calling from the background.
“Shit. I have to go.” Aria disconnects the call.
Right as the call with Aria ends I’m calling Ion Petran, the king of the Romanian Clans. He’s the head honcho in charge besides his wife, Mariana.
“Mikel. Do you know what time it is?” He hisses, sounding rather groggy. I’m certain I just woke him up from a blissful sleep.
“I apologize for calling you so early, though I do think we need to have a chat. I just received a tip that Gabriele DiGiovanni is working here with a militia group. Would you happen to have confirmation of that?”
Ion grumbles on the other end, “The last time I got a response from our scout, he followed him to France.”
“Is it possible the Italians got to your scout?” I question, not wanting to poke the bear, but we have to go down every possible scenario. It’s not like this hasn’t happened in the past before.
“Who’s your source?”
“A trusted individual. You know I don’t share my sources unless absolutely necessary. Now, we’ve had the Italians on our radar for quite a while. I know why we haven’t acted after we received confirmation Gabriele ordered the hit on Mariana, because they’re the biggest mafia network besides ourselves. We have to act in a smart manner, and not irrationally like dumb boys. I’ve been having someone report my diamond operation to the local authorities. Luckily, I have a few of them in my pocket and they give us enough notice to clean up the area and look like nothing is going on. At this point, the locals believe this is a prank caller. I had a list of a few potential suspects I thought it could be, but now that I’ve heard this it only makes sense. Gabriele is trying to fuck with our operations, Ion.” I can’t help but allow my anger to seep through. I’ve never liked the Italians, even before Mariana’s attempted assassination attempt, they always have irritated me.
“We will get to the bottom of this, Mikel. Give me some time to get some solid information. In the meantime, keep an eye out and notify me if anything changes.” Ion ends the call and I place my phone back on the table and take in a deep breath.
Gabriele is starting a war, and it’s one he won’t win.
Chapter Nineteen
Mikel
Scotch. It’s practically become my best friend at this point. It’s here for me when I need something to talk to, without wanting someone talking back. It takes the pain away long enough for me to get a decent night of sleep, only to regret it the following morning. I’m afraid I can’t drink the same way I used to in my early twenties or thirties. Now, I sit here staring at the amber colored drink, wondering if I’m going to go down the same rabbit hole I do most nights these days.
My phone buzzes on the desk beside me and I see it’s Stefan’s name that pops up. Immediately I furrow my brows and reluctantly take the phone in my hand. “Odd for you to call out of the blue, isn’t it?”
Arno is standing in the corner of my office and from the way he’s paying attention to what I’m doing, he knows I’m on high alert. Of course, after working together for so many years he should be able to pick up on my body language.
“Did it happen yet?” Stefan asks, sounding like he’s just run a kilometer.
“Did what happen?” I question, not understanding what he’s talking about.
“The attack, Mikel. Fuck. God. Okay, listen to me. You need to get to the school as soon as you possibly can. There’s going to be another attack.”
I blink a couple times and look over to Arno. Stefan is known as the jokester of the Clans, someone who will fuck with people, pull on their legs and all of that. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you, Stefan, but joking about children being hurt isn’t funny.”
“Do I sound like I’m fucking joking?!” Stefan screams into the phone, “I have a daughter myself. Get over to the orphanage and save as many as you can before it’s too late!”
I pray he’s joking, but if there’s even the slightest chance he could be right I have to get over there as soon as possible. Immediately I hang up the phone and rise from my chair. Staring down at the scotch I’m glad I didn’t take a drink of it. “We need to go. Stefan seems