The Don raised an eyebrow, then hopped off the stool. He used the same hand he had just licked to cup Ace’s face, a bit endearing but also a bit condescendingly.
“What makes you think we need one of the Moretti's help to get my grandniece back?” he asked, keeping his hand light on Ace’s face.
“You said it yourself,” Ace said confidently. “I’m a shifter. I can take a lot of bullets and pain before I’m taken out.”
The Don sighed, then crossed his arms over his chest. It wasn’t an easy task. The man was rather large. He paced in front of Ace as he noticed the guns against the back of his head had loosened.
“Is this something you have discussed with your own family?” the Don said. “I can’t really see Don Moretti being happy about this.”
Ace shook his head. “I haven’t, and I frankly don’t care. I care for Emma, and I want to make sure she gets out of this bullshit alive.”
Ace initially regretted what he said as it made him seem like a disloyal family member. But the Don smiled, revealing some grossly neglected teeth.
“So you’ve gone rogue, I suppose?” the Don said. “There is a part of me that likes that.”
The Don looked at his men, and they looked back with the expression of confusion. The Don lifted his hands in the air and clapped them down onto his sides.
“I am a big fan of romance,” the Don said. “I told my grandniece the same thing. I didn’t like what you two were doing, but after having met you, I may just change my mind.”
Ace waited for a long time while the Don placed a single finger on his lips. All it would take was an instant of inspiration, and he would be dead, right there on the kitchen floor. They would expertly get rid of his body, and Emma would never know what happened to him.
But the Moretti family would definitely have something to say about it. It could start another mob war, one that neither side would be particularly happy about participating in again.
Ace knelt there, his arms still against his head, waiting for an answer from the Don. He didn’t realize that he had been holding his breath. Nothing had ever scared him. Before he had met Emma, he had never feared death.
Eventually, the Don snapped his fingers again, and Ace cringed. While his eyes were closed, the men behind him pulled him to his feet with the Don touching his forearms.
“Whoa,” the Don said, smiling. “You truly are a big man. I am glad we have you on our side, for now.”
Ace lowered his arms, a wash of relief moving through them.
For the next few hours, they discussed their plan, as well as particular information that each family had uncovered about their mutual enemy, the Lombardi family. Ace had acquired knowledge through the years that they owned an abandoned warehouse just outside the city, one that attempted to look like a lumber yard but with very little success.
The Don was fairly stoic the entire time they made their plan. He smoked a cigar and watched as Ace drew a map while members of the Fontana sat around him and listened intently. Ace didn’t know what would happen after the raid, if he was going to get in shit from his own family plus the Fontanas. He didn’t care as long as Emma was safe and sound.
They geared up that night as neither the Don nor Ace wanted to waste any more time. The foot soldiers packed their heavy automatic weapons while Ace donned a large bulletproof vest they had provided for him. He tried to tell him that his skin was already like a vest, but they wouldn’t pay attention to him.
As they piled into the truck that would transport them, the Don stopped Ace at the door. He placed both hands on his chest, then looked him deep in the eyes.
Ace was a tall man, but so was the Don. His eyes came up to Ace’s nose, which was closer than most humans were able to reach.
He spoke softly, like reciting a prayer.
“Please, get my niece back,” he said. “We can discuss more business when you return. But this is all I want, for her to be safe.”
Ace nodded, then clapped his hands onto the Don’s arms.
“I promise you. I will not return without Emma.”
They gathered into the truck and headed to the warehouse.
It was surreal to sit in a vehicle with members of the Fontana family, all giving him strange, distrusting looks. But he tried not to focus on that. He was there to get Emma out, not to make friends.
Life had surprised him when he thought he had it all figured out.
Chapter23
Emma