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That would have been moving too fast.

Don Santorelli’s body was still at the morgue. I’d arrived to find Gio and Rocco waiting outside Lupini’s estate not so patiently. With Bronco still missing, I’d been forced to place my trust in a few others I knew would keep their mouths shut and remain armed at all times.

At least the men guarding my house were trustworthy.

I’d been invited to an obligatory late lunch, the lengthy timeframe meant as a get to know each other better session. Don Lupini had been searching for and trying to exploit any weaknesses.

I’d shown none. At least he hadn’t dared try to use his daughter and our marriage against me. Now I didn’t know what to expect.

He scratched his head, staring at me sheepishly. “A shipment is missing. I don’t think I need to tell you what that means.”

A shipment, which meant another cargo full of illegal weapons. “Warehouse or port this time?” He had a strong presence in the various ports, but I highly doubted someone would be brazen enough to attempt stealing off a heavily guarded cargo ship.

“Warehouse on seventy-third. It was a stopover location because I heard the DEA was sniffing around. The shipment was supposed to sail tonight. After what happened before, I took extra precautions. I have no clue how the fuckers found out.”

I bristled slightly, hearing his words. “One crate?”

“Four, but they had some very specialized weapons inside. Military grade explosives and missile launchers for a very special overseas client. From what I understand, you know your weapons, so I don’t need to tell you how much money is on the table. No sign of the fuckers who did this. Nothing. Not how they got in or how they managed to steal it from under my nose.”

I’d made a point early in my career to drop hints regarding my expertise in bombs. It must have been a selling point Don Santorelli had used. “I know my way around them, Don Lupini. You didn’t have any warning?”

“None, including the silent alarms didn’t go off. You also know security systems. Yes?”

I knew exactly what he was asking. He was certain one of his men had turned off the system and unlocked the door. I could likely detect if the system had been tampered with and if it had been done internally.

“Yeah, I do. Any suspects?” I asked and given we could see the sunroom from the man’s office, I glanced toward where Drago was standing.

He followed my trail and sucked in his breath. “You have men that you would trust with your life. Yes?”

“I do.”

“So do I. I’m confident you will continue the terms of the alliance as agreed upon by Luis, God rest his soul. What you won’t do is question my judgment with my men. In turn, I will honor you in that manner as well. Do we understand each other?”

While I did and knew it was a sore point, nothing had changed my mind about Drago.

I held up a single arm in surrender. “Understood.”

“Good. I don’t like what’s happening. It feels as if the ground is about to crack under our feet. I can’t be arrested and if this buy goes south, my reputation will be tarnished. That will invite another syndicate to roll in. We cannot allow that to happen.”

“Are there any other reasons to believe the DEA might be involved? Theft is generally frowned upon in their world.”

“My boy. You haven’t spent any time in prison. Have you?”

I had to laugh. “I fully admit I have not.”

“Good for you.” He clapped my arm. “That means you’re smarter than some of the Neanderthals who work for me.” His jovial grin faded. “Someone is out to get me in the same way as they attempted to do with Luis. Forgive me for saying this, but I don’t buy the fact the man had a heart attack. He was made of fucking steel.”

“Well, I’ve yet to hear anything different from the coroner. But I’ll have the woman search more carefully.”

“Good. In the meantime, we need to keep the sharks at bay. You will likely be seeing or hearing from the Russians. They’re already on the move.”

That much I’d gotten out of the search on the dark web. I was fascinated he’d already heard.

“Could they be behind the shipment theft?”

Don Lupini sucked in his breath. “Definitely. You’ll know. The fuckers are all carved with a symbol on their necks.”

“I’ll see what I can find. We need to maintain a strong show of power.”

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