Resurrection (The Vendetta Series Book 1)

by Kris Anne Dean

  With phase one in motion I moved on to phase two. Crippling his operations were only part of the plan, I needed to get Brie out of there, tonight. By noon I had my hands on a blueprint of Angelo’s estate, thanks to a whale with deep pockets and connections in city hall. All it took was a guaranteed seat in all future high stakes games.

  I marked the locations of the security cameras and guards from my impromptu surveillance and gathered the crew to go over the plan to sweep the estate and get Brie.

  By ten pm, we had gathered our weapons, strapped on our Kevlar and headed out of the city. Vinny and I took the lead in one car and Silvio and Paulie followed behind in another with the getaway drivers. With the headlights off we pulled up and parked behind the wall. I popped the trunk so we could retrieve our weapons and concealed our faces under black masks, making sure the men staying behind were on the walkie-talkies, positioned behind the wheel and ready for anything. One by one we moved onto the property staying low along the wall being careful to stay in the dark. Vinny and I took the front while the others rounded the back. In succession we fired our rounds taking down the guards and breached the doors.

  With our guns raised we approached the stairwell where two armed men blocked the path. I had to force myself to hold my weapon steady when I caught sight of Brie slumped low behind them. Angelo’s men opened fire forcing us to shoot back. I couldn’t see her face but I heard the fear in her sobs and loud thudding coming from the top of the stairs. Vinny caught a bullet and fell to the ground. Paulie appeared at the top of the stairs with the wrong woman tight to his side and his gun drawn. Forced with an impossible decision, I left Brie behind while Paulie distracted Angelo and his men. A single shot rang out as I carried Vinny out of the house to safety. I had to live with the fact that Paulie lost his life but damn it if we would lose our patriarch too. I wasn’t a Made-Man yet, but the family first code still bound me. I reasoned with myself that the more fire we exchanged would only put her life further in danger. I had underestimated his crew but there was no doubt I was coming back for her, soon.

  Vinny’s blood soaked my clothes by the time I reached the car. I pulled the rear door open and lowered him onto the back seat crawling in next to him with my hands pressed over the wound in his left shoulder. I gave the order to retreat and removed my t-shirt to make a tourniquet. His body shuttered when I pulled it against him but he was still unconscious.

  I retrieved Vinny’s phone and scrolled through the contact list until I located Dr. Lambert. Experience prepared Vinny for anything. The doctor was already standing by at the hotel but I called to give him a heads up. I checked Vinny’s vitals and forced the vomit rising in my throat down as I inspected the wound and provided the doctor with as much information as I could.

  We raced across the bridge at max speed and through the streets of the city. Vinny had just about everyone in his pocket except for the NYPD, the last thing we needed was to get stopped by an officer on Angelo’s payroll. By the time we reached the parking garage Vinny came to and I let out a sigh of relief. Silvio and I carried his weight on our shoulders up the rear service elevator to the penthouse suite. They made the dining room into an operating room, white plastic covered the table and they laid surgical equipment on the breakfast bar. We hoisted Vinny onto the table and Dr. Lambert removed the bullet, stitched and dressed the wound and ran an IV to his arm. All we could do was wait and hope he didn’t lose too much blood or succumb to an infection.

  I sat by Vinny’s side all night until the alarm on my phone vibrated reminding me to meet Victoria at Davis’s office. Victoria fulfilled her end of the deal and all I needed to do was make sure Davis called Angelo.

  I placed a kiss on Vinny’s forehead and slipped out of the penthouse. People already filled the sidewalks as I made my way the few blocks to Davis’s office. Victoria was waiting for me out front, dressed in a short plaid skirt and a tight sweater. I didn’t doubt for a moment she’d come through and it would be easy enough to convince Davis she was underage. It took a strong man to resist her long legs and thick red curls. When you add the short skirt she fulfilled every man’s Catholic schoolgirl fantasy. It was a shame she sold herself like that because she has a good head on her shoulders.

  I glanced at my watch as the elevator door opened… Seven AM, with a little luck this scam would play out by noon, leaving me the rest of the day to decide what comes next. I stepped inside with Victoria trailing behind me along with the other occupants as the steel door closed. When we stepped off the elevator Davis’s jaw dropped and confusion and fear crossed his face. He looked away, setting the pile of newspapers and magazines down on a small table. I didn’t have to say a word, as soon as he saw her behind me, with a coy smile on her face it was clear he was in trouble.

  Afraid he’d run, I closed the gap ushering him toward the office and closing the door behind me. I turned the lock and rounded to him while Victoria slid herself onto his desk. She spread her long legs and tilted her head back letting a low moan fall from her open mouth. He almost came at the sight of her trailing her hands up her thighs and kneading them against her tight pussy.

  “What is this?” he asked unable to take his eyes off of her as she licked her lips, continuing to tease him with a fake orgasm.

  “What this is, John, is a shake down. You Perv, she’s only seventeen and unless you want that tape to get out, you will pick up that phone and call Deluca. The cost to keep your dick attached is a hundred grand.”

  “Do you realize what you’re asking me to do? Going against him would be suicide.”

  “Deaths always an option but it would be easier to give me what I want now because the Carracci family is moving in and you don’t want to be on my bad side, Johnny boy.”

  He fixed his eyes on me, scrutinizing for some indication that there was another option to consider. Following a long hesitation, he placed the call.

  “Don’t be so hard on yourself, she’s made better men falter.” I motioned towards the door and Victoria climbed down and followed behind me. “Don’t think for one minute this won’t get out if you don’t follow through.”

  Back in the waiting room, Davis’s receptionist was settling in at her desk sipping coffee out of a large paper cup and eyed me while adjusting her glasses.

  I followed Victoria over to the sitting area. “I’m sorry I had to use you for this job but desperate times call for desperate actions.”

  “You know I’m eighteen almost nineteen, don’t you?”

  “That doesn’t make me feel any better about it but when you’re ready to ditch that pimp boyfriend of yours, come find me. I’ll find you a position better suited to your talents.” I sent her a wink and headed toward the elevator, leaving her there to keep Davis rattled.

  I entered the coffee shop on the lower level to wait for Angelo to arrive. A half dozen customers glanced up as the door swung open sucking the vibrant aroma out and replacing it with the heavy pollution of traffic. As soon as the door swung closed behind me they returned to their conversations and cell phones leaving me to study the extensive overpriced selection of coffee and espresso before settling on a Grande Latte. The barista handed me the cheap disposable cup, and I took a seat in front of a large window overlooking the busy street. I picked up the coffee cup and took a sip, letting the heat spread down my throat and through my body. I was still running on little to no sleep and had no time to contemplate changing that. My plan was in motion but I still wasn’t able to get to Brie and every moment we were separated I grew more agitated. I had been so lost in constructing scenarios of how to get to her that I was surprised when I saw Angelo exit his Bentley. I texted Victoria to leave and studied him as he surveyed the area, looking right past me. Anger rose through me, watching him yank at his dick when Victoria pranced by him on her way out of the building.

  I watched as Angelo entered the building and I tossed the chilled remnants of my coffee into the trash before flagging down a taxi. I slipped the driver a c-note, and we sat in silen
ce until Angelo returned to his car.

  Tailing a few cars behind, the driver followed Angelo out of the city to a warehouse. I tipped the driver another hundred through the plastic shield and exited. I approached the warehouse and peered in a small window on the side. Angelo and his burly sidekick crossed the grease stained mechanics bay from the rear. I could barely hear the conversation but heard enough to decide my next move.

  I scouted out a rundown storage facility on the other side of the lot and used a pocket knife to jimmy the lock until the door opened. Streaks of sunlight cascaded through the broken windows illuminating the dust particles circling around me as I cased the space noting the exits. The dampness cooled my skin and the foul stench of urine filled my nose. I spotted a set of plastic grates left behind when the previous tenants abandoned the property. I could only assume Angelo made them an offer they couldn’t refuse to ensure the privacy of his chop shop.

  I pulled the phone from the back pocket of my jeans and dialed Sal, fidgeting with the knife still in my other hand. Vinny’s condition weighed on my mind, I needed an update and provided them just enough information on my whereabouts to buy me some time. I was in no position to give Vinny’s men orders and Sal, as Underboss, was not likely going to agree with this course of action. Still, I couldn’t do nothing while Brie was in danger. I disconnected the line and called in a personal favor.

  I stacked the grates on top of each other in front of a small window that offered the perfect vantage point of the warehouse and the street. I folded the knife and slipped it into my right jacket pocket while withdrawing the mask from my left. The jagged slates in the makeshift stool cut into my ass as I sat and clocked the comings and goings next door until night fell.

  I watched as the last set of headlights dimmed across the pavement before making my move. I slid from my hide-out, through the shadows toward the large bay door in the warehouse’s front. I pulled the 9mm from my side and shot the padlock allowing me to lift the large metal door wide enough to roll under it. Once inside, I stripped the cloth covers from the vehicles and inspected them. Each one had a key in the ignition and title papers on the passenger seat. I moved to a small office to the right of the bay and tossed the contents of the rusty metal desk onto the floor, tearing the centerfold photos from the wall. Staging the scene to look like an average robbery. The security cameras ran its feed to an outdated ten-inch box television and VCR system on a counter in the corner. I retrieved the tape and smashed the system to the ground.

  Deep rumblings vibrated the walls. I walked outside to meet with the Krymson Destroyers. A large man with tattoo sleeves for arms pulled in on a black and chrome beauty with a second even larger man flanking his left on an equally magnificent bike. A third man, I couldn’t place followed behind in a car transport trailer.

  The Carracci family and the Krymson Destroyers Motorcycle Club have co-hosted the annual poker run benefiting at risk youth for the past five years. Their brotherhood is a lot like the Commission. We both have similar views and ideals, a tight knit organization that values honor, loyalty and family. We ensure our respective lifestyles by earning money in ways that push the lines society has established as decent. And although they are rough around the edges while we are low key, we are equally violent and ruthless in times of war and that is exactly what this was.

  They parked their bikes in front of me, my back to the opened bay door.

  “My man, Capone. Thanks for reaching out.”

  “Chainz, good to see you.” His club gave him the road name on account of the layer of chains that hung around his thick neck. His preferred brand of torture, a reminder to anyone who crossed him how deadly they would be twisted around their throats.

  “You remember my VP, Tank.” He motioned to the man next to him who reached out and squeezed my hand in his tattooed death grip. “Let’s see what you got and the Prospect can load em up.”

  I stepped aside from the bay door allowing them to pass and access the merchandise. Chainz let out a whistle and ran his hand across a mint condition ‘69 Chevy Camaro in Fireball red. “These are some sweet rides, my man. I’ll tell you what, since they’re already hot, I’m open for a 60-40 split.”

  “Deal but this baby here goes with me.” I leaned against the Camaro and rubbed my hands over the trunk in tiny circles followed by a tap like it was a tight ass ready for the taking. This wasn’t about money this was about taking everything Angelo valued as much as I do Brie.

  When the Prospect loaded the last car, Chainz shook my hand. “The Krymson Destroyers will always have your back, Capone, after what you did for us, never hesitate to ask for anything.”

  They straddled their bikes, fired up the engines and drove off with me close behind in my sweet new ride.

  Chapter 30

  Angelo

  The flight back from Miami, should have been an opportunity for sleep but my mind kept drifting back to the anger in Carmine’s voice when I told him I couldn’t meet the quota for shipping. Anger was an understatement, he was downright fucking pissed and this would cost me more money than I had available. I had to shell out even more for my street crew to scour the city and heist more vehicles and Carmine was charging me twenty points over the original agreement. Penance he called it.

  I was back in New York, alone. Carmine ordered Franco to stay behind to help with another job, another penalty for my failure. I was sure if I stayed Carmine would have killed me, family or not.

  I couldn’t sit still, I paced from one corner of my office to another. The cleaners had been here to remove Emilio’s body, and the office scrubbed of any signs of foul play. I searched the history on my laptop to see what files he had time to access and encrypted them to prevent it from happening again. I checked the contents of my safe and found it empty. The Cleaner’s reported that nothing was on Emilio’s body but his gun and wallet, which left me to believe Mia Bella, was smarter than I gave her credit for. When she returns, she will regret making a fool of me.

  Interrupted mid-pace by the telephone I hit speaker and tossed it on my desk to continue lapping the room. “What do you got for me Lorenzo?”

  “I tracked the GPS in her wedding ring to Raleigh, North Carolina, before she took it off but I hacked into the police database and got a hit on her name. She’s hiding out in a small town called Ashe. You will never guess who she found there, Boss.”

  “I don’t have time for fucking guessing games, just tell me what you know.” Anger clawed at my insides like a rabid dog on the attack.

  “She’s with Carra Carracci, Cal’s sister.” There was an edge to his already callous voice, I couldn’t pinpoint.

  “There’s a sister? It can’t be a coincidence she’s there then. Any sign of him?”

  “Not yet Boss. I’ll go in and get her tomorrow when the sister’s boyfriend isn’t around.”

  “Go in, but let’s use them to smoke Cal out of hiding. Keep the sister alive until I get there. I’m on my way.” I disconnected the call, and grabbed my suit jacket, secured my weapon and headed out.

  A burly man with massive tattooed arms came up behind me when I approached my Bentley. Before I could reach my weapon, cold metal tightened around my neck. I clenched my fingers around the chains, hoping for enough slack to keep my airways open. The more I fought the tighter the chains became, biting into my flesh and slicing my fingers. The upward thrust of the thick metal lifted my feet off the ground and fire rose from inside my chest until it filled my throat and colors exploded in front of my eyes.

  Nausea weighted my stomach from the motions rocking my body left then right. I raised my bloody fingers to my neck and winced at the pain of my touch, thankful my throat was not severed and I was still alive. I strained my eyes against the darkness surrounding me for some sign of where I was. Cramps shot through my scrunched legs and I reached for the gun at my waist but it was gone. I lowered my hands to my ankles where I kept my blade but that was gone too. I reached out pressing the cold metal above and below me and fel
t the vibration of a motor. A slight odor of gasoline filled my nose. I was in transit, likely for some time, in the trunk of my own car. “Fucking Son of a Bitch!”

  Chapter 31

  Brie

  I finally figured out what Lanah and Emilio wanted to tell me and no one else would. Cal was alive. I didn’t understand the secrecy but at the moment I didn’t care. All that mattered was finding him and falling into his arms, where I intended to spend the rest of my life. To hell with everything else. Nothing would be right until then. Carra was the only one with the answers I needed. I thought fresh lake air would do me good, calm my nerves but somehow, in my haste to clear my head, I lost the trail and spun myself around in a maze of trees.

  A loud noise echoed around me causing me to jump. Birds rose from their perches overhead, first one, then two than a whole flock whirled their wings at a furious pace and took to the sky. Gunfire. Panic trembled through my limbs, as the shots grew louder, the sound reverberating off the trees. I couldn’t tell what direction they came from but they were closing in. Heavy footsteps, weighted down with guns, neared; forcing me in what I hoped was the opposite direction. Their weapons were useless unless they got a clear shot, so I picked up momentum dodging trees and hurdling rocks.

  My feet slipped out from under me on the damp grass and fallen twigs. The dense trees limited my line of sight as I ran, faster, harder. Each time my foot hit the unforgiving terrain I winced at the pain shooting upwards through my aching calves. The humid air shocked my lungs as I inhaled deeper trying to regulate my erratic heartbeat.