Page 83 of The Breaker
He got dressed in front of me, and that’s when I saw the extent of the damage. “Damn.”
“Asshole got me good,” he said. “What’s the plan?”
“Tommaso and Cosa Nostra are here to help.”
“Good.”
“And I cashed in the debt from the Fifth Republic. Luca’s probably here or almost here. Told him to handle the gangs.”
“You don’t think that will piss off Darius?”
“Darius will think twice before starting a war with the Fifth Republic. Right now, I want him to focus on you.”
“Me?” he asked before he pulled his shirt over his head. “This fucking rag doll?”
“You think he’ll want to finish the job?”
He covered the extent of his injuries beneath his clothes before he started to get his shoes on. “He did say I would make a nice addition to his bedroom set. I’ve been the one consistently pushing back against him. The last resistance of the Roman Republic. Says I’m a modern-day Marcus Aurelius.”
“Quite the compliment.”
He released a quiet chuckle. “Pretty sure it wasn’t meant to be one.”
For a millisecond, I was frozen in time, reunited with the casual banter we’d shared for years. Felt like old times ... like we weren’t in the midst of a war. I blinked, and then it was gone, the present conflict coming back to the forefront. “I don’t have much time before he realizes I’m here. I’m not sure if he’ll come for me or ... hit me where it hurts.”
“The second one,” he said. “So we’ve got to move quickly.”
“You think he’s at the palace?” My fucking house.
“I don’t know. Our brawl happened outside the Quirinal Palace.”
The Quirinal Palace was the private residence of the Italian president. And that meant President Barsetti was either in trouble or he was dead. “What happened?”
“He forced President Barsetti to step down. Darius says there’s no such thing as a republic when there’s a king. I don’t know what happened to Barsetti, because when I got there, I almost died. The military police showed up, and an ambulance took me. Not sure what came after that.”
“I haven’t seen anything on the news that President Barsetti is dead, so that’s a good sign.”
“Maybe. Or maybe no one knows he’s dead.”
We walked out of the hospital together, Rocco doing his best to move normally, but his body was unresponsive. I slowed my walk so it was easier for him to keep up with me without overexerting himself.
We stayed in the lobby before we stepped out onto the street. “How do you feel about being bait?”
He winced from one of his cuts before he straightened. “Bait?”
“Sounds like he’s taking the heads of everyone who resists his ascension to the throne. Put yourself out there, he’ll come. I’ll handle the rest. We’ve got to move fast because it won’t take long for him to realize that I’m in the city. Cosa Nostra will be a dead giveaway. You think you can handle that?”
“If he gets his hands on me, you know I’m dead.”
“You know I won’t let that happen.”
He reached for me and clapped me on the shoulder. “I know, man.”
Rocco made some calls and figured out Darius was at the Pantheon—hanging traitors. I called Tommaso, and he picked us up as we headed across the city to the square famous for evening strolls and gatherings. I’d taken Aurelia to dinner there shortly after we’d moved in together.
We stopped a street over and prepared for the shoot-out. I strapped on a vest because I was going to do everything in my power to get back to Aurelia. Do everything I could to live to hold my baby. To be a father to a daughter so badass no man would ever be good enough for her.
“You got this?” I said to Rocco.
