Chapter 26 - Marco

Angela remained strangely quiet beside me, not asking anything about what we were about to do. I assumed she was nervous, so I just used that time to review our offer for the Mexicans’ shipment once more.

Losing that half ton had set me back more than I imagined, and we needed product beyond what our current supplier could deliver now.

The Cartel had the second-best product on the market, and I knew I could end up making more enemies because of it, but I couldn’t stop my business and wait—especially with Mancini on my tail.

“Are you okay?” I asked as soon as the car stopped and everyone started checking their weapons.

“I’m fine.” That was all she said, without looking at me, avoiding my eyes as if she hadn’t known me for weeks and as if the last few hours hadn’t happened.

“We’ve never made a deal with them before. We don’t know what might happen, so I want you to take this.” I handed her my Glock and saw her brown eyes widen.

“Wh… What…”

“It’s automatic, just pull the trigger over and over, quickly. Shoot without thinking and use both hands like this to better absorb the recoil,” I explained, showing her how to do it. “I’ll be right by your side the whole time, but if something goes wrong, I want you to have a way to defend yourself.”

“I’ve never used one of these, I… I won’t know what to do… I…”

I brought my fingertips to her lips, silencing her before she got even more nervous just from holding the gun.

“If any bastard comes near you, shoot to kill. Don’t think, don’t listen, just pull the trigger until the threat is on the ground.” I moved my fingers away from her mouth and held her chin, caressing her skin and giving everything I had to resist the urge to kiss her right there, because if I started, it would be even harder to stop. “I’ll be right by your side the whole time, making sure you won’t have to shoot.”

She nodded in agreement before taking my hand as I stepped out of the car and offered it to her. Nero and Frank were already waiting for me in front of the warehouse where we had arranged the meeting. Our men were in position, but we weren’t the only ones prepared—the cartel’s sicarios were in plain sight, almost as a warning of what we would face if anything went wrong.

“Mr. Mendoza. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you in person.” I stepped forward to greet the man.

Rodrigo Mendoza was around forty, with a mustache and beard showing some white strands, just like his brown hair with gray streaks. He was a strong and tall man, well-presented in his expensive suit.

“It’s good to finally meet you and see a bit of Italy as well. I’ve been looking forward to discovering more about this place,” he said, looking around, but his eyes landed exactly where I didn’t want them to. “I didn’t know we were supposed to bring company.”

I raised my left eyebrow, glaring at him with my usual cold stare. I wanted him to stay far away from Angel, not even look at her, but I knew having her there would lead to this—to the stares from the men around us.

“She’s not my company; she’s my fiancée. She’s here because she makes decisions with me!” He narrowed his eyes, glancing away from me toward Angela, as if he couldn’t believe what I had just said.

“Good morning, Mr. Mendoza.” My little angel extended her hand toward him, and I made a mental note to tell her never to do that again. I didn’t want any son of a bitch touching her.

“Shall we proceed with our deal?” I asked, drawing his attention back to me.

“Of course. My men have already placed the merchandise inside the warehouse. We can close the deal in there while you test our product.”

Mendoza started walking, and I followed him inside, turning to Angela to make sure she stayed close. I wasn’t about to risk leaving her safety to anyone else.

I went straight to the merchandise, watching my men check the quantity while we opened a random package from the batch to ensure we weren’t being deceived.

I used my pocketknife to cut into the bag and took out a bit of the cocaine. We had people to test that stuff, but I wanted to make sure the first shipment reached my clients perfectly.

“We heard you had business with the Martinez cartel. We won’t have any problem with that as long as you don’t mix our products.”

“Good. I believed them when they said they couldn’t afford to start another war.” I lifted a finger with some of the cocaine to my mouth and tasted it, searching for notes different from the product we already distributed.

But when I raised my head, Angela’s gaze was on me—and it didn’t look like curiosity or analysis. She was judging me. Her face was set in an expression that wasn’t good at all. Narrowed eyes, pursed lips, and no hint of a smile.

A moment later, she looked away, distancing herself from us and starting to walk around the warehouse. Something was wrong. That didn’t seem like the same woman who had woken up beside me or had coffee with me. Something had happened for Angela to act so strangely quiet and distant.

“We don’t want and won’t enter a war!” Mendoza assured, sitting down in the chair across from me. “It’s in our best interest to expand, and that includes making allies, not enemies.”

“I want to be sure we can work together without causing any more problems. There are already enough conflicts here in Italy.”

“I’ve heard about that. Russians and Japanese invading everyone’s territories, causing an endless war that’s been hurting all sides,” he said, surprising me; apparently, our troubles were spreading fast. “Well, if you want another ally in this war, you just found one.”

I stared at the man in front of me, showing confidence and calm.

Mendoza could sell the drug to anyone—there was nothing binding him to me. Why should I trust him so easily?

Now I needed a thorough investigation to find out what they would truly gain from this alliance before trusting them even slightly.

“I’m sure we’ll do a lot of business together!” I said, signaling for Frank to hand him the contract. “This is our offer for your product...”

Before I could finish speaking, a gunshot echoed through the warehouse, making me instantly pull the gun from my waistband. Frank and Nero did the same, aiming directly at Mendoza, ready to kill him before he even stood up.

“Angela? Where are you?” I shouted, running after her, moving through the long aisles filled with car parts, evidence of corrupt people, goods, and so many other things we kept there. “Answer me, Angel. Where are you?”

But she didn’t even have the chance to answer because I found her. Angela was frozen in front of a man lying on the floor, bullet holes visible across his chest.

She was trembling so hard her hands were shaking, still holding the gun with her finger on the trigger. Her eyes were wide, fixed on the man. There wasn’t a drop of color left in her face; it looked like all the blood had drained from her body. And I was sure of it when I touched her wrist and felt her cold skin.

I hadn’t seen that man outside when we arrived, and if that bastard had been hiding inside the warehouse, it meant they had planned something. This had to be a setup.

“What happened here? Martinez? Martinez?!” Mendoza shouted, shaking the dead man on the ground, grabbing his arms and body, getting no response except the blood flowing out of him. “Why? Why did you kill my cousin?”