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Giovanni nods his head. “They left this.” He slides forward a series of blown-up photos.
“Our intel confirms. The shipment was ambushed by the Cossi family. The cargo ship was stopped at a port but let go a while later. Everything seems normal until one of our men turned up dead and…desecrated.”
I lean forward to look at the image and cringe.
It’s a brutal way to send a message, even for our world. Someone carved out his eyes and nailed his tongue to the wall. He’s still wearing chains.
“This is more than a business deal gone wrong, or territory dispute.” Giovanni pauses, looking to Albert before continuing. “This is personal.”
“I just need to figure out why,” Albert nods.
I rub at my face, annoyed, already piecing together what I believe has happened.
His daughter. Nico mouths and I nod my head.
Great. It’s starting to look like Alec’s theory might be right.
“We need to regroup, figure out our next move,” Albert says. He makes a point of looking at every man.
There’s no doubt in my mind that Albert already has that plan in motion. He rules over our organization with an iron fist and he wouldn’t have called this meeting if he didn’t already have a response ready to go.
“Whoever made this call will pay dearly. It’s a declaration of war. We won’t let this slide. Tell your men – we’re on high alert.”
The men nod and Albert dismisses them.
We may have lost this battle, but the war is only just beginning.
Nico is locked in a whispered conversation with his father. I sit and survey the room, watching as the men chatter among themselves. Giovanni sits mostly by himself. Another red flag.
We have to figure this out. I square my shoulders, my mind racing with plans for retaliation. We will not let the death of any of our men go unavenged.
As everyone starts to filter out, Nico and I hang back.
“Wait here, I have another meeting,” Albert says, mysteriously.
I look over at Nico and he just shrugs. I’m not sure who I was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t Senator Cosa.
He barges into the room just as the last of the men are leaving. His security detail moves around him, watching each of us.
What the fuck is he doing here?
I shove my hands in my pockets and glance over at Nico. He’s glaring at Jimmy Senior.
Most find the Senator to be intimidating. Not only is he a respected politician, but he’s also a large man who radiates a certain comfortability with power. He’s tall, with big hands and an angry scowl that makes him look older than he is.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen Senator Cosa smile, but especially not now.
There’s something in the way he walks over to Albert that tells me something is very, very wrong.
“What’s going on?” Alec whispers.
I just shake my head. “I don’t know.”
The two men step away but remain close enough for us to overhear.
“We can put a stop to it,” Cosa says.
“On one condition?” Albert fills in the blank.
