Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 87880 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87880 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
And in that moment, I can see the absurdity of the situation—we’re arguing above the body of my comatose brother and acting like we’re children again. I grin at Karah and the tension suddenly breaks, and she sits back in her chair, grinning in return.
“You’re probably right,” I say, waving a hand in the air, “but if you’re not, I don’t know what I’ll do.”
Before she can argue more, the door opens. Nico’s there, looking grim. He nods at his wife, but doesn’t go to kiss her—which is rare for him. Instantly, I sense something is very wrong.
“Casso,” he says, “I need a word.”
I nod and get up. Karah sighs and blows her husband a kiss. “Talk some sense into my brother, husband dearest,” she says, waggling a finger. “He’s not thinking straight.”
“I’ll do what I can, wife of my heart.”
I step into the hallway. We’re tucked in a back corner of the hospital at the far end of the building away from the nurse’s station. It’s quiet and empty, and we move over toward a window that overlooks a parking lot.
“News on Federov?” I ask, bracing myself for the worst.
“We hit one of his places last night. Lost a guy, but we killed six. This morning, we hit another spot. Lost two more and killed eight. No Federov, but his bratva’s hurting really bad. Streets are all quiet and there’s a lot of panic and fear going around.”
I let out a long breath. “Make sure the families of the dead are taken care of. Make sure they want for nothing.”
“I will.”
“Good.” I rub my face. “Panic and fear are good. People make bad decisions when their backs are up against the wall. What’s Federov’s strength at now?”
“Can’t be more than ten or so soldiers. I’ve got guys crawling the streets sniffing for a single whiff of the bastard, but there’s nothing, it’s all silent. Most of the other crews and gangs and small-timers are all lying low in case we decide to turn our guns on them. Nobody knows what the fuck’s going down.”
“He knows we’re coming. He’s not stupid enough to show his face until some of this blows over, which means we need to double our efforts. If people are scared, they’re going to make bad decisions. Let’s keep turning up the heat and apply more pressure.”
“I’ve got every guy I can spare on it.”
“Then use some you can’t. Federov is our top priority. I need the entire West Coast to understand what happens when you fuck with the Bruno Famiglia. We’re making an example of this fucker and anyone else that decides now’s a good time to step out of line. Sow as much chaos as you can, brother.”
Nico grunts and nods. “I’ll hit a few more spots we’ve been looking at and see what we can turn up.” He approves of this strategy, but his face is clouded, like he’s uncertain about something. “One thing’s still bothering me. Why the business in the beginning about buying back that club? Why the bullshit with the Polish guys, if he was just going to try to kill you anyway?”
“I’m not sure and that’s been bugging me too. I don’t understand what that game was about.” And it was a game, I’m sure of that now. He never cared about the club or the Polish brothers. He only wanted to fuck with me. He wanted to make me dance for him, and that pisses me off beyond measure.
“I have a theory. You won’t like it.” He’s looking out the window now, not glancing in my direction, and that’s not good.
“Spit it out.”
“Olivia. I think she’s behind all this.”
My eyebrows raise. “She’s behind all this how?”
“Maybe not behind it. Maybe she’s more like the center of it all.” He clears his throat. “Here’s my theory. That first meeting you went to? That was an ambush. But he didn’t spring it because Olivia actually showed up. I’m guessing he didn’t think that would happen, but as soon as she walked into the building, he decided to pivot and call it off. That fucked up his plans. After that, he needed to get you in a position where you were weak and separated from the rest of the guys, and so he put you through the fucking gauntlet to try to get you isolated from the rest of your muscle. He was watching that whole time just waiting for the perfect moment. At the first opportunity, he struck, and just happened to miss.”
I take a deep breath and let it out. “Why would he give a shit about Olivia?”
“That I’m not sure about. But I think she’s the key to all this.” He glances at me. “Go home and talk to her. Maybe she’ll know something.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” I lean my head back against the wall. A dull, low throb pulses at my temples. “I don’t know what I want from her right now.”