Page 34 of The Sicilian Bastard
"The Mexican cartel. The X means whoever that was is in the gang, but not in the inner circle. If you see the crown by itself you are dealing with a circle member or someone of high importance. Could be famiglia. Could be rank. We don't want trouble with the Mexicans. They are ruthless." The Don's hands were trembling as he sipped his water.
It dawned on me that Araceli had this on her hip. There was no X. There was nothing but the crown. She had to be a part of the cartel. The question was what part did she play? I couldn't ask her because she didn't know. At least now I knew I couldn't trust her at all. She was putting my family in danger. No matter what these pesky feelings were telling me, she was dangerous.
"I'll be right back." The Don made a move to stand when all hell broke loose.
One minute, we were having a nice lunch. The next, gunshots rained down on us. The Don had been standing in front of me. Before I could shove him aside, he took three hits to the stomach. My men were returning fire as I dragged the Don behind the booth. I stayed back there but shot fire over the top, trying to see how many were on us.
Three out of four of the men whose bodies took a hit were critical. Nicolo was on the floor holding a shirt to his father's wounds. I could tell by the amount of blood pooling underneath the Don that he was a lost cause. He whispered a few phrases in Nicolo's ears and his eyes slid closed. Nicolo let out a pained wail. He jumped over the booth and ran into the fray without one concern about his safety. He didn't even have a weapon drawn. I rushed to follow him out of the restaurant. Agosto had his detail and I trusted them to keep him safe. Nicolo was a wildcard who needed my focus right now.
I stopped in front of the restaurant as Nicolo fell to the ground, taking a bullet to the shoulder. I stood behind him and popped the men in their heads. There were only three bodies left, yet many were involved in the initial hit they'd rolled out fast. I did not doubt that this was the cartel. Two men had crowns on their necks. Each with an X in the center. I made sure to put a bullet between their eyes. No way I was going to let them come into my territory and leave alive. I wished I had left one person alive so we could interrogate them. The only other option was to trigger Araceli. Who knew if that would pan out? I knew nothing about amnesia.
"The Don passed on the floor. We need to make arrangements and head back to the compound." Agosto was behind me with the six men who worked his protection detail.
"We need to find out what the fuck they want and hit back accordingly," I snarled.
Nicolo was weeping on the ground. I wasn't sure if that was due to the gunshot wound in his shoulder or the death of his father. Either way, I texted the dickhead doctor that we would need him back at the compound. Motherfucker dared to get smart with me. He asked if I had hurt my woman again. I don't know what his fascination was with my woman, but he'd better lose it fast before he lost his life.
