Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 90618 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90618 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
“What?” I said.
“Get the fuck out,” he shouted in my face, shoving me.
I managed to stumble out the side as the second SUV pulled up. Chad jumped out the back, eyes wild. “What the fuck happened?” he yelled.
“Shut up,” Steven said, coming around the wrecked car. He grabbed me and shoved me into the back of the second car. “Get him out of here.”
“What about you?” Cosimo asked.
“We’ll get away on foot. Get the fuck out of here.”
I gathered myself, blinking away the disorientation. I was dizzy but I pushed through the pain. “Steven,” I barked. “Get in. Cosimo, grab him and get him in here.”
Cosimo jumped at my order. Steven got in despite his anger, leaving Gino and Biagio alone. They both nodded at me then took off running in opposite directions. Cosimo slammed the door shut then got back behind the wheel and started to drive. He went fast for a few blocks then slowed down.
Nobody spoke. I was crammed in the back with Steven, Chad, and John, and my ears were still ringing like bells. I leaned my head back and took a deep breath, filling up my lungs.
“Think we sent a message?” I asked the car.
John laughed. Cosimo laughed with him, then the whole car was laughing, a relieved kind of laughter that bubbled up from the gut. I grinned at Steven who just glared at me, not smiling, not laughing, not saying a word.
Cosimo drove to the bakery and parked out front. He got out along with everyone but Steven. I sat in the back with my second-in-command as the boys lingered on the sidewalk, not sure what to do.
Steven gave me a long look. “What the fuck were you thinking?” he growled.
“Don’t know what you mean.”
“That car chase. Are you fucking insane? You don’t get into car chase after shooting up a rival gang. That’s how you get fucking caught. Do you know how many cameras we passed back there?”
I grunted. “Couldn’t let him go.”
“You should’ve,” he snapped. “If you were smart, you would have.”
“Go fuck yourself, Steven.”
“No,” Steven growled, leaning toward me. He grabbed me by the shirt and pushed me back against the door, his eyes wild and angry. “No, Dante. Listen to me. You can’t fuck this up for everyone just because you’re pissed off at Vlas.”
“Get off me,” I said, my voice even.
He stared at me for a long moment then let me go. I could see the guys on the sidewalk looking confused and concerned. John said something to Cosimo, who just shook his head and looked away.
I leaned toward Steven. “You do something like that in front of the others again, and I’ll have you beaten,” he said. “You do it more than once, I’ll have you shot. Do you understand me?”
Steven glared but nodded. “I went too far.”
“You did.” I took a deep breath. “I understand why. That was stressful. I know I shouldn’t have chased Vlas, but you also have to realize that if we didn’t hit Vlas in that, it was for nothing.”
“We killed at least six of their top lieutenants,” he said, shaking his head. “We just did more damage to them than they’ve done to us in years. In one hit, we just gutted half their top level organization. Do you have any idea what that’s going to do to them?”
“Nothing, not if Vlas survived.”
He let out a breath. “Go home,” he said. “Get yourself cleaned up.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Make sure the guys are okay and do some damage control.”
I shook my head slowly. “You’ll do nothing without my permission,” I said.
He glared at me then pointed at my side. “Go home, Dante.”
I followed his gaze and saw that my shirt was red with blood. “Shit.” I unbuttoned the front and opened it enough to check the stitches. Not ripped, but it was oozing again.
“Go rest,” Steven said. “You’ve been through a lot.”
I grunted and let a smile drift across my face. “It was a good hit, though.”
“It was.” Steven opened the door.
“Make sure Gino and Biagio get back,” I said as I got out of the car. “You four go back to my place around the corner and clean up there. We’ll lay low for a couple of days.”
“Fine,” Steven agreed.
“You know where I’ll be.” I got behind the wheel and put it into drive, pulling forward and away from the bakery.
I gripped the wheel hard as I drove.
Not from the pain or the ringing in my eras. Not from the fear or the adrenaline that was still rolling through my body.
But because I knew I fucked up.
I knew Vlas was in that truck.
He’s the only one smart enough to run in that situation. Any of those other fucking idiots would’ve tried to fight, tried to kill. Vlas was the only one with a real sense of self-preservation.