Page 17 of Deadly Wrath

Antonio notices my hesitation. He sees me looking around, and before I can ask, he clears his throat and gets straight to it. “Sebastiano’s tied up with a problem. Three dock workers went missing today. Fishermen found them floating in the river, tied to crates of stolen guns. It’s a real shitshow.”

I raise an eyebrow. That escalated quickly.

“So, Seb’s the one handling it?”

Antonio nods, his face set in grim lines. “Yeah, he’s on it. But we need to lay low for a while. Can’t risk moving weapons until things cool off.”

I nod, taking it in. The timing isn’t great, considering Gio, the Don, is running most of Detroit, and I just kicked off a new venture.Spuntino’s. A food delivery service, at least, that’s what it looks like on paper. In reality, we’re using trucks to move our gun shipments out of Chicago and into our territories.

Antonio catches the shift in my expression and gives me a pointed look. “So, you’ve got a front now?”

A slow smirk pulls at my lips. “Exactly. Why not use a legal business to support our other interests?”

Antonio leans back, arms crossing over his chest, and for the first time tonight, his expression shifts intosomething satisfied. “Smart move,” he says with a nod. “Keeps us under the radar while we keep the wheels turning.”

“Glad you think so.” I push off the desk, ready to wrap things up. “I’ll keep my head down until this blows over. Once the heat dies down, we’ll get everything back on track.” Just as I turn to leave, Antonio’s phone rings, stopping me in my tracks.

The second I hear Seb’s voice booming through the receiver, the hair on the back of my neck stands up.

“Mia’s gone.”

8

Alessio

I ride in silence with Kota, Antonio, and Aldo to the abandoned warehouse by the docks. The swoosh from the air conditioner is the only sound in the SUV. No one speaks, we know why we’re here.

Seb’s cousin, Nico, kidnapped Seb’s wife and is holding her for ransom. This isn’t personal, it’s business. And he’s about to learn that the hard way. When we pull up, our men are already in position, at least a dozen outside, armed and waiting to ambush the warehouse. We’re waiting for confirmation that Seb’s wife is safe before we unleash hell. I stand near the door, watching everything going down inside, while we wait for the signal. Seconds drag, stretching into something that feels like fucking hours.

Through the doorway, I spot Seb, his jaw locked tight, eyes dark and burning as they stay locked on his aunt Rinna, Nico’s mom, the bitch behind this mess. She’sbeen the mastermind behind every bit of the bullshit in Chicago. Had Roman playing chef in Seb’s kitchen just to spy on him, started screwing with his deliveries at the docks, and got his men killed. She set up her own nephew, her own blood, just so her golden boy could take over the Chicago territory.

Rinna stands with a gun pressed to his wife’s head; her expression is deadly cold and pure fucking evil. That alone earns her a bullet to the head, in my book. Her grip doesn’t shake, her finger hovering too close to the trigger, like she’s itching for an excuse to pull it.

Off to the left, Nico is unraveling. He shouts so loud, his voice starts to crack while he barks orders at thestunadRoman. The idiot he planned this mess with. Looks like their partnership is already crumbling. Good, it makes it easier for me to tear it apart.

But my focus stays on Rinna. Her finger twitches on the trigger, still hovering too damn close. One wrong move, and this whole thing turns ugly fast. My grip tightens around my gun, still secured in my belt, but ready to go the second I need it. And I’m going to need it.

We’re not waiting much longer, that much is fucking clear.

Then Mia’s eyes lock onto Seb’s. Something flickers between them, it’s quick, but gone before I can place it. And then—she moves. Fast.

She ducks out of Rinna’s line of fire, pulling a knife from God knows where, and right before Rinna can react, Mia drives the knife straight into her shoulder. The blade sinks deep, and a sickening tear of flesh and fabric hits my ears. And for a split second, the whole room freezes.

Rinna’s eyes widen, her mouth dropping open as blood seeps through her shirt, staining the fabric red. She barely registers the pain before Mia bolts toward Sebastiano.

“You’re gonna pay for this, you little whore!” Rinna shrieks, her gun swings back toward Mia, finger tightening on the trigger. I give Kota a nod and move toward the door. Shit’s about to go down.

Then, a gunshot rips through the warehouse. A scream follows, then more shots explode like rapid fire. It’s a chain reaction of pure fucking chaos from all angles, as Seb and Antonio’s men swarm in. Seb steps in front of Mia, taking a bullet meant for her, and drops to the ground.

For a split second, I think he’s done for, but then he pulls his gun, eyes blazing with fury, and unloads his entire clip into Rinna. Every single shot hits. She doesn’t get back up.

Mia drops to his side, sobbing. “Bash, are you okay?”

It’s just a shoulder wound, I think. He’s fine- it’s nothing serious.But Mia doesn’t see that. All she sees is her husband bleeding on the floor.

Seb grits his teeth, trying to downplay it. “Never fucking better,Piccolina.” Before I can say a word, the entire warehouse explodes into a damn war zone. Men flood in from every direction, gunfire roaring from every angle.

But my focus zeroes in on thestupido pezzo di merdawho fucked with my money, by fucking with Seb’s shipments. Shipments of weapons that keep our allies happy, our enemies nervous, and our pockets full. Someone who steals from him steals from me.

---