Page 2 of Odin

It wasn't hard to figure out why Luca Carazzo had been the last in his class at the academy. I checked the tracker one last time before I left the suite, but the fucker was still on a straight path. He wasn't even trying to conceal his whereabouts. Was he that stupid, or did he really think these people would protect him? The person who had believed Carazzo would excel as an undercover cop should have quit immediately and then been shot for good measure.

The hotel was on the shores of Lake Michigan in a ritzy, up-and-coming area. However, if you walked a mile or so, the neighborhood drastically changed. I cut him off at the pass and waited in the shadows until he was in front of me. He should have known he was being followed, but he had his head buried in his phone. Not paying attention would get him killed faster. Stupid fucker. I could have slit his throat, dropped his body into the lake, and no one would have been the wiser.

He walked down a row of shipping containers, and I followed at a distance. No one came down to the yards unless they actually worked there or they were up to no good. It was clear which one Carazzo was. He reached the end of the row and stopped underneath the light, still focused on his phone. Hecould have seen my shadow, or at least my silhouette, if he had turned around. I tucked in between two of the shipping containers and waited. From here, I could see anything in the light, and I was pretty sure any voices would echo.

Crouching in between the containers, I watched as a shadow approached Carazzo from the opposite direction. Would I get lucky twice? I had a habit of being at the right place at the right time.

“Did anyone follow you here?” I didn't recognize the voice.

I almost stepped out and raised my hand. Hello, motherfuckers!

“No, they all retired to their rooms.” Carazzo was facing the direction of the shadow.

I listened intently as their voices echoed in the silence. I couldn't place the second voice, but I knew it wasn't anyone who'd been at the wedding. It was too deep and had a bit of a wheeze. Dude was probably smoking two packs a day. Minimum.

"Did you get anything useful?" the voice sounded from the void, but it held a tinge of disappointment.

“Nothing that we can use. No one talked business within my earshot, and anytime I approached anyone, they immediately changed the subject.”

I shook my head at the sheer stupidity of this. You earned your rank, and with a promotion were given access to more information. Carazzo was a soldier and hanging out with Sergio Lombdaro, the don's grandson, wasn't earning him any street cred. It was ridiculous that he thought anyone would give him the keys to the castle when they had just been raided. In fact, they should have been tightening the reins.

"Now what? We need information in order to raid and make it stick this time." There was a wheeze, followed by a slight cough.

The shadow walked towards the cop, the heels of his shoes clicking against the concrete. As he approached the light, I could make out the beginnings of a man with his arms folded over his chest. His fingers were tapping out a rhythm against his arm. The dark slowly dissipated as the figure became fully submerged in the light, revealing the chief of police.

“The bitch married a De Angelis Deviant. It’s going to be harder now to get through to her.” Carazzo put his phone in his pocket and crossed his arms, mirroring the chief.

Damn straight, it would be. Where Serena was concerned, there was a plan with back-up plans in place to guarantee her safety. The first thing I was going to do tomorrow was fire her Lombardo security. She'd be under Deviant protection from now on, and I had handpicked her guards for when I wasn't available.

“You’re going to have to get through to her. We need something. I am sure she doesn’t want her new husband to know that she’s not a virgin.” They both smirked at that.

I had to tamp down my anger before I started shooting. I could make them disappear, but there would be way too many questions right now. I’d get revenge in Serena’s name. It was only a matter of time before the promise became a reality.

“Think you can corner her again?” the chief asked. His fingers still tapping out a rhythm only he knew on his forearm.

Seriously? This was why I never trusted cops, even before I had become a Deviant. They were supposed to protect the innocent, and yet, they were just as crooked as some of the mafia.

“I don’t know,” Carazzo responded. His voice rang out with a hint of honesty. It was the first smart thing he'd said in this conversation. “It’ll depend on her guards. The Lombardo guards are lazy and never do their patrols. That’s how it was so easy to approach her the first time.”

It was the truth, and I felt myself nodding my head in agreement. The guards all took a break at one in the morning. It was how I'd been able to sneak into Serena's room every night for six weeks. No one had been around for a good hour, and they had relied heavily on manpower. The Lombardos had been complacent over the years. They had never updated their security to get with the times. The cameras were only in strategic places, and there was no alarm system that ran on the outside of the .

“It’s an arranged marriage, so it could go either way. If they keep the Lombardo guards, I'll have access to her. I told them she's in love with me, and that she's only going through with the marriage to keep her family from knowing about us. Since she's heavy, they bought it. I'll be able to remind her of what she stands to lose."

“Good. Work that angle, but she needs to come through. All the documents you’ve gotten from her are pro forma invoices for their shipments. That's how they get away with importing contraband. They don't actually create the real invoices until the shipment transfers from seller to buyer. We need to get our hands on one of those.” The chief unfolded his arms and ran a hand through his hair in agitation.

"That’s my girl," I silently praised her.

“I know. What about Giuseppe? He’s losing it.” The cop shifted his weight to his toes so that he lightly bounced side-to-side.

“Is he still keeping the four mistresses?”

“As far as I know, yes. He has to own stock in Viagra to get it up. Lorenzo is trying to keep the family running, but he's being met with opposition at every turn. The Old Man doesn't want to fade into the night. We get an order from the son, and the next minute, it’s being reversed.”

“Keep working that. The longer you're there, the more loyalty you'll earn. Eventually, Lorenzo will have to ask you for a showof faith to the family. It'll be a direct order, and we'll have them. I want Giuseppe, but I’ll take Lorenzo. It’ll be even sweeter if it comes from Serena.”

“What about the Greeks?”

“What about them?” The chief's tone sounded as if he didn't want to entertain anything else. It was the Lombardos or nothing. You would think he'd want to nail any mafia organization he could.

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