Chapter 14
Don Greco’s bodyguards raised their weapons, but they were entirely paralyzed by the sheer, overwhelming force of the Marconi operatives aiming a dozen rifles directly at their heads.
"Drop them," Raffaele commanded, his voice a low, vibrating hum of absolute danger. "Or I execute the Don right now, and you die for a man who has already lost his empire."
The bodyguards hesitated for a fraction of a second before slowly lowering their weapons and dropping them onto the carpeted stairs.
"Secure them," Raffaele ordered Vincent.
As the guards were zip-tied and dragged away, Raffaele walked slowly up the stairs. His polished shoes stepped over the bodies of the fallen soldiers. He reached the landing and stopped just inches from Don Greco. The older man was trembling violently, his arrogant bravado completely shattered.
"Where is she?" Raffaele asked, spacing his words perfectly, keeping his volume barely above a whisper.
"Victoria... Victoria isn't here," Greco stammered, backing away until he hit the mahogany railing. "I swear, Raffaele! When she called and told me she failed, I told her not to come here! I told her you would follow her!"
Raffaele’s dark, intimidating eyes narrowed into lethal slits. "You sent your sister into my home to gather intelligence so you could steal my ports. You allowed her to put her hands on my three-year-old son. And now you tell me you abandoned her when she failed?"
"She was a liability!" Greco cried out, sweat pouring down his rosy face. "She was supposed to secure the marriage, not abuse the kid! It was her fault!"
Raffaele reached out, his tattooed hand clamping down onto Greco's throat with terrifying speed. He slammed the old Mafia boss against the wall, lifting him slightly off his toes.
"Where is she?" Raffaele repeated, his voice dropping into a register of apocalyptic fury.
Greco gasped for air, his hands clawing uselessly at Raffaele's iron grip. "The safe house!" he choked out. "The safe house in the North Woods! Fifty miles outside the city! She's hiding there!"
Raffaele stared into Greco's terrified eyes for a long moment, verifying the truth. He slowly released his grip, letting the old man slump to the floor, gasping for breath.
"Vincent," Raffaele called out, turning his back on the defeated Don. "Burn the compound. Leave Greco alive to watch it burn."
May you like
"With pleasure, Boss," Vincent grinned.
Raffaele walked back down the stairs, his mind already shifting to the next target. The war with the Greco family was over. Now, it was time to collect the woman who had dared to touch his son.
