Matt swiped at his eyes and drove as fast as he could to the restaurant where Antonio did his business. Now that Maya and Jason were safe, he had to finish this. He called Ricki again, but still no answer.

When he pulled up to the restaurant, he found chaos. People were hurrying out of the restaurant, some on phones, some crying, some looking terrified, some looking pissed off.

He rushed inside. The place was empty of patrons and the staff seemed to be missing as well. Then he found out why.

From the backroom, he heard a cascade of gunshots and shouting. Things were already going down. Ricki’s plan had been to gather as many family members as possible to his side, then storm the place and kill anyone who got in his way.

It wasn’t meant to happen for weeks. Once everyone had a chance to get things in order and get their families to safety. But somehow Antonio had found out. Someone must’ve told him.

Matt put his back to the door and listened. This was a terrible situation to walk into. He had no idea who was in there or what was happening. He pushed the door open a crack.

Tables and chairs were turned over. He saw someone crouching behind a chair, in sight of the door. Sam looked over at Matt and motioned for him to come in and join him.

Matt hurried in and crouched down beside Sam. “What the hell is going on?” Matt whispered.

He peeked around the room. The place had been trashed. A dead body was in the middle of the floor and there were smears of blood all over. Gunshot holes, broken chairs, cash scattered across the floor.

“Ricki said you were in,” Sam said.

“I am.”

“It started. Antonio is in the bathroom.” He motioned toward the other door in the room, and Matt saw Ricki sitting beside it.

Matt rushed over to Ricki’s side.

“He’s in there,” Ricki said, “With I think two more.”

“Then let’s go in.”

“Are you nuts? It’s suicide.”

Matt looked around. There had to be something that would help them. Then he saw the fire extinguisher a few feet away.

He dashed to get it, ripped it from the wall, and headed back to Ricki. He motioned for Sam to join them.

“I’ll kick in the door and spray,” Matt said. “You both run in and take them out.”

Ricki and Sam nodded. Matt took a deep breath and kicked the door open. It slammed hard and bounced back, but Matt stopped it with his foot as he let the spray loose.

White foam and spray filled the space, making the perfect screen. Neither side could see a thing, but Antonio was at a disadvantage being trapped in the small room.

Matt heard shouting and several gunshots, then minutes later, Ricki hobbled back out.

“What happened?” Matt asked.

“Got him. Bobby got Sam. I got Bobby. Chris tried to surrender. I got him, too.”

Ricki put his hands on his knees. He was bleeding from a gunshot wound in his shoulder.

“You better get that cleaned up,” Matt said.

“Thanks for your help. Several of them took off. We’ll have to hunt them down.”

“Tell me who and I’ll find them.”

“Most are with us.”

Matt wasn’t surprised. Antonio didn’t treat anyone well and most of the family hated him, though they were still loyal. But Ricki was well liked and would be a much better boss. Most of the men were smart enough to know when to switch sides.

When the initial gunfight ended, things were quiet for a few days. Those against Ricki were in hiding, being slowly drawn out and killed off. Matt had a list of those they were hunting and spent all his waking time finding them or getting information to find each and every one of them.

He hoped it would be done in days. It took weeks. But finally, the day came.

“Boss,” Matt said when he walked into the new mafia headquarters.

Ricki nodded at him and gestured to an empty seat. Several other men sat around the table. Though their numbers had been reduced some by the standoff, the majority of the family were here, ready to work for Ricki now.

“Thank you all for coming,” Ricki said. “I’m going to give out new assignments and we’ll get things reorganized. I know a new boss can cause some chaos, but we’ll get things sorted and settled as quickly as possible. First thing. Everyone’s commission has now been raised by 10%.”

A cheer went up in the room. Antonio had been taking a huge cut of everything they made. A 10% changed was a big deal. Ricki gave out new titles and assignments. Then, he turned to Matt.

“I have an extra special assignment for you, my friend.”

Matt swallowed hard. He didn’t want an assignment. Ricki said he would be free.

“We’ll talk in private about it later,” Ricki said. “Now, we celebrate.”

Matt wasn’t interested in a party, but he didn’t have much choice. Leaving a party like this would suggest he was unhappy about his new boss. That wasn’t the case, so he joined the crowd in the bar and sat sipping a beer and thinking, as he always did, of Maya and Jason. What were they doing right at that moment?

Ricki sat beside him. “I hope you can understand. I didn’t want to say this in front of everyone.” He stuck out his hand and Matt shook it. “We had a deal. You’re a free man.”

The relief washed over Matt. “Thank you, sir. I know you’ll be a good boss.”

“Will you stay in this area?”

“Not sure.”

“Well, if you do and you ever want a job, let me know. Even if you’re not in the family, I could throw you work when you want it.”

“I appreciate that. I really do. I want to go straight, though. Live a clean life with my family.”

“Good luck to you.” Ricki patted his arm and walked off.