my plaid shirts and gotten rid of them then I would have worn one of them. I wanted Duke to know who I was the moment he saw me. I wanted him to realise that I’d come down from my mountain to hunt and destroy him.
I marched through the apartment and banged my knuckles against Frankie’s door before tossing it open.
He was bleary eyed and scowling, aiming a gun at my face while he still tried to blink the sleep from his system and took me in with a frown.
“What is it?” he asked, lowering the gun as he recognised me and pushing himself out of bed like he’d already figured out that we had somewhere to be.
“I’ve got a lead on Duke Polinsky,” I explained. “I need you to come with me.”
“You know I’ve always got your back, fratello,” he said, getting up and heading to his closet butt naked.
“I don’t need you to have my back,” I assured him because I wanted no help at all in tearing Duke limb from limb. “I just need a cameraman. Winter will want to see this when I find her.”
Frankie snorted a laugh and I turned away from the view of his toned ass, leaning against the doorframe as he got himself dressed.
“Whatever turns you guys on is fine with me,” he muttered. “So long as you’re not breaking any more of my shit.”
I almost smiled at the memory of us trashing Frankie’s apartment with our passion, but without my savage girl at my side, it was hard to find joy in anything. Even memories of the two of us together, her safe in my arms, her flesh hot and aching against mine.
I shook my head to clear it and strode away to the kitchen to make coffee. I hadn’t slept and I needed the caffeine to help me stay sharp. Duke Polinsky stood no fucking chance against me, but I’d be a fool to underestimate him all the same.
I made myself and Frankie a mug of steaming black coffee each and it burnt my mouth as I drank it down in one long go, settling in my stomach with a heat almost as keen as that of my rage.
Frankie soon appeared, dressed in a sharp suit as usual and accepting the mug of coffee I’d made him with a word of thanks before grabbing a set of keys and leading the way to the elevator which led down to the private parking lot beneath the building.
“Is this lead solid?” Frankie asked, his expression hopeful as bloodlust danced through the air between us.
“Hopefully,” I replied, fighting against the urge to get too excited. I needed to contain myself in case this led to nothing like our leads did time and again at the moment.
Frankie just nodded, shooting a text to Enzo and Rocco to keep them in the loop as we descended in the brightly lit box.
When we reached the lot, Frankie led the way to an inconspicuous black Ford at the back of the cold space, with a set of fake plates already in place on it just in case the cops happened to get a lead on it.
I hopped into the passenger seat, loading up the satnav with Elsa’s address as he peeled out of the lot and started heading east.
We were silent for the drive, both of us slipping into that dark place within us which allowed us to execute jobs thoroughly and efficiently without letting ourselves get killed. He was like me in that sense, preferring a moment of silence to the brash bragging and fist pumping shit that Rocco and Enzo went in for.
We were soon making our way out of the expensive part of the city, the apartment blocks getting smaller and packed closer together as the streets got narrower and the darkness in the alleyways began to look more ominous.
Elsa’s apartment was in a rough neighbourhood and when we pulled up outside her building, the shadows moved with gangs of kids just starting out on their criminal careers, eyeing up the expensive car with interest.
We got out and Frankie looked right at the gang of kids, ignoring the menacing look in their eyes or the way more than a few of them had pulled knives free from pockets and seemed eager for a kill.
“Any of you stronzos know who we are?” he barked at them, moving forward a few steps towards the building and allowing the orange glow of a street lamp to wash