Only, those people weren’t there to pay their respects.
They were there to add to the family plot.
“Christ Almighty, Ace. Have you left this room at all in the past week?”
Not really.
I hadn’t slept in days and when I did, it was on the leather couch in the corner of my dark, windowless security room. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d shaved, and I’d mostly survived off of coffee and energy drinks. I’d just been glued to these screens, throwing myself deep into updating my programs, looking for bugs in my systems, and tweaking my newest versions. With my life in the shitter, I didn’t know what else to do except throw myself into work.
“What are you doing here, Gia?”
“I’ll take that as a no,” she muttered flatly from behind me. “I swear, if I find a bottle of pee hidden somewhere in here, I’m out. I’ll dump you off on the others and leave them to deal with your grungy ass.”
My dry eyes remained locked on the monitor in front of me, my fingers typing away without pausing. “Charming, but that doesn’t answer my question.”
“Right.” She cleared her throat and said in a more authoritative voice, “I’ve come to do my sisterly duty of getting you out of this room by sticking my boot up your ass.” Her booted foot appeared in my peripheral vision as she held it up and shook it. “And these boots have a wicked heel, so I’d heed my warning if I were you.”
“Technically, you never gave me a warning.”
“Okay, how about this?”
Again, I saw her move in my peripheral vision and crouch beside the wall in the corner.
“Either you stop what you’re doing and listen to me, or I’ll pull the plug.”
That finally drew my attention.
My eyes snapped to where her hand gripped the thick cord of my power strip that connected all my computers to the outlet. Her eyebrows were raised as she waited for my reaction, clearly poised to unplug all the machines.
I returned my attention to the screens, nonplussed by her threats. “It’s an insult that you don’t think I’m smart enough to have multiple backup servers on these things. You unplug that and the entire system automatically reboots in seconds.”
“I’m pregnant.”
I violently shoved away from the desk and whirled around. “What?”
She smiled happily. “Good, now that I’ve got your attention I’ll go ahead and ask, what the hell are you doing in here, Ace?”
I glared. “You’re not pregnant?”
She scowled. “Hell, no. That IUD isn’t coming out until I’m well into my thirties.”
I shuddered. “Remember what I said qualified as disturbing conversation between us? Contraception is definitely in the no-go zone.”
“You want to talk disturbing? Try being one room away from your brother and best friend while they go at it like fucking rabbits.”
“What are you talking about? Roxy and I never did it when you were in the house.”
“You didn’t know I was in the dining room. Roxy was looking for blank music sheets in the living room when you came home. She said she was too distracted when you dragged her off to the bathroom to mention I was waiting for her in the other room. She couldn’t look me in the eye for hours after that.” Now, Gia was the one shuddering.
I was shocked as hell that I still had the ability to smile. “She’s got some lungs on her, doesn’t she?”
Gia thrust her hand in my face. “Moving on now. I’ll ask again, what are you doing in here, Ace, when she’s out there?”
That sobered my mood right up.
“Yeah, she’s out there hating me.”
I couldn’t forget seeing the haunted expression on Roxy’s face. The way the light had dimmed from her eyes. The moment she’d told me she loved me, in the past tense.
That had tormented me most of all.
“She’s out there waiting for you to fix this,” Gia amended. Then she laughed dryly. “You know, I used to think the only one of my brothers I’d ever truly understand was you. Now, I don’t think I’ll ever really get any of you.”
My brow dropped. “What is that supposed to mean?”
She waved down at my pathetic, bedraggled form. “Look at you. This is not the Ace who pushed me into pursuing music. The five of you all claim to be willing to fight for the things you believe in, the things that truly matter. That’s what you said to me when I told you the most important thing in this world to me, other than my family, is music. You said that if it was what I believed in, if I was willing to fight for it, then I had to go for it because I owed it to myself. But when it comes to the women you guys love, the same rules don’t seem to apply.”
“We fight to protect people from the families, Gia. We defend those who can’t defend themselves against the mafia. Those are the important matters we believe in.”
She raised an eyebrow. “But that didn’t have anything to do with my music. How is the situation with you and Roxy any different? You love her, right? You’d defend her against anyone who threatened her. Hell, you’ve already fought for her. So, why is she not worth fighting for now?”
“She is worth fighting for,” I blurted out. “But it was her decision to walk away. And unlike before, I’m going to respect her wishes. Because she was right. Vinnie and I stepped over the line. I don’t want her to feel trapped with me, or that she was tricked into our relationship. I want her to come to that conclusion on her own this time.”
“So, what, you expect her to come crawling back to you?”
What? “No—”
“May I remind you that you are the one who screwed up here,” she pushed. “Which means you are the one who has to pick up the pieces, go back to her with your tail between your legs, and apologize.”
“I tried to apologize. You were here, you heard it. I tried to stop her and make her listen. Hell, I chased her for four blocks. She didn’t want to hear it.”
“No, she wasn’t ready to hear it.”
“What the hell is the difference?”
She looked up at the ceiling, as if asking for strength. “I swear, first Cris with Jasmine and now you.” She pressed her hands together in prayer form, and swung her intent gaze back to me. “She needed time to come to terms with her feelings. Toward her father, toward you. She couldn’t do that with you right in her face going all beast mode on her.”
“So, you’re saying she’s had enough time now?”
“Unless you want to wait another five years? After she’s had enough time to get over you and find herself a rich, handsome doctor?”
I felt my eyes go flinty. “That’s not fucking happening.”
She nodded in satisfaction. “Then you might want to peel your ass off that chair and go take a shower because she’s leaving town tonight.”
I bolted to my feet. “What? What do you mean leaving town?”
“She’s flying back to Connecticut tonight. I guess she’s got on-campus housing at med school, and she was able to get in early—”
“Shit, Gia!” I barked, sprinting from the room. “You might have led with that!”
The shrill alarm that suddenly started blaring from the wall of screens stopped me on a dime.
I slowly turned back around and raked my gaze over the computer monitors, searching for the source of the signal interference.
“What is that?” Gia asked. “Your security alarm?”
“It was triggered because of a perimeter breach,” I muttered absently, my eyes darting wildly.
I had cameras all over my property. Not even the stealthiest ninjas in the world could approach my home without me knowing about it.
There.
Exterior camera three.
“Movement from the southwest corner of the building.” I tracked the black figure as it carefully crept along the fence in my backyard. I pointed to a different screen when more movement caught my attention. “There’s another one at the northeast entrance.”
“Who are they?” she as
ked nervously.
I squinted and shook my head. “I can’t tell.”
Their faces were concealed by masks, and they were wearing dark clothing. Nothing was distinguishable from my vantage point.
I pulled open the lower right drawer and grabbed my American Eagle .22. A birthday gift from Rome two years ago, who had been tickled as shit over it. I had to admit, the fucker could do some serious damage.
“Lock yourself in here and don’t come out until you hear my voice tell you to.”
Meaning don’t open the door to anyone who might be pretending to be me.
“Don’t you have booby traps set up or something?” she asked frantically. “What good is all this security if it doesn’t actually stop intruders?”
I almost laughed. Even though I’d been in similar situations before with our brothers, I could tell she was genuinely freaked out.
“This isn’t Home Alone, Gia, and I’m not Macaulay Culkin. The security system isn’t set up to stop intruders. It’s just there to let me know when I have intruders.” I checked the gun’s clip to make sure it was loaded and chambered a round. “I prefer to do the stopping myself.”
She went quiet for a moment. Then, “You got another gun in here? I’ll cover you.”
I did laugh this time. “I appreciate the offer. I know you’ve got pretty good aim.” Her performance at the gun range over the years was proof of that. “But your ass is staying in here. I can’t focus if I’m worrying about you.”
I shut the heavy security room door behind me, silencing her continued protests, and went in search of my prey.
Come out, come out wherever you are, motherfuckers.
My bare feet made it easier to move silently across the hardwood floors. I kept myself flat against the wall, not allowing for an easy target if someone decided to start shooting through the windows. Knowing the back side of my house was more vulnerable to break-ins due to window access—they were too high up off the ground in the front—I crept toward the back door first.
I thought I heard a scuffle from outside just as I reached the mudroom.
Dumbass probably ran into the hedges or something.
I took position next to the small window near the corner. From here I had a clear view of whoever approached the door.
As soon as I looked through the glass, I lowered my gun and scowled.
“Dammit, man.” I flung open the door for my brother. “I was looking forward to a good fight. Am I cursed to get nothing but hand-me-downs for the rest of my life?”
Luka’s smile was wide and almost giddy as he bodily shoved the masked intruder through the door. “Did you want me to allow this asshole to open fire on the place?” He held up an AK-47 that I knew wasn’t his. “He was about to unload the whole clip into your kitchen. I did you a favor, bro. Home repairs can be a bitch.” He winked. “You’re welcome.”
“Not exactly the subtle type, is he?”
Luka maintained a firm grip on the stranger’s collar as I led them into the kitchen, while our captive did nothing but grunt and moan in pain. I pulled out a chair that Luka shoved him into. We didn’t bother tying him down. The guy clearly wasn’t going to incite Luka’s wrath again by trying to escape.
“Can I assume Rome’s getting the one out front?” I asked, pulling a few Gatorades from the fridge and tossing him one.
He twisted off the cap and took a deep pull. “Yep. Cris is with him. We came over to see how you were doing and saw them casing the place out. We’re obviously dealing with a couple of badasses who are highly trained in espionage. Took them all of two seconds to be noticed.”
I smirked.
His split lip from where I’d punched him before chasing Roxy to the subway had finally healed. I hadn’t totally meant to hit him. He’d just been between me and Roxy. Hurting him hadn’t even registered on my radar in that moment.
The first time I’d seen him after that, he’d slapped me on the back, as if proud of me.
The front door opened, followed by stomping and cursing coming down the hallway.
Seconds later, Cris and Rome entered the kitchen with Badass #2 sandwiched between them. This one was much livelier and none too happy about being caught. Rome slammed the prick down into another chair that Luka held out. When he refused to sit still and immediately jumped right back up to his feet, I shot forward and launched my fist into his face.
He slumped down in the chair. I couldn’t tell if he was awake or not.
“Damn, dude,” Luka mused. “He can’t tell us anything if you break his jaw.”
Like he cared. This whole scene was like Christmas morning to him.
“I thought Nico was supposed to be back from Moscow by now?”
I knew he had business there with a big-time vodka manufacturer.
Cris nodded. “His plane landed about twenty minutes ago. Says he’ll be here as soon as he can. He’ll be pissed he’s missing this.”
Rome tore off both of their masks. “Did Santi Gabbiano send you?”
No one seemed to recognize either man.
“We’re not fuckin’ talkin’,” the younger one from the front door sneered.
Rome was the one to punch him this time. The man’s head snapped back like a whip, his mouth instantly filling up with blood. Knowing my brother the way I did, Rome had only used about fifty percent power in that punch.
The one that Luka had grabbed kept his head down, seeming resigned to his fate. He was a little older, probably late thirties. Both were clearly Italian and spoke with accents.
Rome stood behind them and yanked their heads back by their hair. “You know who he is?” He nodded at Luka.
“He’s the boxer,” the older guy murmured. “We know who you all are.”
Cris proudly threw his arm around Luka’s shoulders. “He’s the five-time heavyweight champion, actually. And if you don’t want him to use your face as his speed bag, you’ll start telling us what we want to know.”
“I’ve been dying to go a few rounds bare-knuckle,” Luka said, cracking his knuckles. “Fuck, I miss that.”
“Dominic was the one who gave us our orders,” the older one rushed out, clearly not wanting to end up worse than his buddy, who was still having a hard time coming around. “H-he said he needed the young Rossetti and the D’Angelo boss out of the way.”
My mouth tightened.
I knew Dominic wanted me dead. I knew these two men had been sent to my home to kill me in cold blood. But thinking it and having it confirmed were two different things.
“Are you saying he ordered a hit on Vinnie, too?” I grated out. When the man frowned, I clarified, “Vincenzo D’Angelo. Dominic put out a contract on the D’Angelo boss?”
He shook his head. “Santi was the one who called for D’Angelo’s death. He doesn’t want to start war with Rossettis, but he never says no to Dominic. D’Angelo is to be killed as soon as possible, but it must look like accident. Like when Boss killed the man’s wife and son years ago.”
We all looked at each other as heavy silence fell over the room.
We had our confirmation.
What Connelly had found was good circumstantial evidence, good eye-witness testimony, but this was official.
Santi Gabbiano killed Cordelia and Filip D’Angelo.
“Dominic does not care if your death looks like accident,” the man said, tipping his head at me. “He said enemies need to know what happens when you challenge the Gabbiano family.”
I looked at my brothers. “If Santi sent men to Vinnie’s house, Roxy could be there, too.”
That was when everything in my universe condensed into one thought.
Roxy’s in danger.
Fuck!
I was already pulling my phone from my pocket when Rome bit out, “Find out where they are.”
I opened the app that allowed me to track the GPS signal on Roxy’s cell.
No signal.
“Nothing. Her phone is either dead or turned off.”
“Then
we need to get over to Vinnie’s place,” Luka said. “Now.”
“Uh, hey, jackasses! I’m still here, you know!” The annoyed shouts were followed by pounding. “And I don’t know how to work the ten thousand locks on this damn door to get out.”
Everyone’s heads snapped toward the security room.
“Is that Gia?”
I winced. Oops.
Kind of forgot my sister was locked up in there.
“Roxy and Vinnie won’t be at his house,” Gia said, stepping out after I unlocked the door.
It took me a second, but then I remembered her words from earlier. “You said she’s flying out tonight. What time is her flight?”
She waved that off. “Not for another few hours. She won’t be at the airport yet either. You remember what today is?”
I wanted to shake her. My patience had already worn past thin—it was nonexistent.
“Goddammit, Gia, we don’t have time for riddles right now.”
“It’s Filip’s birthday, Ace. And what does Roxy always do for each of their birthdays, Christmas Day, Mother’s Day, and every other conceivable holiday?”
Realization finally dawned. “She lights candles.”
Gia nodded. “I guarantee she stopped at the church to light candles and say goodbye before leaving town. And I’m pretty sure Vinnie’s with her because when I asked if she needed a ride to the airport, she said he would be driving her.”
That was good enough for me.
“We’re going to the church,” I announced. “Someone call Nico and Dad and tell them to meet us there.”
Luka whistled. There was a distinct twinkle in his eye. “Everyone put on your Sunday best. Looks like Judgment Day has arrived.”
His pronouncement wasn’t too far off.
Because if I got to that church to find that anyone had laid a single finger on Roxy, I would rain motherfucking holy hellfire down on every last one of those Gabbiano bastards.
Loud, clapping thunder rolled outside, followed by a crack of lightning that lit up the entire sky. The scene was right on par for what was raging inside me.
A storm was coming.
And the forecast said it was going to be a deadly one.
Scars and Sins (Brooklyn Brothers Book 2) Page 23
