We don’t have to wait long before De Angelo joins us. After the tour, that we only took for pretense, he took us under the gym where he keeps the goods.
“These are not on the market yet. There are no serial numbers, and they are not in the system. They have been made for a special unit in the Middle East. Of course, my source has taken this on the side for me.” He opens the cases. Black synthetic stock gleams softly under the ambient light, and the metallic barrels exude a quiet sense of power.
“How many are in there?”
“Four, as you requested. It was a little tricky, but my guy made it work.”
I nod, and he moves toward the other case, opening it.
“These were easy to get, cheaper, and available on the market for everyone.” He grins and takes one gun out. “The difference is, these do not have a serial number. However, they have sixteen rounds. Once the magazine is empty…” He presses the release switch, and the magazine falls into his hand. “…You just replace it with a full round of sixteen. Little less than your usual Glock, only this does extensive collateral damage.”
I take the shotgun from him. This is a semiautomatic shotgun. I inspect the weapon, taking my time with it, hoping this weapon will only hurt my enemies.
I place it back into the case. I look at Nico, his hazel eyes gleaming with anticipation. He knows he has what I want. “I’ll take them. At the price you stated. I’ll give you a one million bonus and will consider helping you to claim back your family’s position. I’ll even put a few good words to Commission for you.But first, you will need to do something for me.” His lips twitch as I lay out my request. “It is in the best interest for both of us. That way, I will know how much I can trust you.”
“Name it.”
“I have someone who is threatening me. Wants to take over my territory, but we both know I will never allow it. Therefore, I may go into a war. And if so, I expect you to be by my side as an ally. The situation is imminent. Things will develop in the next few weeks, a month tops. After that, I may need something from you and, as an ally, I expect your cooperation. After that, I’m ready to negotiate all the ways I can help you.”
Nico doesn’t say anything. His eyes glimmer as we stare at each other. We both need each other. While I would never work with his father, I will with him. As expected, he offers his hand to me.
“Fine by me. I will help you in any way I can.”
I take his hand, sealing the deal.
The second part of my plan is making the deal with Nico De Angelo, leaving me one step closer to my goal.
Part one is my marriage to Isabella. That will lead to my alliance with her father and will establish more power within crime organizations.
After my father’s death, I have been struggling to erase the sex trafficking ring from our business. It has been almost a year since I made a bloody statement and killed the bastard who thought he could conspire against me.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t working alone. A few of my father’s men have been missing since that day. One of them is my father's consigliere. I still need to find the son of a bitch.
Someone has been giving information to Sabatini about the family business, and I have a few suspects. But better than fighting the enemy, I will pull the rug from under their feet.
And that will be my marriage with Isabella Ruggeri and an alliance with ‘Ndrangheta. They will not see this coming. The huge contributor to my plans is Isabella, and she didn’t even know it.
When she showed up in my hotel, she poked the bear. Little did she know that I’m no bear. I’m the hunter, and I will hunt them all down and use her as bait.
eleven
Isabella
It has been a week.
A week of being robbed from the life I made for myself.
A week of being back from the same life as the one I escaped from.
A week since Salvatore gave me the choice to marry him, or he would send me back to my father.
Well, I guess I chose in the end, but still, it was forced.
When my father killed my mother for trying to leave this life, I knew then I didn’t want that for myself. So, I need to swallow my pride and make a deal with Salvatore. Even if he took thatprivilege from me when I opened the door of his office and said no.
He wants this for a reason, and I will find out what that is. I can make this work in my favor.
That’s why I need to cooperate with Gabriel, who has made it his mission to organize our ceremony. I first told him I don’t care. That he can do whatever he wants, or the wedding planner he hired that I didn’t want to meet can deal with it.