Page 149
Story: Scorned Obsession
“Yes, Bianca informed them.”
My wife had her shit together more than anyone here, stepping up while I made sure Tommy didn’t go off the deep end. His uncle Al was in police custody and hopefully that would only be for show. This shit needed to be contained in Brooklyn.
“Sticks is asking after Miller,” another soldier said.
“They’re not bringing the bodies out yet.” My chest constricted at the thought. Sticks and Miller were like brothers. I was telling myself that I assigned him to Griselda because he was club security, but the truth was I still didn’t want him around Bianca. “It’s going to take a while.” I sighed. “I’ll respond to him.” My phone just buzzed with the same question from Arnie, who I was certain was trying to keep Sticks calm. And now I was worried about Bianca because old reliable Sticks was getting rattled too.
I caught sight of Nico and Trevor making their way through the crowd. When Bianca’s dad asked his daughter to stay withthe De Luccis, I almost gave in. But Bianca wanted to do her part for our organization. I couldn’t keep her behind the De Luccis safety net because that would mean I didn’t trust her enough to handle herself.
But I wouldn’t reject their help. This wasn’t a competition for Bianca’s affection.
My phone buzzed again. The Toronto Albanian fixer.
I answered the call. “You played me.”
“I didn’t,” the fixer answered.
I moved out of earshot of everyone. “Really? You told us we got every one of Doku’s loyalists.”
“I hope you’re not suggesting we double-crossed you.”
“The evidence is proving otherwise.”
“I don’t have all the evidence, but I would look into your man, Crowe Miller .”
Dread knotted in my gut, and acid churned up my throat. “You’re reaching.”
“That’s the best lead I have.”
I ended the call and walked toward the detective Tommy was talking to.
“We need to go in there and identify the bodies.”
The detective glowered at me with a trace of incredulity. “That’s not gonna happen. Look around you for Chrissakes. Everyone’s on their damned phone, filming this circus. I can’t risk jeopardizing the investigation. Who are we looking for?”
“Detective.” A uniform rushed towards us. “The ambulance got hit.”
That knot of dread twisted into fear and fury. The familiar mist of red whenever Bianca was in danger crowded my mind and bled into my eyes.
“What?” the detective and Tommy growled.
“Our officers are down and…”
“My wife.” But my years as an assassin taught me restraint. Otherwise, I would have grabbed the cop by the collar and gotten thrown into jail for assault. Still, I crowded him, close enough that I was in his face. “My wife was in that ambulance.”
“Jesus Christ, Rossi.” The detective shoved me aside. “Are you lookin’ to get arrested? Cool it, huh?”
Nico and Trevor appeared by our side. I pivoted away from the cops and tried to call Bianca, but it went to voicemail. I checked her proximity dot, and it wasn’t pinging. Chills crawled all over my skin and my pulse pounded in my ears.
“The ambulance got hit,” Nico said.
“I know,” I clipped. “Bianca’s not answering.”
The detective exhaled heavily. “Goddammit. I should throw every single one of you into jail for your own goddamn sake.”
“Then let’s go,” Nico snapped. “Or I’m gonna leave your ass here.”
“You guys can’t interfere,” the detective yelled after us, but he had his own shit to handle as other uniforms vied for his attention.
My wife had her shit together more than anyone here, stepping up while I made sure Tommy didn’t go off the deep end. His uncle Al was in police custody and hopefully that would only be for show. This shit needed to be contained in Brooklyn.
“Sticks is asking after Miller,” another soldier said.
“They’re not bringing the bodies out yet.” My chest constricted at the thought. Sticks and Miller were like brothers. I was telling myself that I assigned him to Griselda because he was club security, but the truth was I still didn’t want him around Bianca. “It’s going to take a while.” I sighed. “I’ll respond to him.” My phone just buzzed with the same question from Arnie, who I was certain was trying to keep Sticks calm. And now I was worried about Bianca because old reliable Sticks was getting rattled too.
I caught sight of Nico and Trevor making their way through the crowd. When Bianca’s dad asked his daughter to stay withthe De Luccis, I almost gave in. But Bianca wanted to do her part for our organization. I couldn’t keep her behind the De Luccis safety net because that would mean I didn’t trust her enough to handle herself.
But I wouldn’t reject their help. This wasn’t a competition for Bianca’s affection.
My phone buzzed again. The Toronto Albanian fixer.
I answered the call. “You played me.”
“I didn’t,” the fixer answered.
I moved out of earshot of everyone. “Really? You told us we got every one of Doku’s loyalists.”
“I hope you’re not suggesting we double-crossed you.”
“The evidence is proving otherwise.”
“I don’t have all the evidence, but I would look into your man, Crowe Miller .”
Dread knotted in my gut, and acid churned up my throat. “You’re reaching.”
“That’s the best lead I have.”
I ended the call and walked toward the detective Tommy was talking to.
“We need to go in there and identify the bodies.”
The detective glowered at me with a trace of incredulity. “That’s not gonna happen. Look around you for Chrissakes. Everyone’s on their damned phone, filming this circus. I can’t risk jeopardizing the investigation. Who are we looking for?”
“Detective.” A uniform rushed towards us. “The ambulance got hit.”
That knot of dread twisted into fear and fury. The familiar mist of red whenever Bianca was in danger crowded my mind and bled into my eyes.
“What?” the detective and Tommy growled.
“Our officers are down and…”
“My wife.” But my years as an assassin taught me restraint. Otherwise, I would have grabbed the cop by the collar and gotten thrown into jail for assault. Still, I crowded him, close enough that I was in his face. “My wife was in that ambulance.”
“Jesus Christ, Rossi.” The detective shoved me aside. “Are you lookin’ to get arrested? Cool it, huh?”
Nico and Trevor appeared by our side. I pivoted away from the cops and tried to call Bianca, but it went to voicemail. I checked her proximity dot, and it wasn’t pinging. Chills crawled all over my skin and my pulse pounded in my ears.
“The ambulance got hit,” Nico said.
“I know,” I clipped. “Bianca’s not answering.”
The detective exhaled heavily. “Goddammit. I should throw every single one of you into jail for your own goddamn sake.”
“Then let’s go,” Nico snapped. “Or I’m gonna leave your ass here.”
“You guys can’t interfere,” the detective yelled after us, but he had his own shit to handle as other uniforms vied for his attention.
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