Page 31 of War Within
Valentina skipped away, laughing, probably expecting a chase.
“She has always loved the snow.” Giovanni turned to me, chuckling. “It really brings out the kid in her.”
Marco furrowed his brow, glaring at his father. He was wearing sunglasses as well, but it was obvious he was angry. He sighed audibly.
“You want to tell me what's wrong?” Giovanni lifted his aviators.
Marco threw his head back, laughing. “Fuck off!” He turned around, strutting back to the chalet.
“What the hell?” Giovanni mumbled under his breath. Crossing his arms, he glowered in his direction. “He never speaks to me that way.”
“Do you think he saw you kiss me?”
“Fuck.”
Undisclosed Location: Serbia Warehouse
“You assholes let them get away!” Tony screamed at the four of us.
My boss, Tony, got wind of Giovanni fleeing for Serbia. He insisted we follow him. He had been tracking him for a much bigger reason. His boss had a vendetta against Giovanni and was determined to bring him down, along with his entire family. I had yet to find out why.
“Hey! Carmine’s the one who gave our real names.” Joey threw me under the bus. “Fucking idiot.”
“He would have known who I was anyway.” I gritted my teeth in anger, lighting a cigarette, holding myself back from killing everyone in the warehouse.
“Who are you calling an idiot, Joey?!” Tony growled.
Joey recoiled, panic stricken. “Carmine, not you.”
“Not the strong silent type now are you, Joey?” I scoffed.
Tony, bald and covered in tattoos, was ill-tempered. He wanted to the be the big boss so badly, but he had no clue how to speak to human beings. He was not charming in any way. He always wore a white tank top and leather jacket, assuming that alone made him attractive and threatening. It was freezing outside but he was too proud to wear layers.
“Shut up!” He spat a wad of phlegm on the wet, uneven concrete floor. “Listen, if the Big Fish hears this happened, my ass will be under fire which means—”
Frank, one of the most unintelligent people I had ever met, lifted his hand.
“What, Frank?” Tony folded his arms over his stomach.
“We're not going to let that happen.” Frank fumbled over his words. He was not the best at communicating.
Tony ignored him. “Now here’s the plan. As soon as we are given the location, Sammy & Joey will get the girl.”
Frank raised his hand once again. I tried hard to hold my smile, but I was enjoying watching how much it frustrated Tony. Observing intently, I took deep, slow drags of my cigarette, expecting Tony to lunge at Frank, knocking him on his ass. Unfortunately for Tony, Frank was twice as big.
Sammy, one of the other men, chuckled when Tony’s face started to turn a bright shade of red. I think he was the only other one who also understood how unorganized these men were.
“What, Frank?” Tony huffed, shooting Frank daggers.
“Rovati has security everywhere. Cameras, people, maybe a moat with sharks, Emir. Emir for sure has ninja skills—”
“Oh my God, shut up.”
Frank continued, not hearing Tony’s mumbling. “Probably cameras in the form of rocks, dogs, mirrors that have cameras behind—”
“Oh my God! Shut up!” Tony roared, his voice echoing off every metal wall.
Unfazed, Frank shrugged. “I'm just sayin'—”
