rode to school and work. He’d also found a way to break into the house, installing a tracker app in Teri’s phone.
The cars and bike had been left behind. All Giorgio needed was one device to track them.
“Let’s hope the men guarding them don’t check her phone.”
Salvatore lowered the binoculars he’d been using, his mind ticking through the options to reach the family. “It no longer matters. We know where they are, where they work, and where Brady attends school.” He smirked. “Such a simple oversight. Phones would’ve been one of the first things my men would’ve checked.”
“Which one is your target, and who have you assigned to the hit?” Giorgio adjusted the lens, taking several more shots.
Few people had the courage to ask Salvatore such direct questions. He and Giorgio had grown up together, been inseparable most of their lives. One became dedicated to the Mob at an early age. The other opting for education and serving his country.
After a stint in the Marines, Giorgio had attended MIT, earning degrees in computer science and mathematics. He’d juggled several job offers before accepting a position in the NSA.
They’d joked about Salvatore going to what Giorgio saw as the dark side. The jokes stopped a few years later when the NSA investigated him based on bogus data provided by a jealous colleague. Soon after being exonerated, Giorgio resigned, going to work for one of the Mob’s legitimate businesses. Other than the occasional favor for his cousin, he stayed inside the law.
“It’s better you not know.” Salvatore reached out, clasping the back of Giorgio’s head in a familiar gesture of affection.
Lowering the camera, he studied his cousin, not liking the look in Salvatore’s eyes. “Promise you are not going after them yourself.”
Salvatore didn’t respond.
“Sal, you have men for this. Men who are expendable. You’re not.”
“I have my reasons.”
“Benito has been gone a long time. You don’t know with certainty who fired the shot that killed him.” Giorgio didn’t add Benito’s trigger temper and irrational behavior had gotten him in trouble most of his short life.
Salvatore glared at him. “His death needs to be avenged.”
“But not by you. That’s why you have trained men to do this work.”
Staring out the front window, he didn’t respond. Giorgio was an educated man who saw many angles to the same problem, choosing the one with the best opportunity for success. This decision had nothing to do with the most expedient way to resolve an issue.
Salvatore had overlooked his son’s lack of discipline, the way he’d been spoiled by both parents, given everything he wanted. For a long time after Benito’s death, Salvatore had done little other than track Zeus’s family. He’d tamped down his anger, taking time to decide how he’d avenge the loss of his son.
“I must do this myself.”
Giorgio grabbed his cousin’s arm, squeezing. “No, you don’t. We’ve talked about revenge many times, Sal. I don’t agree another death is the solution to what happened. How do you know it wasn’t one of your own men who shot Benito?”
Eyes wide, he shook his head, denial clear on his features. “It wasn’t them.”
“How do you know?”
A muscle ticked in Salvatore’s jaw, lips drawn into a tight line.
“You don’t,” Giorgio continued. “Leave your hate behind, Sal. Honor Benito by allowing them to live, and go home.”
Gunner sat by one of the front windows, an UMP45 across his lap. His gaze roamed the yard and driveway, his attention shifting between Katrina a few feet away, and Brady, who worked on homework.
She kept trying to focus on the book in her lap, but he could see her struggling to concentrate. Gunner wanted to drag her onto his lap, kiss her silly before taking her to bed, staying there all night. Jaw clenching, he shifted to look outside.
Raider hadn’t come up with much information on the sedan. It passed by twice, but there hadn’t been enough visibility for a facial recognition program to identify the driver or passenger. There were no plates. Nothing to tag the vehicle in any way.
Wrath signaled his concern by sending two more men, Boomer and Cowboy, to provide additional protection. The second man was new to the Brethren, but a long-time SEAL with an enviable record.
Boomer joined Chaos, Bas, and Banner outside, with Cowboy staying inside with Gunner, Ghost, and Fargo. Since the sighting of the sedan, tensions had increased among the Brethren. Seeing no need to scare them any more than necessary, the information hadn’t been shared with the Snowdens.
Cowboy took a position