L O R E N Z O
My feet kissed the ground as I ran, the wind colliding with me like the waves against the shore. I didn't care about how long I'd been running, all I cared about was getting rid of the anger inside me before it annihilated me. Emotions were the fraudulent bastards I didn't need. Nothing could cross a man better than the duplicitous mutiny of his own head. It was a known fact that anything that touched the sky must taste the dust, but that wouldn't be me today.
Feeling an incandescent hatred for the motherfucker fucking with me, I increased my pace, running with more fervor, trying to shake the sudden surge of emotions. This shit had to stop, especially since Florence was now recovering from the impacts of a boundlessly tremendous explosion that took out one of my warehouses. It was perpetually terrifying that he barely made it through, but still, I was grateful he ended up in a hospital, and not dead. I supposed it came with living on the fucking edge of the knife, but it surprised me how suddenly someone had the balls to fuck with the Santini clan.
Courage was a misunderstood concept, too much of it was insanity, and uncontrolled moves have often drowned empires.
Having no intention to burn in the fire of my making, I directed my thoughts towards the potential suspects in this unseasonably perilous affair, however, it did nothing to ease my reservations or the monstrous anger burning inside me. Accardi's profound hatred for discretion had caught up to him, and now he was behind bars, awaiting trial. It was no lie that his men were out of control, and his absence had only allowed them to go feral with no repercussions, with the exception of a handful loyal ones.
Ricci had also walked down the road I'd expected he would. Putting too many made men in handcuffs had made him arrogant, and he'd started making mistakes. It was no secret that I'd been playing this traitorous game far longer than he could ever dream of, and unlike him, I knew better than losing my guard. I wouldn't bother with Ricci, soon enough he was going to be a victim of an unfortunate disaster anyway.
The unusual shortness of breath and the shivers in my legs reminded me that I was still running on the paved floor. Sweat trickled down my temple, reminding me that I was also human—one who needed rest, one who was as manipulative as the people he claimed to hate, and one who was hypocritical as anyone else. Halting my steps, I took off my wet shirt, placed my hands on my knees as I tried to calm my erratic breathing. A slow-moving SUV entered my peripheral vision, and I straightened, reaching for my Glock.
A killer wouldn't wait, he'd pull the trigger in a fraction of a second, so you'd better be ready to kill or have a grave ready for yourself.
Those were the words I'd been hearing all my life, and I lived by them, so I squinted my eyes and aimed. Taking a brief second to eye the plate of the car made me realize that it was one of mine. It was only then that I dropped my gun, turned the safety back on, and put it back in its place as I started jogging towards the car. I stood next to the passenger window just as Luca lowered it, and I leaned down, placing my forearms on the door.
"You were supposed to be at the hospital with the others, when did you decide you were going to follow me here?" I arched my brow, wiping the sweat off with the side of my hand.
"Since Florence woke up, and I caught the fuckers spying." Fuck, now I almost regretted exhausting myself, but nothing would stop me from serving their retributive justice. "The explosion was caused by dynamite—"
"The motherfuckers were in the vicinity of the warehouse." I clenched my jaw, realization dawning on me.
"Yeah," Luca nodded, "Milan is working on getting the footage, won't be more than a few hours. Alessandro refused to get treatment since he got off the hook for the most part." He chuckled, shaking his head at Alessandro, and I joined in, wondering why Florence had been quiet about the treatment.
"Fuck, it's going to be another long day," I mumbled, took a step back, opened the door, and got seated.
"Please tell me we are going home first," Luca eyed me as he ignited the engine, and turned his head towards the road.
"Obviously," I rolled my eyes, pointing at my half-naked body.
"Good because you fucking stink."
"I really needed that information,"
Finally feeling slightly optimistic after days, I leaned my head against the seat, closing my eyes for a minute, gleeful that I was a step closer to getting my hands on the opportunist bastard running the show, already knowing that I would fucking cherish the cracking of his bones breaking, and the sizzling of his melting flesh.
I wasn't banished from heaven, but I liked to think I was no less than the devil himself.
I was undoubtedly the shadow that lurked in the night, the soul reaper for assholes like myself. I'd learned to survive by anticipating their moves, and they ended up six feet under by taking my demure about open war as weakness. I survived by anticipating their moves and they died by underestimating me.
Men like me were the darkness that the pretentious bastards like the politicians needed to blame when they indulged in their sinful fantasies. They gambled with the money of the people they were supposed to serve. They lusted for money and as long as their pockets kept overflowing with cash and jewels, they would turn a blind eye.
Heck, they would even sell their souls to the likes of me.
We were the shadows they condemned, the ears that missed no whisper, the eyes that saw all, and the tongues that were tied by an oath— The Omerta.
Luca killed the engine of the car in the driveway of the mansion, and I opened the door, making my way inside in a hurry since I had to fit in a visit to the hospital before taking care of my undercover guests. The very fuckers serving the corrupt bastards who worked for me.
What made them think that they were above me? That they could walk over me?
After a quick shower, I made my way to the walk-in closet, and took my white shirt off the hanger, slipping it over my shoulders, leaving the shirt unbuttoned, I reached for my grey suit, following with my boxer briefs. Finishing dressing up, I stood in front of the floor-length mirror as I brushed my wet hair with my fingers. Picking up my phone from the nightstand on my way out, I made a mental note to give Florence shit about not paying attention. He was supposed to be the master of explosives, he couldn't afford mistakes like these that could very well cost him his life.
* * *
I walked towards the private wing strictly reserved for my family, my shoes tapping against the freshly cleaned, tiled floor of the hospital corridor. As I turned the corner, two of Alessandro's recruits nodded at me, moving away from the door, letting me in. Stepping inside the room, I closed the door behind me and turned to the multiple pairs of eyes on me. Florence was sitting up in the bed, a bandage wrapped around his head, and his left arm, and foot in a cast. Alexandra stayed at Florence's bedside, Roberto was conveniently sitting on a couch in the other corner, and Milan had only stopped pacing a second ago. I returned my eyes to Alexandra's bloodshot ones, already knowing it wasn't from crying, but fury instead. It wouldn't take a genius to know that the only thing on her mind right now was revenge.
"Renzo I don't want to sit back and manage Stelle. I don't care how dangerous it is, you know I can fucking handle it, but I'm not going to sit still and be pretty when I can kill the bastards doing this." She pointed at Florence's lying form, who only shook his head at Alex's outburst. Fucking hell, I couldn't deal with her tantrum with everything else on my plate. Her and Alessio's temper would be the death of me.
"Who do you suggest should take care of your business for you then?"
"Eva can, she won't be in any more danger than when Luca started fucking her,"
"Careful, Alex, that's my wife you're talking about," Luca said warningly, walking further inside the room.
"Luca is right, Alex." I pinched the bridge of my nose, exhaling, "Besides, Eva has a lot on her plate. She has her own business to worry about."
Alexandra sighed, looking at her feet, "I'm sorry, I let my anger get the best of me,"
"Fine by me, stop using your friend to take jabs at me, Alex." Luca shook his head, and turned to Milan, talking with him in hushed whispers, no doubt to piss Alexandra off.
Alexandra still held the shit Luca put Eva through in their relationship against him, it surprised me because she was the one who'd helped get his head out of his ass in the first place. She was a devoted friend, but Alexandra didn't know when to let things go, and with the way she continued antagonizing Luca I knew she still held malice against him. Alexandra clenched her fists, her lips curling in distaste, and I knew she was ready to give more shit to Luca.
"Hey, Alex, I know you haven't gotten laid in a while, don't hold it against those of us who do." Finally having enough of being ignored, Roberto felt it necessary to start with Alexandra. I rolled my eyes as he stood up from the couch, and approached me.
"I get laid plenty, Roberto." Alexandra flicked her hair over her shoulder for dramatics, "Besides, last I heard, you were the one who got kicked out. Your flavor of the week Ginevra is it—"
"Come on, Alex, don't be a bitch, you know her name is Guilia." Roberto rolled his eyes, pinching Alexandra's arm, who nudged him away, a smirk playing on her lips.
"Her name is irrelevant. She isn't quite happy with you,"
"Why that's because I dumped her, she was becoming clingy." Roberto chuckled, and I decided I'd had enough of their bullshit.
"Shut up." Their eyes shifted between each other and me, "Both of you, Alex you will be a part of this. And yes you can break as many bones as you want." Her eyes lit up, a sinister smile on her lips, "Now if you don't mind, I'd like to talk to Florence."
"Of course," She walked to the other side of the room, Roberto huffing behind her, and I walked closer to the bed.
"Feeling okay?"
"Been better," He winced, offering me a tight-lipped smile.
"Why the fuck were you in there?"
"I heard footsteps,"
"Fucking hell, Florence." I covered my mouth with my hand, trying to reign my temper.
"It was a setup," Milan mumbled from over my shoulder, and I nodded, thinking upon the potential suspects. Could it be the undercover cops or someone like us?
I couldn't trust that it wasn't the cops, since the police only seemed to follow the law when it suited them.
The door opened, and I turned around only to see Alessandro stepping inside, meeting my gaze, he spoke, "Renzo, we need to take care of those agents." The venom in his voice was unmistakable, and I didn't think I wouldn't be any different if I was talking about those motherfuckers.
"What agents?" Roberto voiced out, looking between all of us, "Fuck, with all of these secrets you'd think I wasn't part of the family."
"You aren't exactly helpful considering your talents end at drugs and women." Alexandra rolled her eyes at Roberto, who gave her a wolfish grin in return.
"At least you admit women like me."
"Shut up, Roberto," Milan snapped, "They are the fuckers who were trying to sell us out to Ricci,"
"Alessandro, you can babysit Roberto and Florence for today, the rest of us will deal with those motherfuckers." I ordered, and turned around to leave, not bothering to listen to anyone's protests. Alessandro was recovering himself, bringing him along wouldn't do him any good, and I didn't need Roberto testing my patience, he was too childish for his own good.
As we stepped out on the asphalt, Luca got behind the wheel, and the rest of us filled in the SUV. The silence in the vehicle was clamorous, and I took that time to center my thoughts on my revenge. It was time to let them know that they fucked with the wrong guy.
"Will you tell me how were those fuckers caught?" Alexandra broke the silence, her curiosity getting the best of her, and I couldn't say I wasn't grateful for it.
"Luca can do the honors," I pointed at him, leaning my head back, waiting for him to start speaking.
"Before the explosion, Renzo came up with a plan to sniff out the rats." He paused for a minute as he turned the corner, "Anyway, while we were to check for wires or any microchips, he also asked us to check for any waves not using our frequencies."
"You expect me to believe you caught them just like that?" Alexandra scoffed,
"No, Alex, they were all given a mission, the wired ones just couldn't keep it to themselves long enough, they're unconscious at one of the ships at the moment, it won't be long before they meet the same fate as Accardi."
"That just leaves Romano with an agenda against us in Naples," Alexandra leaned forward, touching my arm and I straightened, turning my neck to look at her in the back, "How are you planning to get rid of?"
"I haven't thought about it yet, Alex," I confessed, turning around again, facing the road.
"Well you may need to come up with one now, Romano wanted a meeting, your father agreed on your behalf," Luca looked at me briefly, giving me an apologetic glance, and turned his attention back on the road.
"Motherfucker," I ran my hands through my hair, "Why am I only hearing about it now?"
"You were out running at the time, and it slipped my mind earlier. Leonardo said it was a good opportunity to size him up." Dad was right, however, I didn't appreciate that he'd decided without consulting me. I'd have to talk to him about this, he couldn't go around calling the shots anymore. "Oh, and before I forget, Leon will fly in tomorrow, Vittoria's called him for his mother's death anniversary." Luca finished, killing the engine as we reached the docks.
"That's okay, he is family, he can come anytime," I said, stepping out of the car as I took off my jacket, hanging it on my forearm as we approached the boat.
It was time to get our hands dirty, and I wasn't complaining.
* * *
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