hands fisted on the table. He was clearly angry at the situation.
Lorenzo nodded. “I also heard that you were having trouble identifying the perpetrators.”
Gio’s nostrils flared. Lorenzo was calling him out, but in a way that made it look like he was helping. We all felt the tension around the table, and we all read between the lines.
“I put my men to work.” Lorenzo stood, pushing his hands in his pockets. It was a move that spoke of him being comfortable being at the head of this table. One they all took notice of. There was no way they hadn’t heard of the changes he was making inside the Beretta Mafia. “And we found them.” He turned to meet my stare, giving me the silent signal.
My gaze flicked to Christian who stood on the other side of Lorenzo. He wasn’t present at all of these meetings, but when we needed an extra set of eyes, he was always there, ready to take anyone down who posed a threat.
I sauntered around the table and to the back door, then flung it open, knowing that Romeo would be standing there with the two guys. He pushed them forward, and I waved my arm in the direction of the table. The men did as they were told, knowing what was about to happen.
Romeo had already had his fun with them if the bruises and dried blood were anything to go by. He walked them to the opposite side of the table, presenting them to the men sitting around it.
“I believe they’re from the crew trying to steal territory from you,” Lorenzo said to Gio, but he didn’t look away from the two men. The crew colors they wore told us exactly who they were. Lorenzo knew that this wouldn’t go unanswered, but he’d told us he was done playing defense. Peace could only come after violence.
“They are,” Gio ground out, standing. His body was tense, a vein in his neck pulsing. I stepped forward, keeping my attention focused solely on him. If he made one wrong move, I wouldn’t hesitate to take him out. I didn’t trust him, which was why I’d had Romeo doing recon on him and his family. “Thanks for finding them,” Gio continued. “But I’ll handle it from here.”
Lorenzo tutted, shaking his head with a grin on his face. “You assume too much, Gio.” Lorenzo pushed his hands in his pockets. “You see, this crew were also trying to get into my territory too.” He winked at them, and I knew it was coming. It was only a matter of moments now. “Isn’t that right, gentlemen?”
They stared at each other, probably trying to figure out how much they should say. A crew were as tightknit as a Mafia family, but that didn’t mean there weren’t leaks in the organization. There was always one who was willing to cut a deal. We already had the intel we needed, but now it was just a waiting game to see who would talk first here.
Lorenzo glanced down at his watch, looking bored as hell. “I have somewhere to be.” His head snapped up. “One of you better talk or you’ll both get a bullet between your eyes.”
“You’re right,” the one on the left with black hair shaved close to his head blurted out. He lunged forward, his hands slapping on the wooden table. “Please don’t kill me. I’ll tell you anything you need to know—”
“Anything?” Lorenzo tilted his head to the side, making it look like he was considering it. But my hand was moving to my waistband, ready to pull out the piece of metal that would end the traitor’s life. I smoothly worked my way closer to them, not gaining the attention of anyone else in the room. They were too preoccupied with watching the show in front of them.
“Anything.” The guy looked frantic, apparently now realizing what was happening around him. “Their plan is to take it all. It’s not just us. We’re little fish in a much bigger pond.” His chest heaved as he tried to breathe while telling us as much as he could as quickly as possible.
“Who is the bigger fish?” Lorenzo asked. He hadn’t changed his posture, or his tone, but the narrowing of his eyes told me that he was listening intently. I was only a couple of feet away from the two traitors now. I didn’t technically need to be this close, but it was something I liked to do. Death was the