***ZANE’S POV***
Downstairs, Reaper, Sinner, Caleb, Pierre, and Jesse are sharing a glass of whiskey while talking in low tones.
Micah is sitting at the table at the end of nursing a glass of scotch.
“Aren’t you supposed to be drinking that?” I ask using my index finger to point at the glass in his hand.
“It makes me forget the pain. Don’t tell London though, I don’t want her poor heart worrying about me,” he chuckles shaking his head.
I roll my eyes and slide down on the sofa, close to his chair. I have a good view of the men’s faces and it prepares my mind for what I have to say.
“I can’t rest when my wife is a threat to some dick-ass men,” I start.
“Yes,” a chorus of replies passed through.
Admiration spread across my face as I waited for Jesse to spill the tea.
“I went deeper into checking out Michel Logan and you wouldn’t believe the dirt I found on him,” Jesse says pushing the Manila file to my side.
Grabbing it, I open it and see pictures of private warehouses with Mike standing in front of it. These are discrete shots taken of the motherfucker, he has a face cap on his head, but I will still recognize the meatloaf head anywhere.
“Where is this?” I demand glaring at him.
“Aloha District. Near the new port. Don Rio’s men contacted me about this man starting a business there. I guess he didn’t discover you were related to Rio Monteleo or, he ignored the fact,” he explains tapping the tips of his fingers on the glass table.
Reaper hands me a glass of whiskey and thanking him with a head nod, I push back the liquid down my throat, drinking everything.
“We need to get him alive. Burn down the warehouses,” I order.
But we would need a stronger plan than that, and London doesn’t need to be left alone here at any cost.
“When do you want that done?” Pierre asks.
Before I could reply, Jesse continued speaking.
“There is a two-night break here, where I heard a supposed shipment is supposed to come, if that is the case then, we can attack during the process, while they are busy shipping, we get the boss and we head out,” Jesse explains.
Jesse is one of my trusted men, despite the fact that I had threatened to kill him when he had punched London to unconsciousness a while back, he had made it up to her as promised.
He has a good soul. Once, I had asked him why he had joined the mafia and decided to work for me. His reply had been curt but left a gap in my soul.
“I need to take care of Mama. She has cancer. My little brother is eleven and needs to be taken care of. Nanny and all that shit,” he says.
I hadn’t questioned him, there was nothing to say.
He makes enough money to cover up his expenses, but I had heard the men teasing him once that he kept putting his foot in his mouth by fucking his nanny.
It happens his nanny is a twenty-one-year-old girl from South Carolina. He’s got a big crush on her too.
‘Huffs!’
As long as he doesn’t fuck me up and does a good job digging dirt on my enemies, I have no problems with him.
“I need men here on the night we are gone. Michael is a slimy asshole. He can attack when we least expect it,” I say flipping through the papers from the open file.
“Yes, that is true,” they all agree.
One thing I am grateful for is having a loyal staff. They would always have my back, and London, they would protect her even if it meant losing their lives in the process.
“I have got four men who will keep an eye on London at all times, Boss. At the slightest sound, they would raise an alarm,” Reaper explains staring at me with satisfaction.
“Thank you, Reaper,” I murmur.
We discussed this for a while before I brought up the plan that will be executed in the Aloha district.
“Five cars will be dispatched with three men in it each. Micah and Sinner wouldn’t be part of the mission,” I say.
I see the fight in their eyes, but Sinner beats me to it first.
“No. I need to be there, Zane. You know that. I had a scratch, that is all. It wouldn’t stop me from fighting,” he states.
“You had a bullet wound. One that left you inactive for a few days,” I argue.
“I will do it or die trying,” he blurts out.
“Me too,” Micah says.
As if my men read my thoughts, they turned to face Micah, yelling at the same time.
“No, Micah,”
He looks hurt and grits his teeth.
“Trust me, Zane, I can do this. I also have a small wound,” he says.
Looking around, he sucks a good breath, stands, and throws the glass of whiskey in his hand.
“I am going,” he barks as he walks away.
“No, Micah! You will stay here and protect your sister while I and my men will be outside fighting against Michael and the Antonovs,” I explain.
He looks at me, that same stubbornness his baby sister always uses to flash at me evident on his face.
I would have laughed if this wasn’t such a bad time.
With Micah’s face burning red, he walks out of the room and as he climbs the stairs, I see the unmistakable form of my wife disappear into the distance.
“Little snitch,” I murmur beneath my breath.
I will have her ass painted red when this is over. Baby or not, she is still squeaky as ever. She knows I hate it when she eavesdrops on my conversation with my men.
“Okay gentlemen, have some sleep, the trip to Aloha is no joke. We need everything prepared by the time we leave,” I explain smoothly.
“Yes Boss,” the men say sipping their whiskeys, their eyes having promising tales in them.