I want to roar…she feels the same.
I hate these bastards for corrupting this moment.
The man returns, looking none too pleased. “Go on then. Fuck off.”
“Big man,” Matteo spits. “Using a hostage to try and act tough.”
“Come on.” I touch Matteo’s arm. “Let’s get this done.”
As we walk down the hallway, I lower my voice, whispering close to Matteo’s ear.
“If you hear sirens, get to cover. Do your best not to hurt anyone. And don’t say anything to incriminate yourself at any point.”
He pauses, tilting his head at me. “Boss?”
“There isn’t time,” I growl. “Do you understand?”
His face hardens as he nods. “I got it. Don’t worry. I won’t mess this up.”
“Good man.”
We walk into the warehouse.
When I see where Conor is standing, I struggle not to let a smirk reach my lips. He couldn’t be positioned better. It’s like he read my mind.
He stands next to the table where we met last time, his gun in his hand, pointing it at Patton’s head.
I let out a sigh of relief when I see that Patton isn’t visibly harmed. He’s got a gag in his mouth and his hands tied in front of him. Otherwise, he seems okay. He does look a bit strange without his glasses on, though.
All around us, men stare from the shadows. A few glints of light show signs of guns and even a couple of semi-automatics.
I keep my breathing steady as I close the distance, walking right to the edge of the table.
“Hello, Conor,” I say, voice calm, demeanor relaxed.
Conor looks the opposite, eyes bloodshot, lips trembling, his hands shaking. My gaze flits to the gun, and a note of fear touches me, joining that endless churning in my gut.
Patton’s a brave man, but even he must be chilled down to his bones right now.
“Hello, Conor,” I say, voice steady.
Conor shakes his head slowly. “You could’ve killed one of my men, you stupid fuck. You risked everything we built. And for what? For a little princess who deserved what I was going to give her anyway?”
I swallow, mentally picking apart his words.
It’s like I told Matteo. We can’t say anything to incriminate ourselves.
“I’m not the one pointing the gun, Conor. Let’s be civil about this.”
Conor laughs coldly, with no humor in it at all. “What’s wrong? Surprised you’re oh so smart consigliere got caught sniffing on our turf? He’s a stupid waste of energy, Luca, just like you, just like every fucking Italian I’ve ever met.”
“You won’t pull that trigger,” I say, muttering a silent apology to Patton.
The only thing that keeps me going is the way he’s looking at me, with steely determination, telling me he wants to go along with the plan. He begged me to accept his idea when he came to me, demanded that I let him put himself in harm’s way.
But now I’m starting to regret it.
Conor looks deranged.
What if he really does pull the trigger?
“Be careful,” Conor snaps. “Or you’ll make me kill this bastard on principle.”
“Kill him.” I snort derisively, even if I know it could be a mistake. “You wouldn’t kill anybody. Maybe you’d order it, but do it yourself? No, Conor, you haven’t got the stones.”
A more perceptive, alert man would realize what I’m doing. They would be able to tell I’m goading him.
But Conor never learned the most important lesson of a leader.
Control your emotions.
Distantly, a voice taunts.
After meeting Lena, my days of controlling my emotions are long behind me.
“Talk to your little slut about what I’m capable of. Her parents cried and begged before I pulled the trigger…before I killed them. Me. And there’s plenty more, so don’t start saying stupid shit, Luca. Go down to the Ash Fields and dig up the corpses. You’ll see what I’m talking about.”
“The Ash Fields, meaning the industrial estate you own, Conor? Those Ash Fields?”
“Dozens, you bastard. Maybe even….”
He trails off, eyes widening, and I nod.
“That’s right.”
“You bastard,” he says, looking around the room frantically.
Sirens touch the air, getting closer as he swivels his gaze from side to side.
“You bugged the whole warehouse?”
I notice a few of the men on the edges of the room turning to look at each other, the confusion plain in their postures. Some of them are leaving as the sirens get louder and closer.
“I bugged every location I could think of where you might arrange a meeting,” I tell him. “I know you. You’re lazy. You wouldn’t want to scout out a new spot. Patton got himself captured on purpose. My contact in the police heard everything you just said. But hell, I didn’t expect you to give them the location of so many dead bodies. That was pretty goddamn stupid.”
Conor hisses through clenched teeth, taking a step toward Patton, nudging him in the head with the gun.
“So maybe I’ll go out with a bang. Ever think of that?”