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“I have a source that has given me information he was in Sicily recently. I also believe he is behind the missing weapons over the last two years. Giancarlo Renzetti has said he is also looking for Ezio. But I have intel that says the Renzettis’ business has been growing significantly. I can only assume with our stolen weapons.”

Matías nods. “So you think Giancarlo is lying about Ezio’s whereabouts to keep The Partners off his scent.”

I nod and take a sip of my drink. “I received information that there was to be a sale in Augusta, Sicily, three weeks ago. I went to that dock to see if it was our missing weapons. It wasn’t but the Renzettis are into some shit. I found Ezio there arguing with a man. I couldn’t see his face, it was too dark. But it sounded like Ezio was trying to steal weapons from him and got caught. He got away before anything happened.”

Matías runs a hand over his five o’clock shadow. “So you think the Renzettis are stealing from multiple people.”

I nod.

“Fucking idiots. They are going to get themselves killed.”

“I don’t know if it’s Ezio or Giancarlo. From what I heard Giancarlo is losing his mind. Becoming more ruthless than his father and it’s costing him a lot.”

“So what is the plan for tomorrow night?”

“When our shipments go missing there is always some sort of distraction or commotion. I was in Bari over a month ago and something happened with the cranes. Luckily nothing happened with our sale. But a month before that, weapons went missing when the same thing happened.” I throw back the rest of my whiskey. “My men have put cameras up around the dock. We have no trade or sale happening but started the rumor. Our men will be there. Dimitri knows what is going on and to act normal. I am hoping that we can grab Ezio Renzetti while he waits for the freight to unload.”

“Where do you want us?”

“There is an old warehouse I scoped out earlier. Abandoned. It will do,” I say and tell him the address.

“We’ll be there, Kilian. You don’t know how long I have waited to get my hands on that son of a bitch.” A sinister glaze takes over Matías’s eyes.

“Not as long as I have.”

* * *

I lean against a wall in the basement of the grimy warehouse as I wait for Ezio to wake up. My men caught him two hours ago and knocked him out hard. He’s been tied to this chair for the last hour and a half, randomly twitching. Blood drips from the side of his head, down his neck and into the dark T-shirt he has on. He looks nothing like the man I spent the last seven months looking for. Nothing like the man that was well put together and always dressed in a suit whenever I saw him on video with Vanguard.

This man is run down. His hair overgrown. His beard long and unkempt. Even his skin looks dirty as if he has been hiding in derelict homes.

I glance over at Matías who is smiling as he texts on his phone. I have the strange feeling he is sexting his fiancée. Which I find disturbing since I know he is about to torture the man in front of us.

Demont keeps watch at the door to the room we are in. My men are upstairs and outside. But with the Renzettis we can never be too cautious.

Ezio stirs again and slowly lifts his head, blinking a few times to make out where the hell he is.

Matías slides his phone into his pocket and claps his hands. “Finally. I was beginning to think you would never wake up.”

I laugh as I take in the look on his face. Matías used to be the life of the party. He was an asset to The Partners years ago because he could draw in anyone and make them agree to do business with us. But he got into drugs and the party lifestyle and nearly exposed us. When I sacrificed my life for his brother’s, Matías was put into a role I never would have put him in. He was in charge of gathering intel and interrogating. He spent two years maiming and killing those who did us wrong. It broke something in him. Turned him into a monster. And now the man finds some kind of pleasure in it. I was never one for this kind of game but Matías hasn’t had the opportunity to kill in over seven months and I can tell he is itching for it.

I watch as Matías circles around Ezio, who is still not quite sure where he is. From the way he is scrunching his brow and pinching his eyes closed, I can tell his head is still throbbing from where he was knocked out.

“Did you miss me?” Matías asks from behind him.

Ezio attempts to look around but he can’t see him. I am not sure if he recognizes his voice or not. “Where am I?”

“You don’t get to ask the questions here,” Matías says smoothly behind him. “You look like shit by the way.”

Ezio tries to turn again but Matías clicks his tongue then taps him on the head where his bleeding wound is. “Eyes forward.”

Ezio struggles against the bindings on his wrists. I can see sweat start to drip from his forehead as he tries to get free.

“I really wouldn’t struggle if I were you. You aren’t getting out of those ties,” I say nonchalantly from where I’m leaning against the wall.

His eyes snap to mine, he struggles to make out who I am in the dim light. But he won’t recognize me. We’ve never met. “Who are you?” he grits.

Matías rests his hands on Ezio’s shoulders. “It shouldn’t matter who he is. It should matter who I am. And the last time we saw each other you held my fiancée back as you forced her to watch me torture her father and brother. That wasn’t very nice of you.”