“What the fuck is that bastard trying to pull?” Boss demanded. “How dare the fucker think this is acceptable. This will be the end of him and his precious gang.”
“I have a feeling your daughter will have the same feelings,” I commented. “Do you have orders for me?”
“No, Astin will take care of this. She made it clear to him in our meeting that if he fucked up, she’d be the one to deal with his ass. Watch her back, Luca, I know just how skilled you are. It’s one of the reasons I picked you to be one of her people. You’ll understand what I’ve made her into even when the others won’t,” Boss explained. “Luca, I need you to listen carefully to what I’m about to say and never repeat it to anyone. Not even the other lieutenants, do I make myself clear?”
This had me tensing and looking around to make sure I was alone in the warehouse. “Yes, Boss, I hear you loud and clear.”
“Has she mentioned anything about her training to you?” he asked.
“Only bits and pieces but nothing specific. I’ve seen a glimpse under the mask, but she has learned to wear it well, sir,” I answered.
“Know that I’m not proud of the choices I made, but if I was forced to do them again, I would. Everything was to prepare Astin for taking over the Caprioni Family and everything that comes with it. What happened to her mother was a tragedy, and I refuse to have it happen ever again,” Boss stated.
“Sir, it’s clear to anyone who knows you or sees the two of you interact that you love your daughter more than anything in the world. Whatever you tell me won’t change that,” I assured him.
“It’s pretty to think so,” Boss muttered. “To protect my daughter from herself, I had to put her under hypnosis. While she still has vague memories about what happened to her during training, I’ve buried them. The problem is that everything has its limits, and when her anger gets the better of her, she snaps the hold on her mind. When this happens, the ruthless killer I turned her into appears, and she loses everything that makes her Astin.”
Out of all the things the boss could have told me, this wasn’t at all what I was expecting. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Luca, you’re one of the only people who will be able to handle her if she snaps. Your brilliant mind to work around barriers as an assassin is what makes you good at your job, but that wasn’t the only reason I promoted you. If the killer comes out in Astin, no one is safe. She doesn’t know how to distinguish between friend and foe. The only way to bring her back is to use the trigger phrase, but for it to work, you have to be certain she hears it,” Boss explained.
I rubbed my forehead as I tried to keep up with everything that he was telling me. “So I need to get close enough, not die, and say the magic phrase in her ear?”
“Basically,” he answered. “The phrase ishug me like the night holds the moon.”
“Pretty words to calm the madness, I see,” I commented.
“It’s something her mother used to tell her every night when she tucked her in,” Boss shared. “It was the only thing that seemed to cut through the rage and anger. The truth in my quest to keep her safe was that I broke her, Luca. Initially, we tried therapy to see if we could fix the damage, but she eventually killed most of her therapists. She’s a predator of the highest level and will do what it takes to get her kill. The only reason I’m telling you this now is she’s already had a rough day, and I fear this altercation with the Red Tigers might push her over the edge.”
“I understand your concern, and I’m honored you chose me with this purpose in mind. Your daughter is exactly what this world needs right now to make changes happen, knowing there’s a monster that lurks underneath makes her all the more suited for this,” I said, hoping he’d understand what I was saying. “Are we going to see you at the meeting tonight?”
“No, she asked me to hand this to her, and I intend to do that. Once this is done, I think we all need to go out, show the world we aren’t hiding from this fight,” Boss remarked.
“Sounds like a plan to me. I’ve got to go. I need to call Astin back and figure out what her plan is,” I said, hearing another call beeping on my phone.
“Go, and none of you better fucking get hurt,” Boss ordered then hung up.
As I suspected, it was Astin on the other line. “I’m already here. What do you need?”
“We are pulling into the complex now. Where are you?” she asked.
“Tell the driver I’m in building ten, and the warehouse is open for him to pull right in,” I relayed.
I could hear her instruct the driver before she returned her attention to me. “What do you know?”
“Big Time seems to think you’re making good on your threat to cut him out, but the reality of the matter is that our shipments are late. No one has gotten any product lately,” I explained. “He shot one of our men and said he’d be doing it every five minutes until we got him his drugs.”
“Fucking cock nugget for brains,” Astin swore under her breath. “We’re pulling in. Speak to you in a second.”
The sleek black car I assume Astin was in pulled up with Ryker in his Jeep right behind them. In seconds, Astin was out of the car and opening the trunk. All vehicles had weapons stashed in hidden compartments for situations like this. I headed over, checking my gun, making sure I had a full mag before putting it back in the holster. An SUV pulled up, and Boykov with five men poured out armed to the teeth. Astin, in heels, dress pants, and a black tank top approached with a holster slung over her shoulders, a gun on each side.
“Where’s the building they’re holding up?” she demanded. Everything about her was a clash of lethal energy and an appearance that didn’t match at all. Her hair was up in a messy bun with wisps of hair floating around her face.
I cleared my throat, trying not to get distracted by how fucking hot she was right now. It’s been three years since I’ve been the Family’s assassin, but something about deadly beauty just did it for me. “We are two buildings away, but each of the warehouses is roughly half a city block long, so we’re still far enough away they won’t know we’re here yet.”
“Well, I think it’s about time we changed that,” Astin said with a smirk.
twenty-nine