Page 27 of I Would Die For You

I can feel Valentino tensing behind me. He hasn’t been made aware of what happened to demote Gennaro Beccario from his post. Aldo’s words can be construed as the old man getting medical care, sticking to the story the Don has put up.

“Good.” I nod as I enter the space fully to find about a dozen men sitting and lounging around.

They all stand up when I come in. Most of them are older than me, the twocaposaround the Don’s age and the soldiers running the gamut between thirty and forty-five. I always knew I would step up to be their leader one day, and I knew keeping on their good side would be paying off today. In their stance, I see the respect and deference they are bestowing me as their Don’s enforcer. They’d follow me into the fire and the storm for him.

“Come on, you fuckers. Sit down. It’s just me,” I throw with a wave.

Laughter rumbles around the room, some peppering the outburst with a few choice words.

“Sul serio, Boss,” the othercapo, Sergio, says.

Nods of ascent follow his comment. Yes, every man in here will follow me and do as I say. They have my back.

“Okay. What do we have on Jasir Daku? And what the fuck are we going to Chivasso for?”

I know the what and why and how—but where men like my father led and divulged just crumbs of their plans to their subordinates, I want their full input and for them to feel they matter in the scheme of things.

Before long, the entire plan of action has fused aloud around the room. I confer with a nod.

“Aldo, your men will breach once I give the go-ahead.”

Thecapoacquiesces, as do his men.

“Sergio, you and your men will stay one street behind the entire time. No offence to your team, but Aldo’s is trained to breach, and you having my six is just as important.”

He also nods, seeming satisfied he’s not being relegated to mere backup.

I never understood how men like my father thought dismissing people would amount to much. It’s a cliché to state you win more flies with honey than vinegar, but such ideas become clichés for a reason—they’re true.

“My men will be with me,” I continue. “You all know Valentino, my cousin.” I then wave the Costa brothers in from where they’d stayed put in the shadows of the vestibule. I stifle a laugh as every man just about jerks when seeing them. They are indeed a sight. “Giancarlo, Gianluigi, Gianluca.” Not that it’ll make much difference to know their names—to anyone who doesn’t know them, it’s hard to work out who’s who, especially when they’re dressed the same. I stand and wave them all up. “Vai, vai.”

This is their cue to hit the road and set the plan in motion.

“Is your father okay?” Val asks me once back in the car.

“Long story. But he’s fine.”

I don’t want to talk about him right now. Not when I’m collating him in the same batch as thecoglionestrying to hurt my Kaya.

We’re in Chivasso soon after. Luck would have it that Giancarlo manages to catch a phone call to a nearby pizzeria through his tech gear. It’s an order for an insane amount of large pizzas. They’re voracious eaters, or it’s a big group holed up inside that house. Either way, we won’t be taking any chances. I send a text to Sergio asking him to dispatch some of his men as extra support for Aldo’s crew. Aldo’s already hit the ground, and he and some of his men intercept the delivery boy and send him on his way with twice the sum of the order as his tip.

Gianluca is up next. I’d have sworn he must have some Irish blood in him—even Italians don’t have the gift of the gab like he does. He’s sent to deliver the pizzas, and he puts on a good show, even gets invited to watch the English FA Cup match live on TV. We can hear and see everything thanks to the buttonhole camera on his jacket.

It looks like six to seven men inside that living room. I can’t see Daku, though we know he’s here tonight. Give or take a cazzo or two not watching the game, we’re cutting through fewer than a dozen guys

I let Aldo handle this part of the mission. It doesn’t take him and his men long to get through the house. I’m supposing it’s a rain of bullets, a roar of shouts, a massacre of blood. It’s how he’s proceeded all this time, and I don’t see that part of operations changing.

But where I come in, that’s not staying the same as Beccario Senior’s work.

When Aldo gives me the all-clear, I nod at the men with me to get out of the car. Sergio’s lot comes to a stop behind us, and once they have our six, we make it into the double-story house. It is indeed a carnage, but Aldo’s men are also specialized in cleanup. They’ll handle this.

We descend to the basement, where Aldo has secured Jasir Daku, his hands and ankles bound to a sturdy chair. His back is to us, exactly as I asked.

So this is thefiglio di puttanawho decided to come after Kaya?Coglionecouldn’t bear being brought down by a woman. We’ll see how he fares when the tables are turned.

I pat my cousin on the shoulder. “Watch and learn, brother.”

Val rolls his eyes at me. “Not the time to get cocky, Stef.”

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