Page 26 of I Would Die For You

It’s strange to hear myself referred as such. I’ve always been the one following around until this moment. To think I now hold the reins… It’s a big responsibility. And remembering what’s at stake, my resolve shakes before it solidifies. Kaya. Nothing can happen to her.

“We need to get my work kit.” I turn to Gianluigi. “You have the stuff?”

He’s meant to carry half the paraphernalia to operate my tools. I split it up this way so neither of us could get caught for what we’d be carrying.

Gianluigi nods. A man of few words, he leaves the talking to his other siblings usually.

Forcing in a deep breath, I take my first step as Don Giacomo Rossi’s enforcer. It’s the start of the rest of my life, however long or short it will turn out to be.

“Andiamo,” I cry as I wave them out. “We also need to pick up someone along the way.”

Good, they’ve brought the Mercedes Jeep. These three lanky boys can fit in the back seat—we won’t need another vehicle. One car doing a stake-out can be easily overlooked. Two or more is a recipe to be noticed and made.

Our first stop is a small train station on the outskirts of the town. A locker room is the perfect place to stash something you don’t want to be found, plus it makes for an easy spot for a dead drop should you ever need someone else to get it for you.

Giancarlo fuzzes the camera feeds while I go in to retrieve the suitcase I’ve been keeping here for occasions such as tonight. Afterwards, it’ll be coming back home with me, my new title granting me diplomatic-like immunity in our world now.

Bag safely stowed in the trunk, we make our next stop in Sal Salvario. I didn’t phone ahead because what else could Valentino have going tonight? Yes, he’ll surely be wrapped in the arms and legs of a tall beauty, but that’s par for the course for this ladies’ man.

Indeed, he greets me at his door with his hair all mussed and in briefs barely able to hide the state he’s in. One look at my face, though, and his expression turns from thunderous irritation to curious wariness.

“Shit’s about the hit the fan, brother. I’ve been activated.”

Frown lines appear on his forehead, but he takes it in stride. Minutes later, a beautiful woman with flax-colored hair is exiting his apartment. I watch her with narrowed eyes,Mamma’s words tickling my mind. Is this the girl he’s in love with, the one he thinks about when he’s playing Debussy on the piano?

But he’s with a different woman every other night—can’t be love if he’s bed-hopping so much. Love is when you’ve found a woman and there’s no one else for you. You can’t conceive of your cock sinking into any other body but hers, of only her hands touching your skin, her mouth brushing every imaginable reach on your person. It’s her smile you want to see brightening your night, and your day, and your every morning from here on. It’s—

An image of Kaya pops inside my head, and there it is. It’s love. I’m in love with Kaya Norton.

A woman who’s not even mine.

“Stef?”

I snap out of my spell and face my cousin standing in front of me. He’s mirrored my outfit—dark jeans and a long-sleeved black shirt. It’s not because we’ll be doing the dirty jobs that we have to let ourselves go.

I should get my shit together. I’m doing all this tonight at the Don’s bidding, yes, but it’s also because I need to protect Kaya. No one should be putting her life in danger. They’ll have me to answer to should they even dare to think this.

“Let’s go.”

At the car, Valentino does a double-take seeing the boys in the back. It’s true they make a formidable sight side by side like this because of their insane resemblance.

A notification pops up on my phone. It’s Don Giacomo, telling me to head to one of our safe houses before getting started on Daku. Taking the wheel, I head to the periphery of Chivasso, the spot we’re to hit tonight some twenty clicks northeast of Torino.

Two cars are parked in the driveway of the safe house. They look like ours, but I’m not sure. I park behind them and cut the engine.

“We’re packing?” my cousin asks.

I glance at Gianluca in the back seat. He nods and pulls a case from under each front seat. Black Beretta semi-automatics get handed around, a spare magazine also following. As if we’d need that. If we’ve gone through the fifteen bullets already in the gun’s magazine, then it’d be safe to say we’re screwed.

Gianluca is to be my boots on the ground. As such, he’s the first to get out of the car, gun cocked with the safety off. His brothers follow behind, Valentino having my six. I needn’t have worried, though, because the door of the safe house is opened by none other than Aldo, the Don’scapowho used to work with my father.

“Boss,” he says with a nod.

I know right then he’s been apprised of the change of the old guard. He’s now my man to command, his crew an extension of mine.

“Mypadre,” I ask him softly, to not alert the other men.

“Being looked after.”

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