Page 158 of When She Falls (The Fallen)
I tighten my hold on my gun, keeping it lowered.
The newcomers block the lights with their bodies, and that’s when I see him.
“Fuck,” I mutter under my breath.
Nunzio breaks off from his friends and walks toward me, his steps slow and cocky. There’s a gun at his side and a smirk on his face that tells me he thinks it’s his lucky day.
He laughs as he stops a few steps away. “Didn’t think you’d be stupid enough to come back here after what you pulled. Did you know your name was on the menu?”
I grit my teeth. Orrin had informed me of that fact when I returned. The menu is a list of names the families sign off on as being fair game. I don’t know the details of how it works, but apparently, I landed on it for a while. Twenty-four hours after Gemma returned, I was off. Maybe Vince and Messero decided I wasn’t worth the effort once they got what they wanted.
“Sounds like you missed your chance,” I say. “It’s not on it now.”
Nunzio sniffs. “Don’t think the boss will be too angry if someone finds your body floating in the river a few days from now. If you were smart, you’d hide in whatever hole you crawled out off.”
Orrin appears at my side.Idiot.He should have stayed in the van. No good will come out of him associating with me.
Nunzio squints. “That you, Petraki?”
“Yeah, it’s me. Want to explain what the fuck this is?”
He shrugs. “Why settle for ten percent when we can get all of it?”
“That’s not how this works, and you know it,” Orrin growls. “Does your capo even know you’re here? Should I give him a call to inform him? This was clearly negotiated and agreed on last month.”
“Last month?” Nunzio snickers. “Fuck, Petraki. That may as well have been last century with how much has happened since. Now, here’s what you’re going to do. Your buddies are going to get out of the van and hand us the keys. You’re going to wait until we’re far away from here before you start walking your ass back to Manhattan. And tomorrow, you’re going to give me a call and tell me what a nice time you had tonight. Got it?”
I scan the three guys standing behind him. “You’re bluffing.”
Nunzio arches a brow. “How’s that?”
“You don’t have clearance to do this. You’re just hoping to pull it off and ask for forgiveness instead of permission.”
It’s only because I’ve spent years deciphering Nunzio’s emotions from the tiny movements in his face that I catch it. A small twitch in the left side of his mouth. It’s always been a tell.
Orrin gives me a barely there bump with his arm, signaling he’s following my lead. Four against four. I’ve dealt with far worse odds before.
“Yeah?” Nunzio asks, his voice low. “You sure know a lot for someone who went from Ras of the Casalesi to working for one of the most insignificant outfits in New York. How’d you end up here if you’re so smart?”
I smirk. “By doing stupid, reckless shit like this.”
The bullet leaves my gun before the last word leaves my mouth, but Nunzio lunges out of the way, and it only grazes his arm.
He hisses in pain and clutches his biceps. His cronies immediately draw their own weapons, but Orrin and his crew have already taken cover behind the van. I duck and roll to the left to join them as another gunshot rings out. It’s followed by the sound of glass shattering, metal clanging against metal, and a muffled groan.
Orrin curses. “Fuck, they hit the truck driver.”
“We need to end this quickly,” I tell him, peeking around the van.
I’ve been in gunfights before, but this one feels different. More personal.
I can hear Nunzio barking orders to his men.
“Now,” I snap.
With a nod from Orrin, Speedy and Chris emerge from behind the van, guns blazing. I follow closely behind, my own weapon steady in my grip. The sound of gunfire echoes in the empty parking lot, bouncing off the walls of the surrounding buildings.
Speedy takes a hit, toppling over, but so do Nunzio’s men. They fall quickly. Nunzio himself is a different story. He’s faster than I expect him to be. He dodges every bullet and manages to make it back around his car.
