Page 58
I'm not about to walk into their fucking trap without knowing what's waiting for us.
We leave Manhattan in one of our surveillance vans, with Marco and the twins working from the equipment installed in the back. I sit beside Enzo, watching the screens as we make our way through the Midtown Tunnel and onto the Long Island Expressway. One of the monitors displays our route, while the others show different views of the Falcos' property.
Every so often, one of the men speaks into his headset to relay information to the others. My phone keeps vibrating with updates from the subleaders, but I barely pay attention to anything that doesn't concern Alexander.
“Any sign of him?” I ask Marco.
“Not yet. We're still checking the footage.”
“Find him.”
Marco nods and returns his attention to the monitors.
He tells me not to come, the stubborn little fool, even though he can barely keep his head up. He's more worried about me walking into an ambush than he is about what those bastards might do to him.
I tighten my grip on my phone, forcing myself to put it down before I break another one. I've already destroyed my old phone when I hear him cry out. But whatever the Falcos think they're going to achieve by taking Alexander, they've made a serious fucking mistake.
They want Antonio Scalera to come to them, and I'm more than happy to oblige.
I know their beef is with me, but the more time that passes without Alexander by my side, the more agitated I become. By the time we reach the Pine Barrens, I'm ready to tear the entire fucking place apart. We park the van a short distance from the property, beside the buses that brought our men. They've already spread out and taken their positions around the area, waiting for my signal. My cousins leave the van as well, armed and ready, but I make my way toward the main gate alone, just as Francesco instructed.
Two armed men are standing on the other side, watching me approach. One of them speaks into his radio before the metal gate slowly slides open. I haven’t made it through the entrance when the first shots ring out. The man closest to me drops as I draw my gun and put two bullets into the chest of the second. Almost immediately, the entire compound erupts in gunfire as my cousins and our men open fire on the Falcos.
Bullets tear through the air, striking the walls and the metal gate as the men stationed around the property scramble to return fire. I move away from the entrance, firing at a bastard who comes running out of the building with an automatic rifle. He goes down, but more men pour out behind him, and the gunfire becomes so intense that I can barely hear the orders being shouted over our radios.
Enzo comes through the gate with his rifle raised, firing at two men who are shooting at us from behind a parked vehicle. One of them falls while the other tries to run for the building. Enzo puts him down before he makes it to the door.
To my left, Raffaele and Carmine are advancing with several of our men, their automatic weapons cutting through the Falcos as they try to hold their ground. Carmine takes a bullet to his vest but barely stumbles before returning fire and Raffaele guns down the bastard who shot him.
“Carmine!” I shout.
“I'm fine. Go get Alexander!”
I turn just as another man appears from behind the building and I put a bullet through his head before he can fire. The smell of gunpowder fills the air, and the ground is soon littered with spent casings. Everywhere I look, men are firing, shouting, or trying to find somewhere to hide from the constant barrage of bullets.
Marco joins us with the rest of our men, his rifle pressed against his shoulder as he fires at a group of Falcos attempting to fight their way toward the gate. Two of them go down, and the remaining men retreat, only to be met by Enzo and his men.
The fuckers clearly weren't expecting me to bring an army.
One of our men goes down a few feet from me, and another is hit while trying to reach him. I curse under my breath as I see two more of our men drag the injured one out of the line of fire, but there's nothing I can do for the man lying motionless on the ground.
I make a mental note of his face before turning my attention back to the men shooting at us. The Falcos are losing ground, and with every passing minute, their numbers grow smaller. Some try to retreat into the buildings, while others keep firing until they're cut down by our men.
One of the Falcos throws his weapon aside and raises his hands when he realizes he's surrounded. “Please, I surrender!” he shouts.
I don't even slow down as I put a bullet in his chest.
He should have thought about surrendering before he decided to involve himself in kidnapping my man.
The gunfight continues for several more minutes, but the Falcos are no match for us. By the time the last shots die down, the compound is a fucking bloodbath, with bodies scattered across the grounds and blood staining the floor. We've lost a few good men ourselves, and I order the others to see to the wounded and account for everyone. I'll make sure the families of those we've lost are taken care of, but right now, there's only one person on my mind.
Alexander.
“Find Francesco and Cosimo,” I tell my cousins. “I want those two bastards alive.”
Enzo nods and signals for some of our men to follow him, while I head toward the building. I've wasted enough fucking time getting here, and I have no intention of spending another minute without knowing where Alexander is.
I barge into the right wing of the building, shooting everyone who gets in my way. I'm approaching a set of heavy black doors when Cosimo Giuliani suddenly comes running out of it. He stops when he sees me, and we raise our guns at almost the same time. He pulls the trigger first, but all I hear is an empty click.
