Page 65 of Niccolo

“You’re welcome,” he said and abruptly hung up the call.

Aurelio shook his head. “You think awoman’sgoing to kill them if a Turkish gangster can’t?Riiiiight.”

Fucking asshole.

Ofcoursehe would think a man could finish the job… and that a woman couldn’t.

But I kept my thoughts to myself.

Instead, I retorted, “Always have a Plan B.”

Fausto nodded sagely. “Spoken like a trueconsigliere.”

Aurelio didn’t like that. He glared at me and said, “Ten grand says the Turk kills them all.”

“That’s it?” I asked. “Just that he kills them – not that the servant woman has to shoot anybody?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll take that bet.”

I figured I would either make an extra ten thousand…

Or my job would come to an end, and I would get to claim my ten million.

Either way, a win/win for me.

As it turned out, Aurelio ended up owing me 10,000 euros.

It took a while to collect, though.

27

Nothingwent according to plan.

NOTHING.

First off, it took Alessandradaysto escape.

The old Sicilian woman managed to get her out through the secret tunnel, yes –

But Dario intervened before the Turk could arrive to snatch her up.

Dario thrashed the two operatives who were lying in wait – a defrocked priest and some random thug.

Unexpectedly, though, both the priest and the thug committed suicide rather than let themselves be taken captive.

“You’re joking,” I said in disbelief.

“Cyanide pills,” Fausto confirmed.

“Why?!”

“The Oldanis are old-schoolCosa Nostra. If their men are taken captive, they know it’s better to die than talk… because if they talk, the Oldanis will negotiate for their release and then torture them to death themselves. Forweeks.”

I shuddered.

I was finally beginning to understand the kind of people I’d joined forces with.

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