“Any word about Morello?” I asked Gino, trying to distract myself.
“He’s out of the hospital. Won’t be running any marathons for a while, but he’ll be okay.”
“That’s good.”
“Yeah, but listen, Enzo, we need to do this the right way. We need to find out what this fucker knows and what he plans on doing with it.”
I nodded. “How are we doing this?”
“Just you and me initially. We’ll stake the place out and bide our time until nightfall.”
Which was about seven-and-a-half hours away.
Fuck. Today was going to drag like a bitch. But for as much as I wanted to end this thing, I also didn’t want to risk him slipping through our fingers, so I would follow Gino’s lead and wait.
“We end this thing tonight,” he added. “Then you can get back to Verona and sink deep into your woman and let her absolve you of some of your sins.”
“I don’t have a woman,” I argued.
“Kid, you might tell yourself that, but you ain’t foolin’ anyone. Seen that look in your eyes one too many times.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He smirked. “Whatever you say, kid.”
Just then, the server brought over our order and Gino dropped all talk of women to dig into his breakfast.
It didn’t matter.
He was wrong.
I didn’t have a woman.
Didn’t want one, didn’t need one.
I’d seen what the love of a good woman did to men like me. Made men. It distracted them. Rendered them weak. It blinded them with jealousy, pulling their loyalties in too many directions.
“Eat up, you’re going to need your energy.” Gino levelled me with a hard look. One that told me all I needed to know…
Tonight, we would finish this.
By the time the sun began to set over the city skyline, I was cold, hungry, and itching for a fight.
“I’m going to take a piss,” I said, shouldering the door of my Pontiac.
“Make it quick. This asshole hasn’t left the warehouse all day. He’s gotta surface eventually.”
Marc and Dixon had met us right at the spot this morning, informing us the guy was still inside. There had been no one coming or going all fucking day, which meant he was in there somewhere, biding his time the same way we were.
The brisk air stung my face as I went around the rear end of the car and took a leak behind a tree. We’d survived the day on a few stale chips and cans of soda. Part of me wanted to say, ‘fuck it’ and storm the warehouse, but as Gino kept reminding me, it wasn’t only my ass on the line. Uncle Toni wanted answers. He wanted to know who was messing with us and why. And Gino Lupo had a process.
One that included a lot of sitting around and talking about the fucking weather.
I wiped my hands down my jeans and got back in the car. Gino was peering through his binoculars.
“Anything?” I asked.
“The security light just came on. But I don’t think—wait a second. Wait a—fuck, yeah, there’s our guy.” He shoved the lenses at me.
My heart beat hard in my chest as I focused on the guy in their line of sight. I didn’t recognize him, but it was dark, and he was wearing all-black with a skull cap pulled over his head.
“We should move now,” I said, eager to get this over with. But Gino’s arm shot out in front of me.
“We wait. If he leaves, I want to get a look inside.”
“And if he doesn’t come back?”
“He will. It’s his nest. They always come back.”
We watched the guy climb into a beat-up truck and drive off.
“Okay, let’s go. Stay behind me and don’t fuck this up. This is recon only.”
“Recon?” I sneered. “We’ve been sitting in my car all fucking day.”
“What’s wrong, kid? The life not as glamorous as you thought it would be?”
I hadn’t really given it much thought. But I knew Gino and his guys got their hands dirty and I wanted in on the action.
“Let’s go see what this pompinara is hiding.” Gino pulled on some gloves before slipping out of the car and disappearing into the night.
I did the same, following him, sticking to the shadows. The warehouse was in a disused industrial area along the river. Its on-site security was long gone, leaving us to explore unnoticed.
Gino ushered me to the side of the building and mouthed, “We’ll check for another way in.”
I nodded, following him around the outer perimeter until we came across another door. It was secured with a