Gauge, page 8
Blade leaned around the wall separating the kitchen and living room. “Good Lord, why haven’t you made these before?” he mumbled as he stuffed his face. Glancing at Anna, he said, “Baby, you gotta try this.”
Anna lifted her hands. “No way. I gotta fit in a wedding dress.” Her fiancé narrowed his gaze, clearly not liking what she’d implied. “Men don’t understand,” she muttered. “And I had way too many cookies yesterday.”
Gauge couldn’t argue with that, but with the way Viola nodded at her colleague, he figured it was definitely a woman thing.
“Holy shit, this is ridiculous,” Hunter said around a mouthful. The other guys moaned in agreement.
Viola blushed at the praise, and Gauge reached up to rub his chest as it constricted with some unnamed emotion. Of course, that involuntary action had him groaning for a different reason than everyone else.
“Did you take your medicine?” Viola asked after he’d broken her spell with his sound of pain.
“Gonna eat first.” It wasn’t a lie. He fully intended on taking something for pain. Just not any narcotics.
She nodded and went back into the kitchen. As the guys wiped their hands and scattered around the room at various places to work, Gauge ate his snack. When the flavor exploded on his tongue, he had to fight back making any more sounds. He loved sweets, but this had to be the best cinnamon roll he’d ever had. The struggle between wanting to savor every last bite and wanting to inhale it was real. In the end, he wolfed it down and popped a couple of regular ol’ pain pills before checking his email.
“So, what’d I miss?” Gauge asked, not looking up from his screen.
“We didn’t get very far in the investigation yesterday,” Bear said. “The head of the Romano family is still alive.”
“Barely,” Roc muttered. “Sources say he has weeks to live.”
“Francesco is still acting boss, but he’s been barricaded in his dad’s compound since shit hit the fan.”
“You think the order to attack us came from him?” Gauge asked before sipping his coffee.
“I don’t see why not,” Brody said. “Their shipment got fucked, some family arrested, and others killed that night. If they want someone to blame, we’re an easy target.”
“Too many of them know about Heather,” Roc said, his voice clipped.
“And Maya,” Hunter said.
“Hell, and you,” Axle said, pointing at Hunter.
“Too many members of that family saw us there that night,” Gauge said.
“Agreed,” Bear said. “I know we talked about Blade and Anna doing a little recon in Texas, but I think we should wait. I don’t want anybody going in blind.”
“Hey, I know how to stay hidden,” Anna said.
“I can spot you a mile away, baby,” Blade said with a wink.
She rolled her eyes. “That’s because you love me.”
He pulled her onto his lap. “And don’t you forget it.” He kissed her a little too long for mixed company.
“Get a room,” Viola said as she walked in with a plate of eggs, toast, and fruit. “But not mine.” She put the dish in front of Gauge.
“Hey, what about me?” Blade ask, peeking around Anna. “I want some eggs.”
Anna shook her head. “Don’t listen to him. He’s had breakfast.”
“I gotta keep up my strength.” Blade waggled his brows.
Gauge tuned out the banter, blinking up at Viola. “You didn’t have to make me anything,” he whispered. She hadn’t gotten much of a chance to cook for him when they’d been together, but then again, they’d lived in a dorm. It wasn’t as if anybody could prepare a gourmet meal with such limited appliances. Of course, Viola could do awesome things with prepackaged food and a hot plate.
Shrugging, she said, “I was fixing me something anyway.”
She turned to leave, and he clutched her wrist, stopping her. “Thank you,” he breathed.
Viola blushed and gave him a quick nod, and he found himself not wanting to let her go, which of course, made him release her immediately. She went into the kitchen, but within seconds, came back into the room with her own plate of food. Gauge could still feel the heat of her on his palm, but he pushed aside that feeling and ate his breakfast.
Someone’s phone rang, and a couple of the guys reached for their cells.
“Mine,” Viola said. She wiped her mouth and answered, “Lane.”
Bear cleared his throat to drag his attention away from Viola. “I want you to see if you can hack into Felice Romano’s financial accounts. See if he’s moving his wealth to Francesco or one of the other members of his family. We can’t assume Francesco is going to take over once his old man is dead,” he said to Gauge.
“What if it wasn’t a family-sanctioned hit?” Shelby asked.
“Gotta start somewhere,” Bear said.
Viola ended the call and looked up. “We have a problem. Luciano Romano was granted bail on Wednesday.”
Bear blew out a breath.
“How the fuck did he manage that?” Brody asked.
“Money,” Hunter said.
“Why are we just now finding out?” Shelby asked, propping her hands on her hips. “That was days ago.”
“A gag order was issued, and the case was sealed. McMillian is having the judge checked out, making sure he’s on the level,” Viola said.
“You think he’s gonna come after Heather again?” Shelby asked, her gaze flying to Roc.
So did Gauge’s. He trusted all of his teammates, but Roc was the type to shoot first and ask questions later.
Roc gritted his teeth. “I’ll kill him if he tries.”
“Seems odd that he would. Heather saved his life in the end,” Axle said.
“Doesn’t change the fact that he took her and my girlfriend.” Hunter said flatly. “What if he’s behind the attack?”
“Luc was in jail when Gauge was shot,” Shelby said.
“He could be in control and not be the one who pulled the trigger,” Viola said. “He could’ve ordered the hit to happen while he was detained just to make it look like he wasn’t involved.”
“Why put the hit on Hunter, though?” Anna asked, leaning forward on her elbows.
“Because maybe in his screwed-up head he didn’t want Heather to get harmed, yet,” Brody said. “Take out her brother—”
“And her boyfriend,” Viola added, looking pointedly at Roc. “So, there aren’t any obstacles in his way when he takes care of her.”
“She refused to testify against him,” Anna said, frowning. “He has no reason to kill her.”
“Maybe he wants answers,” Viola said. “Or maybe he just wants her. Getting rid of those closest to her first would make it easier for him.”
“Fuck.” Roc jumped up. “She’s at the shop.”
“With Maya,” Hunter said, raking his hand through his hair.
Gauge tapped into the security feed inside the garage before the guys could make a beeline for their cars. “I can see them. Looks like they’re talking to the cleaning crew.” He noticed additional cameras had been installed, covering every square inch of their facility and grounds. A modification that’d happened after he’d gotten shot.
“They’ve all been vetted,” Blade said. “We don’t take chances with people who have access to our shop.”
Roc stormed toward the door, but Bear grabbed him. “Hold on. She’s right here on the feed. She’s fine.”
Hunter pulled out his phone, and Gauge watched the live feed as Maya answered. There was no delay or any evidence that the video was being tampered with.
“Hey, baby. I need you and Heather to wrap it up and head over to Gauge’s house.”
Maya covered the microphone and said something to Heather. Heather turned toward one of the cameras and flipped it off.
“Let me talk to her,” Hunter barked. Maya passed her cell to his sister. “I’m not playing—”
He yanked his phone away from his ear, and Heather’s shouting voice could be heard clear across the room. Roc marched over there and took the phone away from Hunter.
“Dulzura, I know you and Maya were gonna go shopping after you pointed out the extra stuff you wanted the cleaning company to focus on, but we need you guys over here.” He paused, but when her voice didn’t carry, Gauge figured she’d calmed down. “No, need. Just leave now. I’m gonna stay on the phone with you until you get to the car.”
Gauge wasn’t the only one with his eyes glued to computer screens, watching the ladies say final words to the cleaning crew before walking to the car. When a faint apple scent drifted toward him, he looked up as Viola squatted by his chair, watching the feed, too. He adjusted his laptop, so she could get a better view.
When Maya and Heather drove off, the tension in the room lifted.
“Thank you, baby. See you in a few.” Roc ended the call and looked up, his gaze hard. “Heather’s staying with me until this blows over.”
“Not a bad idea,” Brody said. “Your place is a fortress.”
Hunter’s eye twitched. He was still coming to terms with his sister and teammate being a couple, and Gauge couldn’t really blame the guy. Finally, he said, “Maya will stay with me, then.”
“Look at all this testosterone,” Shelby said with a snicker. “Too bad we don’t have time to pop some popcorn before the show because neither of those ladies is gonna take too kindly to their men ordering them around.”
“Unless the four of you stay at Roc’s place,” Anna said, her lip twitching.
Roc looked horrified at the suggestion.
Hunter’s face fell.
Blade barked out a laugh.
“Not a bad idea,” Bear said, rubbing his beard, the only one in the group not fighting humor at the suggestion. “You have the tightest security of any of us. If Heather or Maya is a target, it’s the safest place for them.”
“Plus, they might not kill y’all if they get to stay together,” Anna said.
Gauge had a feeling that the string of Spanish flying from Roc’s mouth was nothing but a bunch of colorful cuss words. Hunter’s foul language needed no translation.
“Guess that’s settled then,” Axle said.
“Yep,” Bear said. “If need be, we can tap you two from Roc’s place, but your primary objective is to protect Heather and Maya until we can figure out if there’s a threat against them. The rest of us will run down leads and take turns doing surveillance of your estate.”
Gauge shifted in his seat to reach for a notepad beside his chair and winced as pain sliced through him.
“Are you okay?” Viola asked, leaning around him.
“Never better,” he quipped and took a slow breath, willing the ache to stop.
“Did you take your—What’s this?” she asked, picking up the ibuprofen he’d stashed. She stared it as if it was the most offensive thing she’d ever seen.
“Something that won’t knock my ass out,” he said, trying his best not to pant at the agony he felt.
“Jesus, you could at least take one. You have sweat beading on your forehead.”
“I need to be able to focus.”
“You need a kick in the ass.”
Brody laughed, cutting the tension. “Y’all sound like an old married couple.”
Viola’s gaze darted away from Gauge.
“Since you’re already here, do you mind staying the night?” Bear asked Viola. Gauge kept his attention squarely on his ex. “We can rotate during the day so you can investigate as needed, but the rest of us are going to be taking nightly shifts to watch Roc’s place. Since the Romanos already kidnapped the women before, I don’t want to risk giving them an opening to do it again.”
“No problem,” Viola said quickly. She turned as if to look to Gauge, but her gaze didn’t meet his. Did she care either way, or did she want to avoid him as much as possible? Soon, it wouldn’t matter if she cared. It would be just the two of them anyway.
The front door banged open, and Heather stood there, anger lighting her gaze. “We’re here. Now, what the heck’s going on?”
“We have a problem with your new friend,” Anna said.
“Huh?” Heather reared back. “Who?”
“The mafia man who kidnapped you,” Hunter answered.
“Twice,” Roc said calmly as he walked over to his girlfriend. “We have to change things up a little bit.”
“Ahh, crap,” Heather muttered. “Why do I get the feeling I’m not gonna like this?”
“You’ll get to stay with me,” Roc said before dropping a kiss on her lips.
“Mmm, I like the sound of that.”
“And me, too,” Hunter barked.
“Oh, balls,” Heather breathed.
Gauge glanced at Viola, mentally agreeing with Heather’s sentiment. He was going to be under the same roof as Viola but without the medication dulling any emotion. Where Heather had two external forces she’d be battling, Gauge’s battle would all be internal, and that’s where it had to stay.
Because he could not, under any circumstance, let his feelings rise to the surface. He couldn’t afford to let anybody see how much Viola affected him. That was not a path he could go down.
He caught Blade’s stare when he finally looked away from her. His teammate cocked a knowing brow at him.
Okay, starting now. Now, Gauge couldn’t let anybody see how much the blond beauty from his past affected him. If he told himself that enough times, hopefully, he’d start to believe it.
Chapter Nine
Luc checked his firearm before signaling to his cousins, Dominick and Salvatore Grasso. His nephew, Franco, was too young to be going into the line of fire, so Luc had him sitting just outside the woods as a lookout. Normally, he wouldn’t use age against a made man, but Luc wasn’t just orchestrating an attack on a fellow crime family member. He was targeting blood relatives. Franco was too green, and frankly, now wasn’t the time for Luc to test the other man’s loyalty.
Especially since he was about to kill the younger man’s father.
The men around him had pledged their allegiance to Luc when he’d met with them after getting released from jail. He wouldn’t have them standing at his back today if they hadn’t. It was times like this that really showed just how loyal someone truly was, but a bond that close couldn’t be tested right now. Franco was too young to be as jaded as the others, but his father had made Franco’s life a living Hell. Even so, he did it knowing his son would never have a chance at leadership. The men at Luc’s side today were all members of the Romano family, but none would ever rise above the rank of soldier.
That changed today.
The Romano elite where meeting inside with Luc’s grandfather, so the time to make his play was now.
Luc’s phone buzzed, and he read the message with a smile. The men he’d brought with him weren’t the only ones on his side. Georgio and Valerius were capos in the Romano family and were inside waiting for Luc’s signal. A few soldiers under each man were also standing guard at various points around the compound. It was how Luc and his cousins had been able to get to the front without any issues. Luc wasn’t just deadly. He was smart. If he could get out of this without any bloodshed, he would, but it wasn’t possible. Not in this life.
Luc sent a reply before lifting his hand to signal for Salvatore to proceed. The men all moved in unison. The six soldiers who’d come with their capos would remain outside with Franco. Luc, Salvatore, and Dominick would surprise Francesco and his guys. Georgio and Valerius would back him up if shit went sideways.
Unless he was walking into a trap.
It was entirely possible, and it didn’t even matter.
“This is for you, Uncle Diego,” Luc muttered as the three converged and entered through the main door.
“If only he’d listened to you first,” Salvatore said.
“Hold that thought. We might not be leaving here on our own two feet, either.”
They rounded the corner into the parlor where everyone was seated, just as Georgio’s message had revealed.
“Luciano, what’s the meaning of this?” Francesco asked, slowly rising. “You’re interrupting a private family meeting.”
“Am I not family?” Luc asked. He pointed at the two men who had entered with him. “Are they not?”
Francesco blustered. “Of course, but this is Romano business.” And Luc was a Grasso. Francesco didn’t say it. He didn’t have it. The meaning was all too clear.
It always was.
“Was it you?” Luc asked, pinning his gaze on his smarmy uncle. “Did you order that hit?”
“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.” His eyes briefly darted to the side.
“You’re a terrible liar.”
Luc whipped out his gun.
Every man in the room did the same without hesitation. Luc didn’t know who was pointing at him. He refused to look away from the man who’d kill him in the blink of an eye.
“You’re outnumbered,” Francesco said easily, his voice calm even if his hand shook.
“Did you order the hit on the mercenary group?”
Francesco’s eyes darkened. “Yes. They interfered with—”
“Who did you send to do it?” Luc asked. He didn’t care what Francesco’s ill-advised reasoning was.
“I don’t answer to you,” he yelled.
Luc shot him in between the eyes.
Men shouted around him. Guns fired in a fog of controlled chaos. If he hadn’t anticipated every action, he’d be worried, but he had. And he was not.
Seconds later, it was all over. Just as he’d calculated.
Luc looked around the room, taking in the carnage. Bodies of the Romano upper echelon littered the floor. All but one.
Without a backward glance, Luc turned and rushed up the stairs. He burst into his grandfather’s bedroom. The man sat on the edge of his bed, an oxygen mask in one hand and a gun in another. He could barely lift either.
“Luciano.” The man’s voice was shaky. Weak.
