Page 27 of Devil Among Men

“Charges?” I ask.

“Enough to collapse the structure without leveling half the block. We’re not trying to make headlines. Just cripple the operation quietly enough that it takes Vito time to even realize what happened.”

I study the timeline one final time, running through every contingency, every point where the plan could unravel the way the port did.

This time feels different. Better intel, better planning, a target that doesn’t require walking into a wall of armed men. Still, the memory of Enzo’s death sits heavy enough in the room that nobody’s willing to call this operation simple, not out loud, not with so much riding on getting it right.

“Questions?” I peer around the table.

Nobody has any.

…good. Let’s get this over with.

We arrive minutes after midnight to a dark and empty warehouse, exactly as Renee’s information promised.

“Two guards, north entrance,” Portia radios. “Rotation puts them both at the gate for the next six minutes. That’s your window.”

“Copy.” I signal Maurizio and the others forward, moving fast across the open lot toward the service entrance Renee flagged as least monitored.

We breach the door quietly, Maurizio disabling the alarm system with practiced ease while Dario and the other soldier fan out to secure the perimeter. Inside, the warehouse smells like diesel and cardboard, rows of shipping containers stacked high enough to swallow the beam of my flashlight entirely.

“Office is in the back left corner,” Portia says. “Renee’s old badge should still work on the door, assuming they haven’t updated the system.”

It does. The lock clicks open on the first try, and we’re inside a cramped office lined with filing cabinets and an outdated computer system that looks decades behind whatever Vito’s actually running his empire on now.

I jut my chin at Dario. “Start pulling files. Everything with the shell company names Portia flagged.”

Maurizio works the safe while I keep watch, tension coiling tight in my chest despite Portia’s steady updates confirming the guards haven’t moved. The safe clicks open a few minutes later, revealing stacks of cash bundled tight, more money than I expected sitting in a warehouse this unassuming.

“Take it all,” I say. “And plant the charges. We’re done here in five minutes.”

We work fast yet methodically, adrenaline pumping hard through our veins.

Dario finishes with the files, stuffing folders into a duffel bag while Maurizio sets the explosives along the warehouse’s support structure, enough to cripple the building without drawing more attention than necessary. My hands stay steady even as my heart hammers against my ribs; old instinct overriding whatever fear tries to surface in a moment like this.

A radio crackles somewhere near the front gate, faint enough it might be nothing. I freeze, listening closely, every muscle coiled and ready.

“Portia,” I whisper into my own radio. “Status?”

“Guards still holding position at the gate. That crackle was just them radio checking in with the next shift,” she explains. “You’re still clear. Hurry, though. The next rotation starts soon.”

I exhale slowly, nodding to Maurizio to keep working. Dario zips the duffel bag closed, slinging it over his shoulder, sweat beading along his hairline despite the cool night air inside the warehouse.

“Guards still holding position,” Portia radios. “You’ve got maybe ninety seconds before rotation shifts.”

“Copy. Moving now.”

We clear the building with seconds to spare, the explosion lighting up the night sky behind us as we pile into the waiting car, adrenaline and relief crashing through me in equal measure.

“Good hit,” Maurizio pants. “No casualties. No firefight. Exactly how it should have gone at the port.”

I glance back at the warehouse burning behind us, satisfaction spreading through my chest. “Portia,” I say into the radio. “We’re clear. Heading back now.”

Portia’s on the balcony when we finally make it back. The second I’m within reach, she’s in my arms, her mouth finding mine before either of us says a word.

“You did it,” she breathes between kisses. “We did it.”

“We did. Together, dolcezza.” I pull her closer, adrenaline still coursing hot through my veins. “Your intel was perfect. Every step.”