make this moment even better was if Emilia came out and planted her sweet ass on my lap.
“Are you gonna talk shop now?” Autumn asked. “That’s what you call it, right?”
I smirked lazily and tugged lightly on one of her pigtails. “We’re gonna listen to your uncle talk about a bunch of gadgets.”
She widened her eyes. “He does that a lot.”
We chuckled.
“You can go brush your teeth, hon,” Eric laughed quietly. “If you want, you can go with me to Florence tomorrow.”
“Yes, please!” She definitely liked that idea. “But I can stay here a little while longer, can’t I? Don’t say no to me. I’m the boss.”
“Oh-ho!” Liam and I cracked up, and I couldn’t help myself. I snuck an arm around Autumn’s middle and yanked her onto my lap. At least I had one leg that was still good for someth
ing. “You’re a fuckin’ firecracker, you know that?” I gave her a kiss on the cheek while she squealed and tried to bat away my hand from tickling her. “Is that true, blue eyes? Are you the boss?”
“Yes!” she wheezed between laughs. “Oh my gosh, s-stop it!”
I chuckled and ceased the assault when I nearly spilled my whiskey.
“Autumn,” Eric reminded, failing to hide his mirth. “Go brush your teeth.”
She groaned and dragged herself off my lap. “Fine, buzzkill. Night, everyone. I guess.”
“Sleep well, Autumn.” I watched her stomp off before I turned back to the men. “You think we’ll sit like this in ten years, surrounded by kids?”
“God willing.” Liam raised his glass to that.
“Fuck that.” Kellan shuddered. “Once they reach Autumn’s age, I can babysit every now and then. Before that, don’t think about calling me.”
I grinned.
“I think I’m set,” Eric said, amused. “One’s enough.”
Liam sucked his teeth. “Cunts, all’a ye. We gotta raise the next generation of Sons.”
“Hear, hear,” I said. Then I jerked my chin at Kellan. “We’ll get you a couple runts from some orphanage in Ireland.”
Kellan snorted and shook his head.
Eric cocked his brow at me. “How many are you gonna trap Emilia with?”
I lifted a shoulder. “As many as I can.”
I’d always wanted a big family. Five or six kids sounded good to me.
“If you gotta count ’em twice to make sure, you’re good,” Liam said, paraphrasing something my grandfather used to say. “Maybe I can find a wife in that town where you found Emilia. It seems like a good place.”
I smiled faintly and sipped my drink.
I wasn’t sure my brother would agree with that assessment. It hadn’t escaped my attention that he was avoiding his own fiancée these days. If he didn’t get a handle on things, I would have to step in. And I’d rather not.
Leading up to Thursday, everything was about preparations, trial runs, and mapping out our route. The guys and I took off for several hours after breakfast the day of—we needed some target practice with our new guns—and I told the girls to start packing up our shit. We were leaving Italy tonight after everything was done.
When we came back, the wife was officially taking placebos for birth control, and she was serving us a late lunch on the terrace. Hot dogs, burgers, and wings filled the kitchen island, with sodas and condiments already placed outside.
Eric passed me on the way out. “Gio just left his villa with one driver,” he said under his breath. “Three calls registered to the phone company.”
Perfect. Gio was falling for the ruse.
“Did you use the grill?” Kellan asked Emilia.
“Yes…?” She was confused by the question.
Luna entered the kitchen at the same time. “I know this must come as a shock, big brother, but women can work a grill too.”
I jerked my chin at her. “You on the rag, little one?”
She hated being called that. Absolutely hated it.
She shot me a glare. “Go fuck yourself, Finn.”
I laughed and stuck half a hot dog into my mouth. “Still so easy.”
As the guys headed outside, Emilia stopped me and nodded toward the fridge. I figured she wanted to say something away from the others, so I went with her and waited.
“I’m only fucking with Luna.” I threw that out there in case Emilia was about to give me some girl-power rant.
She rolled her eyes. “I know. Don’t worry, we’ll just fuck with you in return.” Wait, what? No. I hadn’t signed up for that. “That’s not what I wanted to talk to you about,” she said, lowering her voice. “The delivery guy you’re gonna intercept later… You’re not gonna hurt him, right? He’s innocent in all this.”
Just like that, many of my worries faded away. Emilia, much like my mother had been, was all heart. She had no place in our syndicate, but she’d become the very ticker that kept it running. That kept us, men like me, running.
“I love you.” I dipped down and kissed her quickly. “No, we’re not gonna hurt him.”
Her gaze softened with affection and relief. “You promise?”
I nodded and took another bite of my hot dog. “I swear.” I smiled around a mouthful of food, probably more relieved than she was. I’d married someone who needed a thrill here and there, but I could work with that. I could give her something that was separate from what I did.
9
Finnegan O’Shea
I turned up the volume of my earpiece as Liam confirmed the delivery truck was en route and coming our way in less than two minutes.
Just Kellan and I were at the side of the road, with our SUV blocking the only lane, and we had Liam, Mikey, and Lachlan following the truck.
The sun had just set over the hills, casting its last glow across the nearby vineyards and fields. We were thankfully protected by a small forest that the road slithered through.
I checked my watch. “One minute, give or take.”
“I’m hungry.” Kellan rubbed his stomach.
“Emilia’s preparing her lasagna wraps for when we hit the road,” I said.
“Lasagna wraps?” His forehead creased.
“Mother of God. You’ll see. She wraps chunks of lasagna in cheese-covered tortilla bread.” My stomach growled when I thought about her cooking. She’d started making more food that was easy to eat on the road since…well, since she’d married me. “They’re outta this world. And with garlic butter…? Fuck me.”
“Why you gotta hold out on me?” Kellan bitched. “We’ve spent the entire fucking summer together, and you didn’t let me try them even once?”
“She’s my wife, not yours,” I barked out. “Go find yourself a boy toy who can cook for ya.”
He huffed and faced the direction the truck would appear in any second now. “If I ever find someone decent, I’m the boy toy.”
I made a face as my asshole clenched.
That had to be painful.
I rubbed my thigh absently, wondering if I’d taken my meds or not. No, I was pretty sure I had.
“You lads know we can hear ye, right?” Liam spoke in my ear.
I grinned, ’cause I had forgotten, and coughed around a laugh. “Right.”
“Incoming,” Kellan muttered.
I looked out over the dark road and saw the headlights in the distance.
The driver had nowhere to go, unless he drove straight out into the woods and crashed into a tree.
“We see the target,” I said for Liam to hear. “You right behind him?”
“Aye. Let’s box him in without drama, fellas. We don’t want the truck damaged.”
I nodded to myself and lifted my hoodie just enough to reveal the gun at the base of my spine. Easy to reach when I needed it. Only Kellan brought out his piece, but he kept it hidden behind him.
I squinted and raised an arm as the headlights blinded us.
The truck slowed down.
Would he be one of those old-school drivers who had a shotgun in the pocket of his door…?
Let’s play.
My Italian was rusty at best; Kellan’s was better, so he went first.
As the driver rolled down the window, my heartbeat kicked up, and I started cataloguing every move he made. He looked to be in his thirties, and his clothes would be tight as hell on Mikey. Red windbreaker, red cap, both with the grocery chain’s logo. He gestured wildly, irritated that we were blocking the road. It was as if he’d never heard of hijackings before.
“Amico, bisogna che tu scenda dal furgone,” Kellan told him.
“Che cazzo state facendo? Levatevi dai coglioni!” The driver cranked up the gesturing, fucking Italians, and became angry. He wanted us out of the way, and sorry, but we needed his truck.
I was quickly losing my patience.
So was Liam, evidently, because he honked behind the truck.
&nb
sp; The driver was officially livid, shouting things too rapidly for me to decipher, and Kellan gave up. He lifted his gun and aimed at the driver.
“Scendi da questo fottuto furgone.” He told the driver to step out of the goddamn truck.
“Non abbiamo tutto il cazzo di giorno.” I informed the driver that we didn’t have all day.
Guns had the best ability to shut people up. The driver swallowed nervously and opened the door, then put his hands up as he jumped down.
“Attaboy,” I praised. Next, I nodded toward the side of the road. “Forza, mettiti qui in ginocchio.” I told him to get on his knees. When the driver began weeping and begging, I spat out that we didn’t want to hurt him. “Non vogliamo farti niente.” We just needed his jacket and cap. I also ordered Kellan to ask the driver where we’d find the Avellino order and if we needed any paperwork for the deliv—oh, for chrissakes. “Quit bawlin’!” I pistol-whipped the son of a bitch before I took a couple steps back. “You deal with that, Ford. He’s giving me a headache.”
I rubbed my forehead, then picked up the discarded clothes and trailed over to Liam and Mikey.
“We should be outta here by now,” Liam said impatiently.
We watched Mikey wrestle inside the windbreaker.
Liam slid his gaze to me next. “You sure the wife is Emilia’s mother?”
I tipped my hand back and forth. “Ninety percent? Ish.”
“I got all the info I need, boss,” Kellan hollered.
“All right.” I walked back to him and pulled out my piece. “Perdonami,” I told the driver. Then I aimed the gun at his forehead and pulled the trigger.
A flock of birds fled from the trees, and I grimaced and rubbed my ear.
“You good here?” I asked Kellan. “The cleaning supplies are in the other car.”
He nodded. “I’ll meet up wit’youse later.”
