Alessandro kissed me, one that would have extended into something more had Gabriel not whacked him on the back of the head. I was glad for it. Even in the middle of the dust clearing from a brick of C4 blowing an enemy gate wide open, I could get swept up into Alessandro without so much as a second thought.
We followed after our family, and I couldn’t help but find myself impressed, especially by my sisters-in-law. Where Gabriel’s shots were more scattered, Stacy was pulling out headshots like it was a hobby. Someone lifted a gun and aimed it at Luca, and a second later, his head was a spray of blood. Luca looked back at Stacy, but she was already onto the next one. On Luca’s other side, Molly hadn’t even pulled her gun yet. She serpentined through the onslaught of oncoming bullets until she could reach a shooter, then she’d outright clothesline him before reaching down and twisting his neck, leaving him dead.
My sisters were seriously badass.
I had to keep up. Alessandro was directly behind me, and we moved like a coordinated unit. Where he shot to the right, I was shooting to the left. Anytime someone had a gun set for Alessandro, I had a bullet in their chest a second later. The Binachis were short-staffed, much like the Varassos. With us dismantling our legions in anticipation of hanging up the life for good, we only had necessary people on staff, and most of them were Marco’s security, watching either the estate in Philly or the new one in Maine. The Varassos were unanimous that we wanted to take care of the Binachis without anyone else risking their lives for it, and as we mowed down the Binachi’s meager staff at every turn, it was clear we were beyond prepared.
Don’t let falling in love and having children fool you—the Varasso brothers were just as ruthless as the day they began, if not more so because they now had interests to protect and some insane women behind them to boot.
Marco pointed up a flight of stairs, where there was the faint glow of light. “There.”
“It could be a trap,” I warned. “Be careful.”
We’d taken a few hits, but nothing that got past our bulletproof vests. Something had grazed Stacy’s arm, but she seemed more excited about how that boosted her cred than anything else, so after giving it a quick wrap, we were off up the stairs. Luca led with Marco directly behind him. Molly and Gabriel were side-by-side behind Marco, with Stacy, me, and Alessandro in a line in that order behind them.
My heart was racing. I’d shot people. I’d killed people. Even when the Varasso family open-fired on the Binachis after Stacy saved us, I hadn’t been able to shoot. Maybe it was me not wanting to lose face in front of Molly and Stacy, maybe it was how much Alessandro and I had been through hardening me, but my hands no longer shook with the gun in them. I could fight to protect myself and the people I loved. I could fight to give my daughter a life that was unplagued by the world that the Varasso’s ancestors had created. We were ending the cycle, and I wanted to be able to say I stood and protected the right to end it.
Luca stopped, and Marco crept past him toward the door that had the light streaking out. It was cracked and seemed suspicious. Marco grabbed another mechanism off his waist, this time, a small, green, cylindrical container. He pulled the pin and tossed it into the office, and there was a bang followed by a bright, white flash. He kicked the door and stood back, and we watched as a flurry of bullets came flying through the haze of the smoke. They continued to empty until there was nothing but clicks, and the second we could hear the replacing of ammo, Marco stepped into the office and let off a round of his own bullets.
“You and I both know you’re cornered,” his voice resounded. “Drop ‘em.”
The clatter of guns hitting the floor was enough confirmation that whoever else was inside the office was officially unarmed. We all stepped into the office one by one, guns out, as the smoke from the flash bomb disappeared. When the room had mostly cleared, we were left with only two bodies that weren’t Varasso. Denise and Dario.
Dario sunk down into a chair behind a large, cherrywood desk. Marco’s gun was dead set for him. Luca took a step toward Denise and stuck the thin, rounded end of his automatic into her face. “You shot my wife.”
For the first time since we’d met her, Denise looked afraid. She had her hands up and was trembling before the barrel of Luca’s gun. “I’m sorry.”
Luca shook his head. “You lied to my family. You tried to kill my sister-in-law. You shot my wife.” His finger was flexing a little more on the trigger. “Sorry is no longer acceptable here.”
Dario looked over at Denise. “What is he talking about?”
Alessandro stepped up, his gun aimed at Dario as well. “Didn’t you know? Denise has been laid up at the Varasso estate. She was working with us to help us kill you.”
Dario’s eyes widened as he looked over at his sister. “Are they lying?”
Despite her fear, Denise couldn’t keep from scrunching her nose up at her brother. “Of course not. Why do you think they’re here?”
“How could you do that? We’re family.”
“You’re nothing more than a hiccup in a plan.” She looked at Luca. “I’m sorry about what happened with your family, but I did not lie to you. I want Dario dead. Kill him right now. I don’t care. I’ll do whatever you want. I have more information than you could possibly fathom. Secrets your father kept from you.”
Gabriel aimed his gun at Denise. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” His anger was emanating off of him. “You aren’t the only one in this room ready to kill a sibling.”
Denise swallowed hard. “How?” Her eyes shot over to me. “You.”
I smiled back at her and stuck up my middle finger. “I told you. I’m not going to let you hurt my family.”
“Denise. What are they talking about?” Dario asked, then his eyes flicked to Marco. “I didn’t know about this. Come on, Marco. We were partners. Let’s let bygones be bygones and start anew.” His eyes darted back to Denise. “I clearly need to reassess who I trust.” He looked back at Marco. “We both did things to hurt each other. Let’s start fresh.”
Marco shrugged. “No. That’s not gonna work for me.” He pressed the barrel of his gun to Dario’s head. “But don’t worry, we’ll make it quick.”
We heard another round of footsteps file in behind us. I was afraid to turn around, but Molly dared a look. “Anthony.”
The rest of us turned to face the door, and Anthony was standing in the frame with two identical young men on either side of him. Their guns were pointed in a flurry of directions, all at the Varassos.
Anthony smiled. “Come on now, Varassos. Let’s not do anything too rash.”
27