Shadow Flight (Shadow Riders 5)

Ricco kissed Mariko and then indicated he would take the taller of the two men. Unfortunately, Emidio was very short. Mariko would have to serve justice on him, and he would be guarded by the other three. He would also be the wariest. Mariko simply nodded and waited for the four men to stalk past them.

Ricco caught the names of the two tall men. The one wearing a dark green shirt was called Juan, and the other Marcos. The shorter man pacing alongside Emidio was Carlos. Carlos was slim and wiry-looking. Ricco didn’t like the look of him and hoped that Mariko noticed that of all of Emidio’s soldiers, Carlos was the one most dangerous. That, Ricco decided, was the drawback to partnering with his wife. His attention was divided, even knowing she was excellent at her job. She’d trained from the time she was a toddler and excelled at her work, yet he still worried about her.

What of Nicoletta? She might be an anomaly. She had a fast learning curve, and he’d watched her. All of them had. They’d discussed the fact that she never had to be told something twice, that every week she was faster and deadlier on the training mats. That didn’t take away from the fact that Mariko had years of training on her and Ricco still worried. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like for Taviano if Stefano really gave the couple the go-ahead to work together as a pair.

Mariko fell into step behind Carlos, using the shadowing technique. Ricco couldn’t move on the taller men until they were out of sight of the two others. He stayed in the shadows, watching them, keeping close to them by moving from one shadow to the next, using the darkness when he had to come out in the open. Part of his attention was on Mariko as she stalked Emidio’s bodyguard.

“Stay close,” Carlos hissed at Emidio when he quickened his pace. Juan and Marcos had a fairly good lead on them, their longer strides putting distance between the men.

“I don’t want to get separated,” Emidio snapped, but he slowed, taking a firmer grip on his weapon. “Shit, Carlos. Bodies.”

Marcos and Juan had gotten to Alejo and Don. They went back-to-back and then Juan cautiously crouched down to examine the bodies.

Emidio halted a distance away when Carlos put a cautionary hand on his arm. “Who is it?” Emidio called out.

“Alejo and Don,” Marcos answered.

“Necks are broken,” Juan added, straightening. “They never saw it coming. Alejo was taking a piss.”

Emidio swore savagely. “You see Cleto anywhere? Did he do this?”

“A pro did this,” Juan said. “Someone who knew what they were doing.”

Ricco was surprised that Juan would recognize that. The man kept his cool when the three remaining Demons had to be a little panicked. He could understand why Emidio had kept these men close to him. Cleto was a wild card, probably useful in a fight but constantly a troublemaker. These three men were different, all business, and their business was to protect Emidio.

Mariko waited, her breath barely moving through her lungs, her energy so low nothing could possibly give her away. There was no warning to Carlos that danger stalked him. He might be the most lethal of the four men in the alley, but a beautiful woman wearing a pinstriped suit signifying she was a Ferraro, a bearer of justice, matched him footstep for footstep. He had one hand on Emidio’s arm, while the other fisted his gun, and he looked around carefully to ensure no one was close that could harm the man he protected.

Ricco watched, his heart pounding, his mouth dry, as Mariko made her move, uncaring that Carlos stood so close to Emidio. She caught his head from behind, wrenched his neck and whispered, “Justice is served.” Immediately she stepped into a shadow. She had chosen her moment based on the light coming and going from the gaudy neon signs overhead.

Ricco let his breath out in a long rush. She was beautiful. Magnificent. His body reacted, a rush of heat pumping through his veins, filling his groin with hot blood. She stepped out of the shadow directly behind Emidio as he turned to look at Carlos. Carlos’s hand had slipped from his arm and the body was falling backward toward the rocky asphalt.

Emidio took a step forward, frowning, unable to believe his own eyes. He hadn’t heard a sound and had no idea why his bodyguard would be falling. As he stepped forward, Mariko timed her moment and caught his head, wrenching hard. The man dropped almost on top of his guard. Mariko uttered the classic words in her soft voice and once more disappeared into the shadows.

Ricco had only to wait for Marcos and Juan to notice that both men were down. When no orders were given, the two tall men stepped into the light to try to catch a better look at the man they took orders from. When they saw the two bodies lying on the ground, they ran right past Ricco to them. Again, it was Juan who examined them.