Page 32 of The Sicilian's Obsession
I had had enough of his sob story. The only person I felt bad for in this scenario was Katima and maybe her dead mom. I didn't have all the facts and didn't have enough time for anything but a brief summary. Her mom may not have even known what her husband did for a living. Either way, he must be the luckiest son of a bitch, because I have never seen someone get away from the mafia unscathed. Unless this rogue hitman was working under orders to take Katima, and whoever was Charles' contact had lied to him. I motioned for Jake to follow me out of the building, so we could speak privately.
"You are thinking what I'm thinking?" I asked him.
"That Charles is a fucking idiot? Yeah, boss." This was why I had Jake. We were always on the same wavelength.
"Let's work both angles. Our top priority is to find Katima." Hopefully alive, was the part I left off. I didn't want to think about that. I couldn't even wrap my mind around losing her right now. I should've dug deeper into her past. I should've forced Charles to give me all the information. I messed up. Again. I can't dwell on the past. Not until I've gotten Katima back safely. Brendan came running up to me outside, out of breath. He usually was when he was working hard.
"We've got something on Rebecca." He motioned me to follow him into the conference room he and his team had taken over. "I got back some of the money she was getting, and it's mafia. It took forever to track, but they have a complex outside of Philadelphia. How do you want to proceed?"
"We can't just storm the complex, especially if this guy is a rogue. The last thing I want is for the mafia to be hunting for us, but I have a contact I think I can use. I just hope it won't take too long to set up a meeting." I motioned Jake to come into the room. "I have to hit some of our darker guys, and I need you to keep clean just in case. So, head back to HQ and try to organize everyone from there." Jake was my front man in case anything went sideways on a mission. If I got caught doing something illegal, Jake would be able to keep the company running until I came back. It was one of the reasons we worked so well together, and we had been through a lot.
"Roger that, boss man." Jake headed out, taking some of the team we wouldn't be able to use. Now that we knew mafia was a part of this, I needed to get my contacts in order.
"Brendan, see if you can find out the family name and which boss we are dealing with. In the meantime, everyone try to locate traffic cams of Rebecca driving with Katima. I'm assuming the guy who helped her was a lower level goon. No way this hitman came to do the heavy lifting, especially if there was any room for failure. He wouldn't want to get caught. So, he probably had them bring Katima to him." I was spit balling here, but most of my work was done by going with my instinct. It hadn't steered me wrong yet. I went back to Charles, who was still sitting brokenly on the floor, all choked up, like he didn't get his only daughter dragged into a world she didn't understand.
"Who did you work for, Charles?" I was past the point of polite. I felt like I was the only one who cared about Katima, the only one looking out for her well-being. It certainly wasn't Charles.
"I can't tell you that. If I do, they'll kill me." His anguished whisper echoed in the empty office.
"If you don't tell me, I'll kill you." I didn't even hesitate.
"Why, what does it matter to you? I hired you for a job, and it went sideways. You don't have to go above and beyond." He tilted his head up at me, his eyes seeing entirely too much.
"This isn't for you. If it were up to me, I would deliver you on a silver platter. You don't deserve her, and when I get to her, I'm going to make it my life's mission to keep her happy and you away from her." I blinked at him in surprise. I hadn't meant to tell him anything about Katima and me. He didn't deserve to know. He wasn't worth a millimeter compared to Katima. She was everything. It shocked me that I felt so strongly for her, but I knew it was right.
"You're right. I don't deserve her. I didn't even deserve her mother," he mumbled to himself. "Picone. The Picone family." He sagged even further into himself. I was livid. The Picone family was one you didn't mess with at all. They were one of the largest mafia families in the state of Pennsylvania. Not only had he screwed them over, but they may also have Katima. How was I going to get her away from them?
"And the rogue hitman?" May as well get everything out in the open.
"Luciano Picone, bastard son of the boss, Giuseppe Picone."
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. This was way worse. Worst case scenario, there was no doubt about it. We were going to war, and it wasn't going to end well at all.
I went to the glove compartment in my truck and pulled out my burner phone. There was only one man I knew who could help me in this situation, but honestly, I'd prayed I wouldn't have to contact him. My finger hovered over the green call button. I hesitated to execute this move. I blew out a stressed breath and pressed call, knowing our lives could be irrevocably changed forever.
