Page 23

I stride toward Roman’s office, a mixture of anxiety and anticipation swirling inside me.

The message to get to his office—and it is his, not his father’s—because they found a lead, had me jumping from my desk, and hurrying Benjamin out.

I’m more energized after the nap, and my friend seems to understand how much I need him in my personal sphere.

He’s keeping me steady, which I desperately need.

I barely make it through the door, before I call out, “What’s the lead?”

I’m momentarily surprised to find Ignacio holding Roman, while whispering in his ear. When I enter, he straightens and squeezes Roman’s shoulder one more time, before coming toward me. He tilts his head toward both Benjamin and me, in a show of respect. “Bosses.”

Studying him carefully, I can only nod back, because words escape me.

Instead, I head toward Roman, as the rest of my family gathers in one section of the room, with the Amatos in another.

Despite how much we’ve mixed lately, it appears, when it comes to rescuing our Bosses, we’re all feeling more comfortable with our own Families.

I yield the floor to Roman, who is standing in front of his desk. “We have a lead. It could possibly be the location. We’ve found the federal agent—Tom Court—up to his neck in properties, including a warehouse that could potentially be where Il Padrone and my dad are being held.

“Right now, a friend of Hollis’s is keeping watch. Court is there currently. It should take about thirty minutes to get there. We need an action plan.”

“Nario and I would like to infiltrate,” Antonio speaks up, his grin turning evil as he leans against the wall. “I owe Tommy Boy some fun. We’ll get you the numbers.”

“Hollis, can you send the address to Antonio?” I ask, and barely any time passes before Antonio’s phone pings. He’s already bouncing on his toes, and I have to resist rolling my eyes at him. “Go. I want to know what we’ll be walking into.”

He’s gone before any of us can say anything else.

I’m sure Nicolo isn’t going to be happy about both of his lovers walking into potential danger without him, but there’s no way he’d want to face Benjamin if he tried to leave.

Fucker can be harsh on physical therapy.

Not to mention, I’m fairly certain, Doc can be almost as terrifying as Dr. Ranlen.

“Alright, let’s make a plan for positioning, and potentially breaching. If the Heads of our Families are there, we need them out—now.”

“Hollis, do you want to bring up the schematics?” Roman asks, as he gestures for his lover to bring over the tablet he’s carrying. I peek at it as well, pointing out a few of the weaknesses. Roman covers the rest.

“Alright, I want the Martellis to go in on the south and east side. If you want to take the north and west?” I glance over at Roman, and he nods in assent.

“Keegan and Marcus—I want you to come in from the south. I don’t want these assholes to have any chance of escape. Figure out who you want as guards.

“Ignacio, you’re going to cover the west. It looks to be a smaller opening, and you’ll likely need to go in quietly. You can work with Antonio when we get there, after he gives us confirmation on what we’re facing. Make your plan, and run it by me.

“Benjamin, you’ll likely be with Ignacio for that. I’ll wait to hear from Antonio before deciding which one of you I’ll be joining.”

“Benjamin should be with us.” I turn toward Tennant, grinding my teeth as he continues, “After all, he’s worked with us closely.”

I turn toward Ignacio, since I set him as lead for that area, and I don’t have to wait long for his response. “Whatever you wish, Boss. They’re coming in from the north side, so they could be facing larger numbers. It may be helpful to give them the extra assist.”

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I snap out, “Benjamin. You’re my Second. What are your thoughts?”

“Let’s find out what Antonio says first. We’ll have a better idea of where everyone is located, and you and I can both pick an entrance at that time.”

Breathing out, I give him a nod. Thank fuck someone is being reasonable. I don’t need shit starting between Tennant and Ignacio. I gesture for Roman to take over, and only partially listen as he splits his men into teams.

I’ll admit, Benjamin casting worried glances between Ignacio and Tennant only reinforces my relief that Hollis will be watching over things, instead of being on the ground.

I have enough to worry about, and I don’t want to be distracted thinking about his safety.

Fuck . I’m so screwed. I can only hope Master can figure things out, because this whole feelings bullshit is annoying as fuck.

After Roman wraps up his instructions, he moves closer to me, and I study him carefully.

He’s no longer as tense as he had been, and I have a sinking feeling it’s not only the lead that caused it, especially given the fleeting glances between him and Ignacio.

We’re going to be in so much trouble with Master…

“Everything ready?” I ask Roman. He rolls his shoulders back and inclines his head. Exchanging feral smiles, I gesture for him to lead the way. I have no idea where they keep everything, and while I’ve already called for our soldiers to meet us at a rendezvous point, we still need personal gear.

Thank fuck it doesn’t take long to get ready, and from the flood of activity, he’s certainly called enough soldiers of his own.

They won’t know what’s hit them. Hopefully, that’ll keep casualties to a minimum.

Most importantly, we have to get to Cristian and Master before anyone can do damage while we’re breaching.

If they’re there. I shake my head, refusing to stay in that negative thought. This has to be it.

When we load up the SUVs, Benjamin is sitting next to me. He squeezes my hand, and I lean against him for a moment, needing that reassurance. By the time we make it to where we’re meeting our soldiers, I’m back in the right mindset.

We exit the car, and I’m immediately greeted by our men, all of them ready for blood. I sketch out our quick plan, explaining that we’re still waiting for Antonio to give us more concrete information.

Thankfully, Hollis found us an abandoned warehouse that’s close enough to get there quickly, but far enough away that we don’t have to worry about being caught, as we organize ourselves.

We wrap up the briefing and I head over toward Roman. He meets me in the middle, and we both take a moment to breathe. Here is the real test. Can we do this? Can the Amatos and Martellis work together to enter a building and find the Heads of our Families?

Plans go awry so easily. Trust isn’t given often in this life, and it feels like we’re leaving too much to chance. Before I can voice any concerns to Roman, our phones beep. We both take them out, and for a moment, we just stare at the words coming across the screen.

Ghost came through. And now it’s time. We’re ending this fuckery now.