Page 35 of Sins of the Orchid

It took us no time to get to Harlem. This specific area has been the center for many gangs and crimes. It was the worst neighborhood to find yourself in alone and at night.

Renzo, Luigi, and Lorenzo were with us. If Adriano wasn’t with Amore, I would have had him here too. If I called him, he wouldn’t hesitate, but I didn't want to do that to Amore. She tolerated it, but I didn’t want her to be upset. Besides, her birthday was coming up.

Carrera had two men doing a lookout on the street while the rest of us followed down the dark alley.

“This is it,” Carrera uttered in a low voice, pointing to a black back door. He knocked once and the door immediately opened.

The person who gave the tip stepped out into the night and closer to us. I narrowed my eyes on him. There was nothing remarkable about him. He was in his thirties, blonde hair and blue eyes, a little shorter than six feet. Definitely shorter than my six foot four. Something about him struck me familiar, though I couldn’t quite place it. And it was too dark to see him clearly.

“Estos estan dentro.” They are inside. His eyes flickered my way, and something flashed in them but before I could call him out on it, he nodded at Carrera and took off.

“Who’s that?” I asked Gabriel in a low voice. “Do we trust him?”

“He’s their run boy. Though last time I saw him, I swore he was shorter.”

My sixth sense revolted, but before I could question him further, Luigi stormed inside the house. Damn idiot! He always acted first, then asked questions later. I understood his need to kill the men that delivered all those dead bodies, but we’d be no good to anyone dead.

“Fucker,” I muttered under my breath. Lorenzo shook his head, acknowledging his brother's recklessness. The Bennetti family would be much better off if Lorenzo took over as the head of the family. At least he wouldn’t charge headfirst into a war.

Gabriel and I stepped through the door and around the corner. In sync, both of us fired off bullets at the same time into their foreheads.

I scanned the room, but Luigi was nowhere to be seen. I really didn’t need this right now.

Kicking down the first room’s door, there were another two men. I took them both out, putting bullets straight into their hearts.

Lorenzo yanked me backward, at the same time the sound of the cock of guns readying sounded off on the left side of us. As we took cover, someone blasted five holes through the drywall but luckily nobody was hit.

The next sound didn’t bode well for us. I heard the clip of an assault rifle, and I lunged to the right, shooting the man behind us that was ready to offload lead into all of us.

“This is a fucking trap,” I hissed.

I met Gabriel’s gaze, and I read the same conclusion in his eyes. “I’m going to fucking kill him.”

Not if I get him first, I thought silently. I’d fucking torture him until he begged for death.

Another round of gunfire echoed from a room down the hall. Luigi flew through the door and a man stepped out, the barrel of his gun facing his forehead. Fucking idiot!

I sprinted towards him and shot him in the back of his skull before he could pull the trigger.

Luigi slapped a hand on the ground, all revved up and a stupid grin on his face.

Grabbing him by his arm, I pulled him onto his feet. “Stop being reckless,” I ordered him. “Or I’ll shoot you myself.”

I hated fucking men that acted like imbeciles. And Luigi Bennetti was one of them. He was lucky I liked his brother and his sister.

Lorenzo grabbed my arm and held me back. He gestured to the next room. “Let me clear that room with my idiot brother, you and Gabriel clear the others.”

The gunfire echoed through every floor of the building until eerie silence fell. And that was when I remembered.

The tip guy looked like the attacker on Amore from two years ago.

“Fuck,” I muttered and dialed up Bennetti.

* * *

Just as I sat down behind my desk, my office door swung open.

“Russo, you got to come. Now!” Renzo’s voice was persistent. I raised my head annoyed, meeting his slightly worried look.