Page 44

B oyd

I got a hero’s welcome when I showed up at Salvalagio.

But the excitement has worn off.

Now I’m sitting in the war room with Massimo, Dante, and several other Capos, listening to intel reports.

“I wish there was more,” Andretti says. He’s an older member of the family who has been a Capo as long as I’ve known Massimo.

“We hired the group Cadence recommended, but we still can’t get into any of the Solitude servers.

I don’t think it’ll matter, even if we do.

Two of the ones we targeted last week have been taken offline. ”

“Yeah, they didn’t get the reputation they have by leaving a trail for people to follow.” Massimo grimaces. “But if we can get the names of some of the guys higher up in the organization, that’s all we need.”

“If there’s a dead man’s switch, Solitude is behind that,” Massimo’s uncle says. “Way too advanced for the Bratva or the mercenaries Solitude hired.”

“Even if it wasn’t too advanced for them, it’s not the Bratva’s way. They don’t do shit like this,” I grunt, shaking my head. “They’ll kill your family, sure. But going after kids? Leaving evidence for the cops? Might as well be a bunch of rats.”

“It’s still effective,” Massimo says. “Just enough chaos to disrupt everything so the Bratva can move in. Pick up the pieces of what’s left.”

“They won’t be able to do that shit in Las Vegas,” I growl. “Especially now that we know they’re behind everything. They show their face here, they won’t live long enough to take control of anything.”

“Unless they’ve got enough information to send us all to prison,” Massimo sighs, rubbing his hand across his face and glancing at his watch. “Fuck, I need to get some rest. I’ve been up since last night. Where the fuck is Lea? I told Rowan to bring her back.”

“Ah, come on, boss,” I chuckle, taking a puff of my vape. “Let the girls have their fun. Sarah’s been taking care of me since I got hurt. I’m sure she’s dying to spend some time with her best friend.”

“I let her go, even if I didn’t want to let her out of my sight,” Massimo mutters. “But Rowan should have her back by now. I’m going to call him.”

Massimo gets up and leaves the war room. I look over the intel report again, still not seeing anything that’s useful. Dante leans forward and talks to his dad, but I can’t overhear what they’re saying. After a few minutes, Massimo returns, but he looks more worried than when he left.

“Rowan isn’t answering,” Massimo says nervously. “He always answers, especially when I call. Something is wrong.”

“Boss!” someone screams, their voice echoing down the hallway outside the war room, along with heavy footsteps. “Boss, I heard something on the police scanner about Waldorf Astoria! Our guys are involved!”

My blood runs cold, and I jump up from the table so fast I nearly rip the stitches out of my leg. Massimo is already out the door, but I drag my leg, moving as quickly as I can. I turn the corner and see one of our guys. Massimo meets him in middle of the hallway, and I catch up.

“What happened?” Massimo demands, and I have to stop myself from throttling the messenger to get the information out of his quicker. “Tell me!”

The messenger is a low-ranking member of the Morandi family. Barely more than a kid. I can’t remember who his dad is, but he’s following his footsteps, if memory serves.

“I-I don’t know, exactly! Like I said, it came over the p-police scanner. They mentioned t-the Morandi family!” he stammers.

“Let’s go,” I snarl, grabbing Massimo by the arm and dragging him before he gets his footing, then he hurries ahead of me.

Massimo fires orders at everyone we pass. I’m in too much of a rage to pay attention. All I know is that Lea and Sarah were together, which means something could have happened to both of them.

I don’t bother going to my SUV when I get outside. I stomp my way toward the strip, feeling something wet beneath my pants. I ripped a stitch. Maybe more than one. I don’t give a fuck. Nothing is going to keep me from Sarah and I damn sure don’t have time to get stuck in traffic.

I get as far as the street before Massimo’s SUV skids to a stop in front of me.

“Get in, Big Boyd!” he yells.

I yank the door open and climb inside. Massimo doesn’t wait for me to get seated before he peels away. I thud against the seat and hear something snap. Another stitch, probably. I turn myself enough to get seated, then pull my Glock out.

The boss doesn’t have time for traffic either. He doesn’t even try to stay on the road. He flattens a sign, plows through a big blue mailbox, and sends pedestrians scattering in terror as he cuts his way down the strip.

My door is open as soon as the Waldorf Astoria is in sight.

The building is surrounded by cop cars, ambulances, and a couple of fire trucks.

Something bad happened here, and my throat dries out when I imagine every worst-case scenario.

Judging by the look on Massimo’s face, he’s imagining the same thing, and it isn’t the first time for him.

I throw myself out of the SUV as soon as he slows down, damaging my leg more in the process, but I stay on my feet.

“Rowan!” I yell as soon as I spot Massimo’s bodyguard pulled outside in handcuffs. Rowan looks dazed. Probably tranquilizer darts, judging by the way he’s stumbling. “Hey! Rowan!”

More SUVs skid to a stop behind us. I’m holding my Glock, and the police officers certainly notice.

Several of them pull their service weapons, aiming them at me, so I put my hands up to show that I’m not planning on firing at them.

Massimo storms past me and the officers hesitate. Everyone knows who the fuck he is.

“That’s one of my men!” Massimo yells, grabbing a plainclothes detective by the neck. “And he knows what happened to my wife, so pull your men back, or I swear to fucking god, none of them will see their families again!”

If Massimo wasn’t intimidating enough, more members of the Morandi family fall in behind us, weapons drawn, ready to blow badges off uniforms, if that’s what it takes.

The cops are outnumbered, but I’m sure backup is coming.

The paramedics and firefighters are ducking behind anything they can find, because they realize how quickly this could get out of hand.

“Everyone back!” the detective orders. “Lower your weapons! They’re not here for us!”

He might be the smartest cop in Las Vegas.

As soon as the police officers begin lowering their weapons, Massimo gives the order for our guys to do the same.

I tuck my Glock into the back of my belt and run over to Rowan, blood dampening my leg with every heavy step.

Massimo pushes the detective aside and nearly knocks me down when he gets to his best friend.

“Rowan, are you okay? Where’s Lea? What happened?” Massimo asks hurriedly.

“Boss… shit, it’s my fault,” Rowan slurs, still under the effects of the tranquilizer. “They ambushed us.”

“Was it Solitude? Same guys from before?” Massimo growls and Rowan confirms it with a nod.

I pull away from them and barrel my way into the Waldorf Astoria, pushing a few paramedics, firefighters, and police officers out of the way. Thankfully, they back up, because I’m in such a rage I would rip their throats out before I considered the consequences.

“Holy fuck,” I say, looking around at the carnage.

It wasn’t just an ambush. It was a massacre.

Massimo’s security detail is made up of Rowan, his Bodyguard Capo, and a few soldiers.

He tripled his detail when he assigned them to look after Lea.

Rowan appears to be the only survivor. The rest of our guys are on the floor, darts sticking out of their bodies, and their throats have been slashed.

I grit my teeth, but step back as Massimo enters, letting the paramedics and firefighters get back to work.

“This one is still alive!” a paramedic calls out.

Massimo and I exchange glances as more of our guys come inside. We step across our fallen men to get to the paramedic, and I see Cadence on the floor.

“Cadence!” Massimo barks, leaning down. “Can you hear me? It’s Massimo! What happened to Lea?”

I look around for Sarah. I’m scared I’ll see her on the floor, throat slashed, like all our men. If they spared Cadence, maybe there’s hope, but I don’t see the woman I love anywhere amongst the fallen.

“They took Lea,” Cadence groans, her voice barely audible. “It was Solitude… Russian accents…”

“What about Sarah?” I ask, resisting the urge to shake the answer out of the dazed girl.

“I… I don’t know,” Cadence mutters. “They were scanning everyone. I got shot with a dart before… before I saw what happened to Sarah.”

“Get her some medical attention,” Massimo commands, pointing at the paramedic before he gets up.

“If they took Lea, maybe they took Sarah too,” I say. “I don’t see her anywhere.”

Massimo ignores me and pushes past everyone go back outside, so I follow him. He’s angry. Seething with rage, just like me. But we can’t lose our heads. Not now. He walks over to his SUV, and several of our guys follow. When he finally turns around, there’s determination in his eyes.

“Nobody sleeps until we find Lea and Sarah,” he says firmly. “I want every man we have on the streets tonight. Call in all our favors.”

“You got it, boss,” a Capo replies, then steps away from the crowd and starts making calls. The others do the same.

“Dante.” Massimo turns to his cousin. “Get some guys and clean this mess up. Call the lawyers, too. It’s too late to keep this out of the press, but lean on our contacts. Keep it as vague as possible.”

“Yes, sir,” Dante says.

“You need a doctor,” Massimo says, motioning to my leg.

“I’m fine,” I grunt. “Not worried about me right now.”

“I know, but I don’t need you to bleed out before we find these motherfuckers,” Massimo grumbles, walking toward his SUV. “Let’s go back to Salvalagio. The doctor can stitch you back up.”

“Fine,” I mutter, groaning as I drag myself into the SUV.