Total pages in book: 52
Estimated words: 48585 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 243(@200wpm)___ 194(@250wpm)___ 162(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 48585 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 243(@200wpm)___ 194(@250wpm)___ 162(@300wpm)
“Hang on a second,” I say as I shift my anger to a keen focus on the escalating situation. “Leonardo is back in Vegas?”
“Yeah, of course he is. You didn’t think he was going to stay in Italy after that botched wedding, did you? He’s been back for a while and just been lying low. Angelo has been lying low too, but my sources could track him to several meetings with Leonardo and the Conti crew this past week. They’re up to something.”
“What are the meetings about?” I ask. “Can any of your sources get inside or get close enough to hear what’s being said?”
“No. But one guy heard Angelo talking at the bar last night. He wasn’t able to get a lot of details, but whatever they’re up to, it’s big.”
“How do you know?”
“Because,” Gabriel says as he lowers his voice to a hush. “I’ve never seen my sources shaken before, but this time, my bartender friend could barely get the sentence out. He stated that Barone’s entire crew was heavily armed, and the whispers now carry a different tone.”
“What kind of vibe?” I ask. “I don’t want to go basing my next actions on rumors and vibes. Gabriel, I need to know specifics.”
“Well, I don’t have specifics,” he grunts. “You try being an informant to the mafia and see how well it plays out for you. Listen, Luc, I’m telling you that things are bad. Whatever Leonardo is planning, it will not be good. You need to notify Vincent.”
“No, I can handle this on my own.”
“I think that’s a mistake,” he insists.
In all the years that Gabriel has been feeding me confidential information, he’s never once questioned me or my methods on handling things. This is a first, and it doesn’t sit well with me at all.
“Are you questioning my ability to handle things in Vincent’s absence?” I asked him point-blank. I sense Gabriel’s sudden conflict, and considering my long history of trusting him as a reliable spy, I expect a new, unexpected conflict between us.
“I think you can handle yourself just fine,” he says with a sigh. “And I think you can protect Valentina just fine, too. But what I worry about, Luc, if I’m to be straight with you—is that the joint force of both the Barone and the Conti crew coming at our guys will be too much for any of us to handle. I think Vincent deserves to know. He’s the Don, after all, and this is going to explode in front of his face. If you don’t notify him, then I will.”
It's the first time that Gabriel has ever challenged my position on how to handle something, and the first time that he has ever threatened to betray our confidence. I can’t tell whether he’s doing it out of a sort of noble attempt to save me from what might be my own clouded judgment, or whether he’s got his own interests in mind. Either way, I don’t like it. That said, Gabriel is probably right—it’s time for me to let Vincent know what is going on here in Vegas.
CHAPTER 11
LUC
Before I can make it out of the casino bar and back up to the hotel suite to talk with Valentina and call Vincent, all hell breaks loose.
Several of our men come rushing into the bar at once, two of them bloodied and one with a frantic look on his face.
“Luciano! There’s been a strike at the new casino!” Alonzo shouts as he races through the door towards me. “It’s bad—the whole place is torched.”
This is exactly the thing I feared—that Leonardo would take out his revenge on the entire family instead of just me. I pull out my phone to dial Vincent now because this simply can’t wait any longer. But before I can even place the call, the men inform me that Vincent is already on his way back from Italy.
“We called the boss as soon as it happened,” he says. “He and Isla are already on a plane heading this way.”
Great, now not only do I get to deal with my cousin’s fury over his newest casino being torched, but I also get to deal with explaining to him in person about how The Barone and Conti families are now teaming up against us.
I get in the car with Alonzo to head back to the new casino and assess the damage. As soon as the building comes into view, it’s clear that Leonardo’s retaliation was a brutal one.
“Holy shit,” I whisper under my breath as we pull up in front of the still flaming building. The fire has destroyed the entire casino. There are small fires still smoldering that the fire department is trying to put out. The fire blew out all the window glass, charred the casino’s walls, and destroyed everything inside.