Page 300 of Marcello

Niccolo was about to say something, but Dario silenced him by holding up a hand. “We’ll decide that in a minute. First, how do we get into the Amatos’ castle?”

I shook my head. “It’s impossible.”

“Cesare figured out how to do it.”

“Lucrezia figured out how to do it, and it took her years of planning. Not only that, but we snuck in by taking Luciano Amato hostage. You guys don’t have that option.”

“What if we used you as a hostage?” Niccolo asked darkly.

“Cesare would shoot me himself,” I retorted, “and he’d enjoy it.”

Niccolo made a face like he was disappointed.

“What about going in the back of the property?” Adriano asked.

“The gardens are wide open with no cover, and they’ll have guys on lookout. As soon as they see you, they’ll pick you off like sitting ducks.”

Adriano cursed under his breath.

The Swede spoke up. “You said you snuck in by taking Luciano Amato hostage.”

“Yes. He drove the car, and we hid in the backseat and trunk.”

“Can you sneak us in like that? After all, they trust you, right?”

“I mean… yes, they trust me, but you’ve got to realize that we completely blindsided Amato. He and his men weren’t expecting us at all – but Cesare and Lucrezia are expecting you. They know you’re coming. If they even get a whiff of anything unusual, it’s game over. And me trying to sneak you in is going to give them a lot more than just a whiff.”

“Let’s say we do let you go to the stash houses,” Niccolo said. “Once you get back to the mansion, won’t they figure out something’s wrong anyway?”

“How would they do that?”

“You’re working with us now. You’ll act differently.”

I shook my head. “I’ve been lying to them for years, and they still haven’t figured it out. I can handle this.”

“Hrm,” Niccolo grunted – then brightened. “Maybe we should burn the place down – a bit of arson to flush out the rats.”

“NO!” I said in alarm. “Giulietta’s inside! You do that, and I’m not fucking helping you!”

“Relax,” he said sharply, “I was only brainstorming. The fire department would show up if we set fire to the mansion, and we don’t want the local authorities involved, so it wouldn’t work anyway.”

I looked at Niccolo sideways. I didn’t trust the motherfucker at all.

“I have to think of unconventional possibilities,” Niccolo said in exasperation. “We’re not getting in through a frontal assault – the place is a fucking fortress.”

“You’ve been there?” I asked in surprise.

“Years ago. We attended Luciano’s wedding when we were teenagers. Believe me, we know what we’re up against.” Niccolo’s voice turned sarcastic. “I suppose we could hire Wagner to come in and hit them from the air the way they hit us.”

Everyone else in the car glared at him.

“Too soon?” he joked.

“What’s too soon?” I asked, not understanding.

Adriano glared at me. “They fucking blew up our home.”

“…oh.” I paused. “Well, I tried to warn you.”