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Only the Don wouldn’t be there to honor him with the incredible nod.

“It ain’t so bad,” Bronco told him. He held up his hand, the faint scar on his palm similar to mine. Another badge of honor.

“Shit. I never told you guys, but I hate the sight of blood.”

I snorted at his admittance. It would be so enjoyable to gut him like I’d thought about. Not tonight. If there was enough time, I’d need to have a further conversation with my bride to be about what was expected of her.

Even if I wasn’t certain how to handle every aspect of the situation at this point.

Bronco jabbered away about some shit while Gio drove. It seemed like forever until he pulled into the mostly abandoned port. There were busy areas on the other side, but given our ingoing and outgoing shipments were finite, our timing was succinct and limited.

He got out, pulling his suit jacket together and buttoning it. He was more than eager to take the long strides toward the warehouse doors.

I was last inside, flipping on the lights.

When he noticed the warehouse wasn’t filled with additional men, he backed away, his arms immediately grasped by Gio and Bronco.

“You’re not going anywhere, Marco.”

“What…What’s this about?” He was instantly nervous, darting a look around the room. We had shipments waiting to go out the next day. There were also empty barrels that could prove useful. I moved to the makeshift table the men had established, placing my weapon on the surface. For sheer entertainment purposes, I added the silencer. Not that it was needed in this location.

“It’s about your disloyalty, Marco.” I was calm. There was no need to be unhinged at this point. He wasn’t going anywhere.

“What are you talking about? I’m very loyal. You all know me. I adore the Don.” The fact Marco was pleading wasn’t a good sign. Those who were innocent took a little longer to feel the instant panic that he was experiencing. He even struggled in the two men’s strong hold.

“Let’s not play games, Marco. Tonight is my engagement party and I was interrupted to deal with a smelly rat. As you might imagine, that pisses me off significantly.”

“But I did nothing.”

“Except for sell the information regarding the meeting of the Dons to someone.”

He wasn’t anticipating my direct statement.

His lower lip quivered.

Sighing, I walked closer, ignoring my weapon. “The question is to whom.”

“I didn’t do that. I swear to God.”

“Come on, Marco. The money was found in your account. You bragged about it at your favorite watering hole. That was your single mistake.” I held up my index finger.

Marco swallowed hard.

I did nothing more than stare into his eyes and his defenses started breaking down.

“I don’t know who it was. Okay? It was just information. A name of a meeting place. I didn’t think that was so bad.”

Well, at least he admitted it. Maybe I’d let him off with a pass.

Nah.

I wasn’t that kind of man.

After taking a deep breath, I rubbed my jaw. Maybe it was time to grow a beard again. I’d started in this world with one and it had been like a lucky charm. “How was the offer made, Marco?”

“A phone call. A voice I didn’t recognize. All the man wanted was a location. He said it was because he owed Don Lupini a visit.”

Gio snorted. “And you bought that shit?”

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