Shadow Warrior (Shadow Riders 4)

Miceli put a hand on his brother’s shoulder and patted just before he took the chair next to him, facing Taviano and Vittorio. Ricco took the chair directly opposite Giuseppi. Giovanni took the chair directly across from Miceli. His body was nearly, but not quite, in one of the larger shadows cast by the chandelier overhead. Emmanuelle walked around the table, head up, royalty deigning to be with those far beneath her, coming around to take the seat beside Taviano.

Valentino took the chair directly opposite her, leaving two chairs open between Miceli and himself. Miceli’s two sons, Angelo and Tommaso, immediately filled between their father and cousin, leaving Dario standing. Vittorio didn’t like that Val’s cousins were all but smirking when they looked at Emmanuelle, but she didn’t appear to be in any way bothered by their looks, so he kept silent. This was Stefano’s show.

Giuseppi took several food items and poured himself strong coffee. The others, on both sides of the table, followed suit. Vittorio didn’t feel like eating. Sorrow was coming off Giuseppi in waves, but something else, some other strong emotion had crept into the room. The tension in his belly coiled, not like knots, but like a snake, waiting to strike. He couldn’t tell where the source of danger was coming from, but it was in the room, spreading across the table and swirling around his brothers like a cloak of doom.

Stefano stood at the head of the table, his coffee cup close. “Thank you for taking the time to come to the meeting, Giuseppi. I know that every minute away from Greta is difficult for you.”

“I felt this was important, Stefano, to clear up any misunderstandings that have occurred between our two families,” Giuseppi said. “I explained to Greta and she agreed with me. We might have differing points of view, but we have always been allies with one another when necessary.” Deliberately he referred to a terrible attack on the Ferraro family—he’d sent his men to aid them. Of course, at the time, his son was in the line of fire as well.

“It has come to our attention that one of our employees at the nightclub has been working for the Saldi family. We have several men and women who have worked for us for years. Martin Shanks has always been a trusted manager and considered a friend. Timothy Vane is his assistant, also a trusted employee.”

Vittorio watched Miceli and Giuseppi closely as Stefano talked. Giuseppi ate his food calmly but listened attentively. Miceli dropped his hand under the table several times and Vittorio envisioned him whipping out an automatic and spraying the entire Ferraro family with bullets. He felt that same tension coiling in his brothers, but none of them showed it, their faces expressionless as they ate from the abundance of food and drink.

“The cameras had been erased both in the parking lot and inside the club, but fortunately, we have cousins who are amazing with technology and they miraculously resurrected the video for us.”

Vittorio knew the footage was recovered from the backup remotes.

“It clearly shows Timothy Vane escorting your employees, Miceli, Ale Sarto and Lando Gori, into my club, along with Haydon Phillips, who we now know is a serial killer.”

Miceli waved his hand. “Ale and Lando went rogue on me. I would have fired them had I known they were dealing in trafficking. It came as such a shock when I found out. I questioned Lando myself. He was apologetic and begged forgiveness, especially for using your club for such a meeting. His reasoning was, it was the last place they would be spotted by any of their fellow workers. I do not employ this disloyal assistant Vane, nor would I. Clearly, Sarto and Gori were striking out on their own.”

It was the biggest crock of shit Vittorio had ever heard. Miceli’s voice sounded sincere, but the lie was too big to be covered by the superb acting. Vittorio watched the Saldi sons closely. Dario had taken the seat on the outside, beside Val. His gaze was on Taviano, as if he’d chosen the youngest male Ferraro as his personal target. Angelo was watching Giovanni closely. Tommaso had eyes only for Vittorio. That meant Val was on Emmanuelle. Vittorio didn’t like it. If it came to a shoot-out with the Saldi family, he didn’t know if his sister would hesitate before she pulled the trigger. If she did, Val would kill her. Could he get off a shot at Val and then manage to kill Tommaso immediately after? Even knowing Stefano had planned for such a shoot-out, he still went over the scenario in his mind, again and again, practicing until he knew he would be smooth and fast.

“Timothy Vane has been detained and is being questioned by the police,” Stefano continued, his cold dark blue eyes boring into Miceli.