Chapter 30
CHAPTER THIRTY
NICO
I hate waiting. And I hate how long Benny has been gone. How long does it take to situate and arm four sets of explosives? Don’t get me wrong. I love the plan. The plan is solid. I just don’t like the part of the plan that has one of the loves of my life sneaking around on his own, setting bombs, and trying not to get caught. That part of the plan has my knee bouncing in the footwell of the car.
“Would you calm the fuck down. It’s his job,” Aurora snaps, laying her hand on my knee and forcing me to take control of my nervous energy.
“I can’t help it,” I reply, turning my head to search for him.
“We couldn’t send him with anyone. Our presence here has to be non-existent until we get the go-ahead from Gabriella,” Sinclair pipes up from the back.
Enzo, Sinclair, Aurora, and I are positioned about a block south of the small industrial unit they’re running their lab out of. From Gabriella’s intel, this one is mostly where they’re cutting and pressing pills. Still chemically volatile but less likely than their meth labs to go up like a Roman candle. Our plan may be to blow the place when we’re done here with some of Benny’s carefully placed devices, but we need it to be on our timetable.
Glancing at my watch, I note the time. We should be getting word any minute now. I swear to God, that man of mine better get his ass back here before it kicks off at the other locations or I’m going to tan his hide raw with half inch thick leather.
A large hand comes from the back of the truck and rests over my shoulder, squeezing hard. “He’s got this. He’ll be back soon,” Sinclair whispers, his timbre deep and reassuring, barely loud enough for me to hear. I pat his hand, unsure of how else to respond.
Before I can figure out what to say, there's a flurry of vibrations that pulse from each of our phones. Aurora opens the message first. “They’ve made their move. Communications confirm that they’ve called in backup. Now we just have to wait till they get there.”
“What if Max leaves them hanging?” I ask.
“Then Nico, my darling, we’re fucked,” she replies before letting out a long breath, followed by a strangled snort. “I’ve mobilised an entire army against Max De Luca in the hopes that his obsession with torturing me trumps his desire to keep a generations-strong crime syndicate running. What the fuck was I thinking?”
It’s Enzo’s turn to lean forward now and have his say. “You were thinking that you know his crazy inside out, and the only way for our people to survive him is to destroy him. You may have raised an army against him, but the difference is, everyone who stands beside you has faith in what you stand for. ”
“Tell me I’m doing the right thing? Tell me we can do this?” she says, not taking her eyes away from the inky black shadows on the other side of the windscreen.
“You’re doing the right thing, hummingbird,” says Sinclair, reaching between the front seats and running his fingers under the slope of her jaw, turning her to face us all. “Whatever happens tonight, he will not take you from us.”
Another sharp buzz snaps us out of the moment. “It’s Stefano. His teams are in position on the other three sides. He’s just seen Benny doubling back towards us,” Enzo relays. His expression is sombre, like Aurora’s words are running rampant through his mind. I can see him in the rearview mirror, hesitating to find whatever words he wants to say. Eventually, he finds them. “Max De Luca dies tonight, Don Bianchi. Have no doubt about that, mia guerrierotta .”
Aurora turns in her chair and her gaze wanders between us slowly. “That man will die, I have no doubt. But I need your solemn promise, right fucking now, that it will not be because you sacrifice yourself to make that happen!”
Sinclair, Enzo, and I swap glances, loathed to make her that promise.
“I can’t go through that again. I won’t fucking do it. You swear to me right now or I’m going to stop this whole thing at The Knights. I want to take Max out, but I won’t do it if the cost is any one of you. Do you hear me, you pig-headed idiots? Now promise me. ” Aurora roars the words at us, and we have no choice but to consent.
She’s right. The thought of any of us having to experience a loss like that again makes my skin crawl. Whether or not she can survive it is not the only thing to consider. I don’t think I could either.
The realisation of how ingrained these people are in my soul is overpowering.
“I promise,” I say out loud, knowing that I will do everything in my power to make sure that we all survive. For her. For each other.
Aurora glares at Enzo and Sinclair until Sinclair makes the same promise. Her eyes glisten and tears threaten to fall. In a near silent murmur, she implores Enzo. “Please, mio re .”
Zo reaches through the front seat, pulling her over the centre console into his arms. I watch in fascination as she rests her palm on his neck, curving her thumb around the base and stroking gently against his pulse point.
It’s more than a little hot to watch his entire demeanour shift at her touch. It’s one thing to know that Aurora is dominant to him, but it’s a thing of fucking beauty watching him settle into a place of complete calm beneath her.
“I promise, Don Bianchi.”
Fuck. Me. Sideways.
Why is calling her that as an honorific quite possibly the hottest thing I’ve ever heard? A sharp sting across the back of my head snaps me out of it as Sinclair clips me round the ear.
“What the fuck was that for?” I grouse, rubbing the back of my head as he hauls himself into the front seat Aurora vacated.
“Eyes front you, and for fuck’s sake, do something about that,” Sinclair says, eyeing the outline of my cock, which is threatening to break through the inner seam of my pants. There’s no subtle way to adjust a hard-on when you're in close quarters, so I get on with it and pretend Sinclair’s not a foot away from me as I lift my hips for just long enough to reposition it upwards so it’s a little less obvious.
There’s a sudden but quiet thud on the side door of the panel van, causing Aurora to jump for a moment before calming when she hears the not-so-quiet whisper shout on the other side. “Open up, guys. I’m freezing my tits off out here. ”
Zo moves Aurora off him and gets the door, sliding it just enough for Benny to dive back through.
“I told you, you needed more than a fucking long-sleeved tee under your vest, you idiot,” I snark at him, trying to chastise him but failing to hide my happiness at having him back safely.
“I was plenty warm when I was carrying the full weight of the charges I set,” he huffs defensively. “I just forgot the getting back to the car part of the plan.”
I reach between the seats and retrieve one of the black holdalls, pulling out his jacket and throwing it at him. He rolls his eyes at me like the bratty little fuck he is. “Just put it on. It’s time for us to all load up. We should be getting the go-ahead from Gabriella soon,” I remind them.
As we’re busying ourselves with Kevlar and comms, holsters, and weapons, my phone screen lights up with a message.
Gabriella:
Max’s cavalry has arrived.
Estimate: 60% of his manpower across both locations
Bulk deployed to the warehouse, calling in support from Dante’s team, sending Dom’s your way.
Heading in now, wait for my signal before you send in support.
We finish up by stashing as much ammo as we can carry into the various pockets of our utility pants. We look like some strange black ops crew who’ve been through an action movie style preparation montage, ready to storm some secret bunker. In our defence, that’s the look we’re going for. We need these idiots to believe that we’re raiding them alone and say as much when they report back to Max.
“Remember, I need to be front and centre when we breach their perimeter. Feel free to cover me, but don’t even think of holding me back,” Aurora says, her voice steady and her stony expression unmoving.
We all nod and pile out of the van, letting her lead the way and falling in line at her back. Where we belong.