The question is, how did he get past my armed guards and my security panel?
I reach the bottom floor and move towards my office; in the last direction, I see Frederico heading. A quick scan shows me that he’s not in there.
My staff had the day off except for Serena. She was supposed to be leaving as soon as she cleaned the kitchen. I head towards the kitchen, hoping that she’s fine.
“Sir, you scared me!” she says when I arrive in the kitchen.
“Serena, go downstairs to the wine cellar now. Use the escape hatch and go to the safehouse. Call Marco. Just say ‘Colombo,’ and he’ll know what to do,” I tell her, giving her the key.
I’m probably the only one that knows about the affair between my brother and my cook.
Wide brown eyes stare back into mine. “Is everything okay?” she asks.
“SShhh,” I press a finger against her lips as I listen.
I hear the soft thud of shoes in the hallway. “Go now,” I order, shoving her towards the door to the wine cellar.
As the door closes, I hear a bullet whiz past my ear. Jumping to the floor, I hide behind the island. Those same soft thumps are drawing closer to me. I ease around to the other side of the island and see the dark blue pants leg. As I pull my gun, the pants leg disappears, and I hear laughter behind me.
“I’ll be a motherfucker!” I whisper.
I turn around and see those ice-blue eyes that I hate.
Sneering, Frederico says, “Just couldn’t stay away from her, could you? Heard you had a pretty little piece that you’d gone soft over. Never in a million years would I have imagined that it was the Valentino widow. Thought for sure I’d taken care of that little problem.”
“Yeah? Well, that’s what happens when a boy goes in to handle a man’s job,” I sneer, shooting at him, but I miss.
“Boy?” Frederico laughs and shoots me in the arm.
“Fuck!” I snarl, scooting around the other side of the island.
“You always were a cocky son-of-a-bitch, DeLuca. Maybe that was your downfall. She’s your weakness. She and that bastard daughter.”
“Both of them have more balls than you could ever find between your legs, you sack of shit!” I growl, shooting at him.
I know I’ve missed him again when I hear his laughter, and I push up on my good arm.
“Well, no matter how big her balls are or ain’t, I’m here to finish the job that I started. Figured while I’m at it, I’d help your old man out too. You’ve been a thorn in his flesh since you were born. Can’t do shit right, and you don’t follow orders too well either.”
Angling around the island, I take another shot, and this time I hit as he cries out. We exchange a round of gunfire before I can no longer see him, and I know that he’s no longer in the kitchen. Slowly I get up from my position behind the island.
The pain in my arm is throbbing and driving me crazy. But I blink past it, knowing that I can’t afford this deterrent right now. Gritting my teeth, I walk out of the kitchen, following the blood trail he’s left behind.
“How’d you infiltrate my security, Frederico?”
I hear his maniacal laughter to my right, and I duck into an alcove just as he gets another shot off. Briefly, I wonder where Mila is. I expect her to come when she hears the gunfire, but I still haven’t seen or heard her.
With that thought, I hear gunfire somewhere in the distance, and I can only pray that she’s okay. I want to call out to her, but that might endanger her.
“Guess you can’t trust everybody after all. A few well-placed dollars cater to their perversions, and even the most loyal men can be swayed.”
He shoots off another round of gunfire. I dart down the hall and double-back on him from the living room when it ceases. It’s not him that I find but another man.
I place one between his eyes just as a third man steps into the room. Quickly angling my gun down just a little as the first man goes down, I hit the second man in the gut, and he slumps to the floor.
Rushing to their sides, I grab their guns and leave the room, thankful I’m wearing no shoes. My footsteps are muffled as I make my way down the hall.
Gunshots ring out again, and I head to the other side of the house just in time to see one of my guards taking out another of Colombo’s men.