“Okay, Miles,” Letty said as dread swirled in her belly. She had a horrible feeling coursing through her heart.
“There is something I need to do now. I need you and Landon to stay in the back seat.”
“What do you need to do?”
“My father is going to get what is coming to him, and we are going to go get G and your dad.”
“But Miles—”
“Letty, my father is using your child as collateral to get me up in Brooklyn. I’m putting a bullet in the old bastard’s brain. We’re going up to New York. We’re getting your son and your father back. Then, in a week, we’re leaving Carrion. I have a plan. You just need to trust me.”
Thoughts raced through Letty’s brain as she looked up at Miles. No further words were spoken though as Miles rushed Letty’s lips with a desperate kiss.
“I love you, Letty Alves. You’re going to be my wife. I’m going to give you babies. We just have to get through the next week. Everything will be all right. I promise.”
“How can you promise that with all that we’re up against?”
“I spent the last seventeen years plotting revenge. Do you really think I haven’t thought all this out?”
Letty smiled faintly as Miles walked away. Opening up the car door, Miles faced Landon. Passing him two bulletproof vests and a gun, Miles gave his brother a serious look.
“I don’t understand why I have to sit in the back seat, I’m a police officer, for Christ’s sake!” Landon barked.
“Wait! He knows?!” Letty spat. “How?!”
“Yeah, I know. The kid was the only one who bothered to visit me in the can. I figured it out shortly after he entered the academy,” Miles admitted.
“Dude, again. I’m a cop. I’m not sitting back here while you go against the entire family!” Landon spouted.
“An undercover one. Sit your ass back there and pipe down. Your job is to keep her calm,” Miles said as he motioned to Letty.
“Miles, please!”
“Letty, this is something that I have to do.”
Hearing the seriousness in Miles’s voice, Letty withheld her protest, and remained silent as she sat down next to Landon in the back seat of the car.
Miles continued, “Because if I do not take him out, he will take my life… and there will be no next week.”
Miles settled into the driver’s seat.
“Put those vests on, and stay back there no matter what. Corina has bulletproof windows. You’ll be safe inside,” Miles said gravely. “Landon, let me see your cell phone for a sec.”
Landon did as he was told, passing the phone to his brother. Miles dialed a few digits and put the phone up to his ear. As he revved his engine, Miles spoke, “It’s time.” Quickly, Miles ended the call and slammed on the gas pedal.
“Talk to me,” Knox said into his cell phone as he leaned against the wall of the War Room in the Capadonno mansion.
“It’s time,” Miles said in a growl.
Ending the call as his eyebrows raised in interest, Knox gave Dustin a dark look and said, “He’s coming. Rally ’em up.”
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
THE RED DUSK SKY burned fierce over Carrion as a vintage black Dodge Charger ripped through the Town Center. Its engine purred as it cut through Carrion like a bullet with its target set on the illustrious and seemingly untouchable Capadonno mansion. The sun dropped below the horizon, its final rays gleaming off of the glossy paint of Corina’s hood. Miles Capadonno clenched the wheel with a calm look upon his face, calm all except for his eyes which were drilled on the road before him. His dark brown eyes appeared black and emotionless as he drove towards the estate he once called home. This wasn’t business anymore. This was personal. Michael Capadonno had crossed Miles for the last time.
A screeching whistle cried from Dustin’s lips as he caught everyone’s attention in the War Room.
“Listen up!” Dustin yelled.
Suddenly, everyone’s eyes weren’t on Dustin. Sitting behind his regal walnut desk, Michael Capadonno had a strange smile on his face.
“How you wanna do this, Butch?” Big Bang asked Michael.
There was a gleam in the old man’s eye, a hint of excitement, a spark of hysteria. In a bark, Michael replied, “Old School. Let’s go meet the prodigal son at the gates.”
Miles revved his engine at the gates of the Capadonno compound as the fading light of day sunk below the horizon. Miles had a lethal edge to his stare. With her high beams on, Corina lit a narrow path upon the driveway of the Capadonno estate. Huddled masses moved within the shadows of the forest. Miles could hear them coming closer, but he couldn’t yet identify any of them.
From the darkness, Michael Capadonno stepped into the trail of light being emitted by Corina’s high beams. Flanked by his sons, Knox and Dustin, Michael stood in the light looking gaunt and malevolent as his eyes stared at Miles’s face behind the wheel. Holding his father’s gaze for a moment, Miles didn’t flinch or look away from his father’s eyes. In his heart, Miles truly believed he was looking into the eyes of the devil.