He shrugs. “A minute, anyway.”
“Go. Do it,” Romeo snaps. Mario runs to the office at the back of the main floor where he keeps his surveillance equipment and gear. We know we need to at least head south, and if Orlando’s already made it back from the restaurant, they’re not far behind him.
But I can’t keep my mind off of her.
Vivia… where is Vivia?
Are you alright?
Are you safe?
I tell myself she left to save herself. It was the only choice she had. But it doesn’t mean I don’t think of her with every minute of the day that passes.
I may never see her again, and I have to be okay with that. I only had her for a short time. And in that space of time, she grew and sprouted wings, and flew away as she was meant to from the beginning.
Our phones all ding at the same time.
Mario: located them. Three armored black SUVs ten minutes out.
Another text follows of a picture of a map with a crudely drawn arrow. Fuck. That’s more than I expected, and they’re right up the street.
Who the hell are they?
I hear a soft chuckling sound beside me and look over to see Santo grinning. I always thought that motherfucker was a psychopath.
“Alright, dude, what the fuck’s so funny?”
“They’re coming at us with armored SUVs,” he says, still laughing. “That particular model’s easier to tip than just about any other car on wheels out there. Not only that, you have any fuckin’ idea how much bigger ours are?”
I give him a curious look. Last I heard, Santo and Mario worked with race cars.
“Well maybe you should show us,” Romeo says with forced patience. He looks like he wants to shake Santo, or maybe all of us.
Santo grins.
“With pleasure, boss.” He winks at me and takes a remote out of his pocket. The next thing I know, I hear the grinding of metal. The garage doors beside the main entrance to The Castle are opening. Romeo opens the front door to get a better view and blows out a breath.
“I approved the budget on this. Knew you two were up to something but shit, Santo.”
“Oh, he had a little help,” Marialena says sweetly from the stairway. “Remember my friend Skylar?”
“The one whose brother runs a private detective agency.”
“Mhm,” she continues with a shit-eating grin. “He hooked them up.”
“Hooked us up, and we went to town,” Santo says. I look over Romeo’s shoulder to see four heavy, death-defying armored trucks.
“A little harder to manage,” Santo says. “They don’t navigate the roads as easily as an SUV, but that’s not why we got them. What do you get when you combine the strength and performance of a Hennessey VelociRaptor 600 with a bulletproof cocoon of protection?” His eyes shine with pride. “This baby right here.”
“I’m driving!” Mario yells behind me.
“I got one, too,” I say.
“And me,” Santo says with a scowl.
“And me,” Sergio says, claiming the last one.
“I’m riding with Dario,” Romeo says.