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5

KILIAN

I stare out my window at the dreary view outside. February in London is one of my least favorite times of year. A mix of snow and rain and gray skies. I should find business to do somewhere warmer. But I have too much paperwork to look at to take the time to acquire new business for The Partners. I am still trying to regain some of the business back that we lost when the Calvetti family tried to screw us over by getting involved with whatever family Di Masio was working for. I’ve managed to find all but one order of weapons. It wasn’t hard to get our buyers to come back to us. I don’t make idle threats and they have learned to listen well.

I’m skimming through some delivery documents when my phone rings.

“We found him,” one of my men says through the line.

“Are you sure?”

“Ninety percent. We cross-referenced a lot of CCTV footage with every town where a Di Masio lived. It took a long time. But we have some grainy footage of a man very similar to Nicolas in a small town outside Palermo. He looks different, he has a full beard but my software got a partial match on his eyes. It’s worth checking out.”

I run my fingers along my chin. “When was this?”

“Two weeks ago. But we have no footage of him leaving. We saw him in the town for a few days, saw the vehicle he was driving. It’s parked a few blocks from a residence with the name Di Masio.”

“The car hasn’t moved? He could have ditched it.”

“It’s possible,” my associate tells me. “But he could also be hiding out at the house. We have footage of him entering but never leaving.”

Interesting.

“Who else lives there?” I ask.

“A woman and a kid. They could be hiding him.”

“Do you have information on them?”

He clears his throat. “I’m sending over what I have now. But I will tell you that is not who is living in the house. The property is under the name of a man who passed away fifty years ago. There are some illegible documents about current ownership but the last name is clear, Di Masio. There is a young woman living in the house now.”

“Send everything you have to me,” I say, then hang up the phone.

A grin takes over my face once I read the documents my man sends over to me. I finally found the man who has eluded me for the last five months. A man that tried to take down The Partners, the crime syndicate that is almost mine. And I know the second I get my hands on Nicolas Di Masio and the family he is working for, everything that I have sacrificed will be worth it. The power will be mine.

* * *

I sit in the back of an SUV with my bodyguard and two other men as we watch the house in Cefalù, Italy. There is another SUV with four other men on the other side of the street awaiting my signal. From the information I got from my source, a woman and child live here. I am guessing they are related to Di Masio since he doesn’t come here often so I doubt he has a wife.

We checked out the house where the car was ditched and the house looks like it’s been abandoned for years. We broke in and found no sign of squatters.

My gut tells me this house is where he is. One of my men used body heat cameras and only one person is inside. It’s either him or someone who knows where he is. And I will use whatever means necessary to find him and destroy him.

“The house behind this one backs up to the garden of this house,” Andre says as he climbs back into the SUV. “No one is home. I had Marcus deactivate both security systems.”

I nod as I take in the house in front of us. My redemption within grasp. “I’ll go through the back with you and Mario. The others will take the front once we are inside.”

The guys in the van nod. I load my clip into my gun and place it into the holster at my shoulder as I climb out of the vehicle.

We walk silently down the street as if we are just tourists enjoying the ocean view. We round the block and Mario picks the lock to get us into the empty house. We make our way to the second floor and to a small balcony that opens up just above the wall dividing the properties.

Andre goes first, climbing over the railing and stepping onto the wall. He then lowers himself into the backyard. I follow with Mario behind me.

The sliding door to the garden is unlocked, making it easier for us to get into the house. I nod to Mario and he takes the lead to unlock the front door for the other men. Andre heads up the stairs and I make my way to the living room, the sound of the TV pulling me in.

I turn the corner expecting to find someone on the couch. A bottle of whiskey sits open and a half-full glass next to it. But the room is empty.

The click of a gun safety causes me to spin abruptly, my weapon out and my finger on the trigger.

I’m greeted by a woman in a silk bathrobe with dark hair piled on her head. Dark-brown eyes, they are almost black, penetrate me as she points her weapon at me. A confused look takes over her face as she takes me in but she doesn’t drop her hold on the Smith and Wesson pointed at me.

I don’t miss the ache in my chest at the vision in front of me. I must be hallucinating. I haven’t seen her in ten years. Not since she disappeared without a word. I spent three years trying to find her before I gave up. My mind focused on The Partners and the destruction I was causing.

“Bella?”