She observed the men for a few more minutes as they did a second circular pattern, overlapping with a fourth pair of men from a different grid, making their rounds stealthily through the neighborhood. Another brother would be memorizing that pattern. She didn’t find one instance of anyone so much as pushing a curtain back to peek out and look from any of the surrounding houses.
Emme caught another shadow that took her down to the ground, across the yard and up to the next house. She went building to building, removing the sentries that Miceli or Angelo had placed on the western end of the subdivision, waiting for Valentino’s arrival.
Once she had cleared those on top of the houses, she went to the ground. That was a little trickier. She had to avoid any of the traps set for Val’s soldiers as they swept through. She carefully marked the land mines she found or suspected for her brothers to dismantle as she followed her prey. The shadow tube she chose was fast. She stopped only to place the little mark her brothers would recognize before once again proceeding after the first pair of roving sentries.
She came up on the two men and waited until one dropped back just a little before coming out of the shadows. She gripped his head to administer the wrenching break and then was on his partner before the first body dropped. She dragged them against the side of the house so the bodies lay in the deeper unkept grasses, appearing part of the debris building up around the crumbling buildings. As always, she had calculated where to find the next pair of roving sentries and she’d already chosen her shadow. Calmly, she stepped into it.
Emmanuelle never thought about how many men she might have to kill in order to make it safe for Valentino’s men to enter the neighborhood. She had pushed Val out of her mind. The only goal was to save the children kept in the dirty dog cages Stefano had told them about. Not once had her brother’s expression changed. Not one single time. His voice hadn’t changed when he gave them their orders.
Stefano had seen a lot of things in his life. He had grown up fast and had to make very tough decisions at a young age. She knew her brother could be counted on no matter what. She also knew he was ruthless and every bit as merciless, and then some, as Valentino. She’d often wondered if that was why she had been so drawn to Val in the first place.
Stefano was dangerous, but he was loyal, and he would protect what was his with everything he was, no matter how difficult the decision. She knew she was tough, and she could do what was necessary to defend those she loved, but she had a soft heart. Bringing murderers and rapists to justice didn’t bother her, but she could never do what Stefano or Valentino did to get answers fast in order to find out where innocent children were being held. She knew that would tear her apart. She couldn’t watch or hear it or think about it. Sometimes she tried to be like her brothers and put on her stoic face when they had to cast a vote on prisoners living or dying, but somehow, her family seemed to know. The moment she voted, her brothers escorted her out.
This was different. This was about saving children and stopping the monsters who sold them without a qualm. She dropped the last pair of sentries and carefully patrolled every inch of the ground around the houses, marking any place she found that could hold a hidden trap for those walking. Already, the cleanup crews were working to remove any of the lethal bombs hastily placed in the ground.
The good news was Miceli’s men didn’t have a lot of time to build the bombs. The subdivision was small enough, and there were still people living in the run-down area. It might be old and dilapidated, but those people called it home. Miceli couldn’t order them all killed. That meant those living in the houses had to have a way to safely leave to go to work or get groceries. It would be stupid to place a bomb that would go off in their path and tip off Valentino that Miceli had prepared traps for him.
“Moving into the neighborhood now,” Valentino’s voice whispered softly in her ear.
Her heart instantly accelerated. The outside sentries were taken care of, but there were so many in the three-story apartment building. And what about the other side? She and Vittorio had ensured the sentries were down on the western side and Giovanni and Max along with two others had taken apart the bombs—a much longer and tedious process. That had to happen in three other quadrants. Now she worried about Valentino.
“We’re moving into position to back you up in the building,” Stefano’s voice answered. “Tell your men to look sharp and avoid any area on the ground marked with a small check formed by something natural such as a twig or grass blades. A bomb will still be live. My people are still dismantling them.”
There was a small silence. At once, Emmanuelle felt Valentino’s concern. Not just his, but Dario’s as well. She knew that concern was for her.
“Sir.”
Emmanuelle didn’t recognize the voice, but it was familiar.
“Your wife. She’s out there. We need to get her back here with us.”
That was definitely unprecedented. No one spoke on an open channel to the head of the family about his wife that way. There was genuine worry in the voice. The man didn’t seem to care that he might be taking his own life in his hands. She realized that had to be one of the bodyguards assigned to her. Levi or Axel. They were brothers and sounded a lot alike.
Again, there was a short silence. Stefano broke it. “She’s safe.”
“Sir. The threats are credible.”
“One thing at a time.” That was definitely Val.
“She’s safe.” Stefano’s voice was flat. Cold. That shut-thefuck-up voice that demanded instant obedience.
Wait. What? Threats? Credible? Were they talking about threats to her? She took a deep breath and let it out. Valentino had worried about that. In fact, it had been his number one concern. He’d said showing any kind of emotion for her made him vulnerable. By marrying her, he’d put a target on her back. He was stirring up trouble taking over as head of his father’s organization. They hadn’t been married that long, but it was no secret they’d been seeing each other on and off for years. She wasn’t going to be surprised or concerned.
“First concern, those children. Second, I want both prisoners alive,” Valentino continued, this time with an edge of steel to his tone.
His men looked like a pack of wolves as she watched them from her vantage point. They came into the subdivision from every direction, guns looking like extensions of their bodies, showing all too much familiarity with those weapons. They were in good shape, moving fluidly, stealthily, straight toward the three-story apartment building.
Her eyes automatically sought out Valentino, the love of her life. Her heart did that curious melting sensation that annoyed her, but she was coming to terms with it when she saw him striding in the middle of the men trying to surround him, trying to cover him. Dario was there. She hadn’t started out liking Dario. In fact, she had regarded him with open hostility, but now he was family to her. She worried about his safety as much as she did about Valentino’s. Maybe more. Dario took terrible risks. He didn’t seem to care whether he lived or died, only about getting the job done. This job definitely was personal to all of them.
Vittorio ran his hand down the back of her head. “You all right, honey? You ready for what you might see in there?”
“As long as those children are alive, I’m good with what has to be done. Stefano said they were alive. Let’s get them out of there.”