Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 88326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
They all moved forward and aimed their guns at us. Like soldiers marching into battle, they kept their rows intact and even marched in sync as if they’d trained for this.
Then he snapped his fingers again.
They came to a stop.
When Icarus spoke again, he was no longer calm. He shouted with the force of a hurricane that could fell trees with its strength. He rose to his feet at the same time. “Sit with me—or you all die.”
Santino leaned the back of his head against the car. “We’re fucking dead.”
As if Icarus somehow heard that, he said, “If I wanted you dead, you’d all already be gone. Sit with me like a man, and let us negotiate.”
Don Russo took in a slow breath before he started to rise.
I had a lot of belief in my mentor. I’d watched him pull off moves across the board that no one saw coming. Saw him break skulls and rip a human body into pieces with his bare hands. But he wasn’t that young leader I remembered anymore—and I knew he was outmatched.
So, without thinking it through, I rose from the tire and stepped out into the open.
“Wolfe,” Don Russo hissed as he watched me walk off.
I continued forward, eyes locked on Icarus, and I pulled the strap of my automatic off my shoulder, tossing the gun into the dirt because it was useless to me now.
Icarus’s eyes lit up with uncontained mirth. A boyish smile even moved across his masculine face as I approached. “Ah, I’ve heard about you. Nothing but good things, of course.” He gestured to the seat across from him before he sat down again.
I lowered myself into the chair, our knees just two feet from each other. I sat back in a relaxed position, arms on the plastic armrests, with his line of men standing on guard behind him. I could see Ciro and his family continue to writhe in the dirt. His daughter didn’t move at all, so I was pretty sure she’d already bled out and died.
There was nothing I could do for them.
Icarus continued to study me like I was either a work of art or a puzzle. His arms rested on his knees, and he stared at me without needing to blink once. He cocked his head in one direction and then the other.
This level of adrenaline would have been a gold mine for me before, but those days were over. I couldn’t think about Francesca at that moment because all my energy and focus were committed to getting out of this alive. “And I’ve heard about you—nothing but shitty things.”
He smiled.
Exactly like I thought he would. I understood men like him because I was one of them. Respect would get you a lot further than begging and groveling. “You said you’re out of tea. Do you have anything stronger?”
His grin widened, and he looked over his shoulder. “Got anything good back there for me and my guest?”
Men in the back returned to the warehouse to search for something for us to drink.
It was the strangest sight, the two of us in old, rickety lawn chairs on a farm, the dirt moist from the blood and the sea air.
He sat back in his chair and looked at me again, a massive man who was even bigger than me. I preferred to be ripped, so I protected my gains and burned off the fat, but he was all about size. He just wanted to be as big as possible, even if it slowed him down.
In this case, I didn’t need to be stronger than him—just faster.
The staredown lasted for at least three minutes before one of his men came over with a bottle of something. He brought a little wooden stool to use as a table and left it there with the bottle.
Icarus grabbed the bottle and examined the label. “You like gin, Wolfe?”
“I do, Icarus.”
He grinned and opened the bottle before he took a swig and handed it to me.
I grabbed it and took a big drink of my own, ignoring the fact that I’d just shared saliva with another man.
He took the bottle back and set it on the stool. “This is nice, huh? A beautiful day right here in Sicily.” He extended his arms on either side of him, took a deep breath, and filled his lungs. “That sea air…burns every time.”
“You know where it’s also beautiful? Back wherever the fuck you came from.”
He folded his arms and rested them in his lap as he chuckled. “Why the fuck is that pussy over there running Cosa Nostra when you’re the one who should be in charge?”
“I’m like you—I prefer to serve.”
“You mean hunt, kill, and bury,” he said with excitement in his gaze.
“That’s one way to put it.”
“Well, I’m sure you’ve heard my boss wants to be the sole operator of the powder business.”