Chapter 28

Emiliano

We didn’t kiss again after we passed the first gate to el Patrȯn’s home. With Silas’s security and surveillance as well as the guards standing by, it couldn’t have happened without some detection. Instead, before getting out of the car, I squeezed her hand. “I love you, Isabella. We’re going to make this work.”

“I’m so scared that this will all fall apart.”

“You’re mine to have and to hold. I can honestly say I’ve never felt something this strong. It seems I’ve been waiting for you to come into my life. They can’t stop what’s meant to be.”

Before we could say any more, the door next to Isabella opened.

“Welcome back, Miss Luciano,” Silas said with a bow before offering his hand.

“Thank you, Silas.”

I watched as she stepped from the car. The white bakery bag remained on the seat.

Silas leaned down, making eye contact. “Lieutenant Ruiz, el Patrȯn would like to see you.”

I shut off the car and grabbed the bag. “I’ll be right in.” Looking inside, I saw the flattened cannoli, and the scent of sugary goodness filled my senses. As I walked behind my vehicle, I remembered the kid’s gun. 

Inside the trunk, I pulled two rubber gloves from the box in my supplies and picked up the Glock 45. With the popularity of this model, I doubted we’d learn anything, but we should try. Silas waited for me by the door. When I nodded, he opened the front door. While I could hear Isabella’s and Mia’s voices from the living room, I went directly to Jano’s office.

He looked up from the monitors in front of him. “How was the tour?”

“Good,” I replied, keeping my voice even.

His dark gaze went to the gun in my hand. “Tell me about that. Since you’re wearing gloves, I assume it isn’t yours.”

“It’s not mine. Although I did touch it. So, my prints will be on it.”

“The trigger?”

I shook my head as I laid the Glock on Jano’s desk. “The tour started in Little Italy.” That put a smile on Jano’s face if only for a moment. “Yeah, that seemed like a good idea to me too. Anyway, we had dinner. On the way back we stopped at a bakery.” I put the white bag by the gun. “I parked in the parking garage on Ash.”

Jano nodded.

“As we got to my car, I heard the distinctive click of a weapon cocking.”

“Fuck, Em. I told you not to get her killed or injured.”

“I didn’t. I secured her in the car and took off after the asshole.” I shook my head. “He was a kid. Latino. Scared shitless. He said he and his boss saw us coming out of the bakery. His boss, someone named Manuel Lopez, offered him a C-note to rob us.”

Jano leaned back against his chair and templed his fingers. “Did you believe him?”

“If I’d been alone, I would have taken him to Wanderland or the warehouse for more questioning.” I shook my head. “I wasn’t doing that with Isabella. I took his gun and told him to give Lopez a message. If I find him, he’s dead.”

“Kid?” Jano asked. “How old do you guess?”

“No more than fifteen. He pissed himself. My guess is that it was an initiation. Question is, one of our crews or one of Herrera’s? If it’s one of ours, someone was fucking with him to send him after me. If it is Herrera’s, they were hoping to get lucky.”

He shook his head. “If it was Herrera’s, why wouldn’t the chief do the job himself and kill you? You’d be a fucking big prize.” He scanned me from my head to my boots. “Unless they didn’t recognize you clean-shaven. The fuck? For a tour.”

If Jano wasn’t el Patrȯn, I’d tell him to shut the fuck up. However, it was in my best interest to keep that thought to myself.

Jano stood and stretched, reminding me of a cat. If he was a cat, he would be a black-footed cat. Based on kill counts, the deadliest cat in the world. After retrieving a plastic bag from his desk, Jano walked around and looked at the weapon. Using a pen in the trigger guard, he picked it up. “Your prints are on this weapon.”

“Sí. On the barrel. I carried it to my car and threw it in the trunk.”

He dropped the Glock in the bag. “Take it to Nick. Tell him to run prints and the serial number. We’ll see if anything comes up.” His gaze met mine. “What about this Lopez? Couldn’t have come up with a more generic name.”

I nodded as I removed the rubber gloves and threw them in a trash can near Jano’s desk. “When I get home, I plan to run his name through the known databases. The kid said they spotted us coming out of Pappalecco. I’m going to check traffic cams and neighboring businesses’ security for a visual of the kid and who he’s with. I thought I’d loop Rei in on it too.”

Jano nodded before stifling a yawn. “There were two reasons I told Silas to have you come in. The first was to let you know I spoke directly to Andros Ivanov.”

I nodded. He was the pakhan in Detroit.

“He’s accepting Kozlov’s men. They and their wives will be sent to Detroit in the morning. He’s also sending more soldiers to us. We’re going to make a move on Volkov as soon as next week.”

“What kind of move?”

“Like what he did to Kozlov and mí padre. I want his fucking head.”

“Herrera?” I asked.

“Fucking coward is paying others to do his dirty work. We get rid of his minions, and he’ll come out of hiding.”

“I’m here, jefe. Whatever you need.”

“I need you to give me an honest assessment of the chiefs you spoke to today.” He lifted his hand. “Not now. Tomorrow. Bring me every name and swear to me that you have no suspicions. If you so much as have or have had a passing thought to their fidelity, let me know. This mission will be done with only our best and most loyal.”

My mind was already going through the list of names. “Sí, I’ll work on that right after I take the gun to Nick.” I started to pick up the plastic bag.

“Not yet,” Jano said. “There’s one more thing.”

I squared my shoulders and held my hands in front of me, standing to attention.

“Before I had a chance to speak to the capo on your behalf, he called Mia.”

My heart sank. “About Isabella?”

“Sí. It was like they call a fucking game of telephone. It goes something like Isabella’s mother spoke to her and was very upset. She then spoke to her husband who took the matter to the capo.” He moved his hands as he spoke.

“What—?” His raised hand stopped my question.

“Mia adamantly defended her cousin to her brother. The problem came when Aurora Luciano later called Mia, saying she couldn’t reach Isabella and demanded to speak to her.”

“Fuck.”

“Fuck is accurate. My wife told her that Isabella and Liliana were together watching a movie at Liliana’s apartment. Mia assured her that the two girls were safe and guarded. She suggested that probably Isabella had her phone off for the movie.”

I let out a long breath. “I need to thank Mia, but why did she lie?”

He took a step toward me, and his volume rose. “You didn’t ask if you could take Isabella on a tour without Horace. She’s too young and too virginal to be unescorted—by famiglia standards and ours.”

“She’s still a virgin.”

“And you know, how?”

“Fuck, Jano. We went to Little Italy, ate dinner, and walked around. Then I took her to Imperial Beach. We walked the pier to watch the sunset. I didn’t defile her.” When he didn’t speak, I added, “You said I could take her around San Diego. That’s what I did.”

Jano threw his head back. “Fucking women. It’s always about a woman.”

“Did you talk to Dario about my request?”

“No,” he shouted. “I didn’t talk to him about your request. I took the phone from Mia because she was obviously upset. He said Carmine wanted Isabella back in Kansas City. She’s to leave Saturday morning.”

“Fuck no.”