Page 107 of Little Deer
I don’t know if it’s the best idea, but I don’t see any other option. I also don’t want to be around all these bodies. I want Massimo and I need him to tell me this is all over.
49
MASSIMO
“Fuck,”I hiss, the bullet grazing my arm even as I fire again, hitting the soldier running at me, screaming. Why the fuck do they do that shit? Why do they want me to know where they are to kill them? Unless that’s their bright way of announcing they want to die.
With this group, who the fuck knows?
Alonzo and I continue to make our way through the waves of men coming at us. Sweat drips down my body, my ears ring from all the shots sounding around me, and my heart pounds hard in my chest.
“On your six,” Alonzo snaps, and I round, already firing at the Russian coming up behind me. Fuck, Ivan clearly had his men trained well because I didn’t even sense him. That or I’m getting fucking tired and that can’t happen. Tired could mean death and I have far more to live for now than before.
Lucy and Soren need me. So I’ll keep going.
“Where the fuck do they all keep coming from?” Alonzo snarls as he comes up behind me, already lifting his arm to fire at another few men that come down a side hallway toward us. “And how are they getting into the fucking house?”
“I just don’t know who I’m fucking firing at,” I grunt, ducking down again behind one of the ugly statues that seem to line Nico’s house in the weirdest spots. “Any word from the others?”
“Alessio and Lazaro have been holding off the men trying to get into the north end. Marco’s men, and he’s with them. No sign of Sinead, though. The others are still fighting Giovanni and Ivan’s men at the front. No sign of Orlando yet.”
Fuck, that won’t be good. I don’t like the idea of not knowing where that fucker is, considering how he’s been handling this entire situation. “And what about Nico and Dante? Have they figured everything out with Esposito and Leonardo?”
“Haven’t heard, but they were heading into the passages. Fuck!” He shoots again, firing rapidly at the soldiers still running down the hall toward us.
“We need to get down the hallways,” I yell to Alonzo. “Stop them before they can even get their asses up here. Figure out how they’re getting in.” Alonzo nods, face set, ready.
“Go!” he barks after taking out two more men.
We’re up and moving, in a practiced formation that we’ve been doing together for years. We make our way down the hall, fast, taking out men as we go. Before we reach the end of the hall, around a blind corner, I stop and grab one of the guns of the dead men, checking it to make sure that it’s got enough to keep going.
Thank fuck these bastards came prepared. Lazaro does that same, and we keep moving. Our breathing is steady, our steps even and cautious.
When we round the corner, there are only a couple more men, and I see them emerging from the kitchen. “Staff exit,”Lazaro murmurs. “Someone must have either broken down the door or let them in.”
I nod, and we make our way down. I hold up my hand for us to stop though when I hear the voices. Hushed, hurried, angry.
“Hurry the fuck up. We don’t have a lot of fucking time,” one of them hisses.
“Shut the fuck up, boy, or I’ll kill you the minute this is over,” the other hisses back, infuriated.
“If you’d have fucking listened to me in the first fucking place, we’d already be in and in the secret room,” the other snaps. “I told you Ivan was a coward. Where is he? Back in his house like some kind of fucking king and leaving us to do the work he fucking promised he would handle.”
“We’ll deal with him as soon as this is all done. Then we need to find that fucking assassin you hired. Where the fuck are they?”
“They’re here. Ivan keeps denying anything about them, but I know they wouldn’t want to miss out on something like this. Especially with the money and connections I promised them.”
“You mean,Ipromised them. This will all be mine after this is done, don’t fucking forget that, boy.”
I glance at Alonzo. Looks like we know where Giovanni and Orlando are now. We slink back into the shadows, waiting. We have to time this right. If we want them alive, we have to be careful. As much as I would love to just kill them now, we need them for information.
Though, in truth, the only one I care about getting information out of is Orlando. Giovanni isn’t the one running this show. He might think he is, but it’s all there. He’s slipping, and he’s grasping to try and stay on top.
“That stupid fucker Marco had to try and fuck us over and horn in on our attack,” Giovanni gripes, their voice getting closer. “At least he’s fucking useful for once. Keeps themoccupied. And we get rid of more of those Russian fuckers. The less that goes back to Ivan the better.”
“Would you shut up?” Orlando hisses. “We’re trying to sneak in, not announce our presence.”
They walk through the door, and we step out, guns up and aiming at them. They freeze, Orlando’s expression turning furious, while Giovanni’s turns to stone.
