scheduling the operation until we’re certain Grace is safe.”
Vittorio sent his brother a smile of thanks. For all the downsides to being a rider, there was his family. Always there. Always ready to help and watch out for one another. His family was one of the biggest gifts he had to offer Grace.
“I want you close to this door.” Stefano indicated the door that was secreted into the room on the wall just across from the head of the table. It was difficult to see the door and Giovanni would have to use his athleticism if anything went wrong to cross the short distance and dive to safety. “You’re armed?”
“Of course.” Giovanni looked offended.
It went without being said that all of them would be armed. The Saldis would be as well. Vittorio knew Stefano was going over the plan much like a general before a battle. His older brother always planned everything step-by-step, especially matters of his family’s safety.
“Eloisa will also be in the shadows on the western side of the room. Mariko will cover the south. The New York cousins, Salvatore, Lucca and Geno, are here, and they will take east and north. Geno will find the fastest tube near Giuseppi and kill him first if they start anything.” Stefano glanced at the door. “If things go wrong, Val is my target. No matter what, he doesn’t get near Emmanuelle.”
Vittorio had thought the same thing. Val had done enough to hurt their sister. Chances were, she would never trust another man. He’d used her, getting close to her on orders from his father and even bragged about it to another woman. Emmanuelle had not only been heartbroken, but humiliated. Still, she was coming to the meeting. Head high. A true Ferraro. If the Saldis were out for blood, the tables would be turned, and Val was going to be the first to die.
The cousins from New York emerged from three separate shadows, each wearing the signature Ferraro rider pinstriped suit. They shook hands and once again, Stefano looked at his watch.
“Salvatore, Emmanuelle will be seated closest to where you will be secreted. If things go to hell, she’s your responsibility. She’s deadly, and she’ll be fighting her way to us, backing us up, but get her into the shadows. She’s going to be their number-two target after me. I’m counting on you to protect her.”
“On my life,” Salvatore said.
Stefano once again went over where he had positioned all the riders and who their targets would be.
Emmanuelle hurried into the room. “I’m sorry I’m late, Stefano. I was upstairs with Francesca and giving last-minute instructions to Sasha.” She sent Giovanni a smile. “Your wife is a woman to count on in a firefight.”
Giovanni laid his hand over his heart. Emmanuelle threw herself into Salvatore’s arms, hugging him hard. He kissed both her cheeks and then Geno followed suit. Lastly, Lucca hugged and kissed her.
“I should have known all three of you would come,” she greeted. “Thank you.”
“I don’t really think Giuseppi would be stupid enough to try to wipe us out, but you never know,” Stefano said. “Something’s up. We just need to be careful. I’ve already given our cousins everything we have on Haydon Phillips as well.”
“He’s a scary little bastard,” Geno said. “Have you locked your woman up tight, Vittorio?”
“She’s upstairs with Francesca and Sasha,” Vittorio said. “He can’t get up there. The ducts have been protected and there is no way to use the elevator, or the elevator shaft. He’s clever, though, and as more time passes and he can’t get to Grace, I think he’s going to try something he might not ordinarily try.”
“He seems as though he can be very patient,” Lucca observed. “I’ve read all the data they have on him so far and he waits months at a time for his revenge.”
“But before, he’s always had access to Grace,” Salvatore pointed out. “I agree with Vittorio’s assessment. I think in some way he relies on having her in his life. He seems to need her. He terrorizes her, he uses her to pay debts and he clearly was willing to sell her, but not for the long term, or permanently. He also expected he could control the deal.”
Vittorio agreed wholeheartedly with Salvatore’s conclusions. “Grace has been the only constant in his life. He wants to keep her isolated from anyone else. He’s made sure she can’t get close to anyone. She’s the one person he isn’t going to let go of. That means