Chapter 32

Dane

The drive to Pearl County is done in silence. I know I told Salvatore I would let him handle Guido Lamberti, but if he has my sister that will be a different matter. At the moment, it is better to work with him than against him.

By the time we reach the convoy coming from Pearl, night is starting to fall. Whoever has Emily has now had her for hours. My only hope is that they keep her safe, that they think she is valuable to me or to Salvatore.

The car has barely come to a stop when I am out and pull open the door to grab Guido Lamberti. I have him by the shirt and pushed up against the car when I realize his soldier has a gun pointed at me.

“You will take your hands off Mr. Lamberti or I will shoot you,” says the man inside the car.

“You take that fucking gun off me and I might let you fucking live, how does that sound?” I growl at him. He cocks the gun and Jonas sticks his own Glock in the guy’s face.

“Vinnie, is it? This is the man in charge, our President. Now, if you don’t put your gun away I am going to put a very big fucking hole in your head.”

Now that Jonas has him under control, I look at the man I have pushed up against the car, but he isn’t looking at me. I feel a hand on my shoulder and I hear, “This is not the way, Dane, you will get nothing out of him this way. We must show Mr. Lamberti the correct amount of respect. This is how it is done.”

Guido begins to laugh and I can feel the vein in my neck start to pulse. “I tell you what? This fucker tells me where Emily is and I let him live, this is how we do it,” I say.

Guido locks his eyes with mine. “Emily? Who is Emily? I am here to find out why you have undercut the Abruzzi family business and to find out how much you cut Sal here in for.” Then he smiles and I can see he’s a fucking liar.

I straighten out his shirt and pat him on the shoulders, then take a step back and smile. He smiles at me and I say, “Get his man out of the car.” I reach into Guido’s jacket, pull out his gun and smile at him. “Pat them both down and make sure no one has any weapons.” Guido cocks his head to the side and stares at me as Jonas pats him down. When he is flipped over, I glance at Salvatore. “If the situation was reversed and she was your sister, would you react any differently?” I ask.

“Dane, I think I know your sister better than you, so yes I would, and I am reacting differently to you. This is not the way,” he says.

“So, the sister does mean something to you, Sal? Apparently you two are very cozy; how come we haven’t seen her before, where have you been hiding her?” says Guido.

“Guido, I promise you I only met this woman a few days ago. Return her to her family before it is too late.” Salvatore tries to appeal to Guido.

“You expect me to believe that? A man doesn’t shower a stranger in gifts unless, of course, she’s a good fuck, so tell me, Sal, is she? Or do I have to wait to ask Johnnie?” Guido laughs and so does his man. Red colors my vision as I punch him in the mouth and feel his teeth loosen.

I pull back to hit him again when Sal grabs my arm. “There are too many witnesses. We are out in the open; this needs to be done in private,” he says in a whisper so that only Guido and I can hear.

“Take your fucking hands off me.” I snarl at Sal. He releases my arm and I watch as Guido spits two of his teeth into the dirt. I smile and say, “Get them both back into the car. We’ll take them to the old Mill, out past town. I want everyone out there; spread the word.” I look at Sal. “Let’s go, Sal.” I stride away and get into the driver’s seat of his car. Once inside, I call Kat.

She answers the phone with, “I’m still mad at you.”

“I know and I deserve it. Kat, I need you to—”

“Dane, everyone is leaving, what’s going on?” she asks.

“Darlin’, I need you to go to Betties Café. Ask one of the boys to escort you there before they all leave town. I don’t have time to tell you everything, but I will in due time, ok?”

Surprisingly she doesn’t argue with me. “Alright, Betties closes at nine, will you be back by then and....are you safe?”

Her question takes me by surprise. “Yes, Darlin’, I am safe.” Sal climbs into the car. “If I am not back by ten to nine, call the Sheriff and ask him to drive you home and ask him to do a walk through before he leaves then set the alarm. Do not open the door to anyone but a brother. Is that clear?”

“Yes, Dane; I love you,” As always, it amazes me that she could say and mean those words to me. I close my eyes and say, “Later.” I hang up, replaying her words over and over in my mind. 

“What the fuck was that?” Sal says.

“What the fuck was what?” I say staring at him.

“I asked you to let me handle the negotiations and you went and did that. How the fuck am I going to salvage what you have done?”

“Sal, we have our own ways of dealing with problems. You and your family are going to learn that.” He says nothing and stares straight ahead. He is not happy but for the moment, he keeps his opinions to himself. I start the car and head for the old Mill. I will find out what this fucker knows and I hope that Emily is still alive.

***

When I climb out of the car, all of the brothers that are in town are here. I see Fith with Rebel on one side of him and Bear on the other. He nods at me but I just stare back. This is his fault and he will answer for it. I walk to the other car that Guido has gotten out of; I grab him by the arm and walk him towards the old barn.

We don’t use this place very often. It’s a place to come and work out sensitive issues without the prying eyes of the town on us. There is only one road in and out, which the Prospects will guard, making sure we know who is coming and going. Only Savage Angels will be allowed in and out  as we don’t need any witnesses to what we are about to do. The brothers that are going to be in the barn are trusted and will not betray the club or me.

When we reach the barn doors, I push him through, and he stumbles but does not fall. He looks down and sees he’s standing on plastic. A large section of the floor in the middle of the room is covered in it. When his soldier is brought through the doors, I pull out Guido’s gun and shoot him in the head. The noise is deafening and the acrid smell of gunfire fills my nostrils. I watch as the body twitches on the floor and blood flows onto the plastic. The whole room goes quiet.

I look at Guido, shock and surprise covers his features. “This is how we handle things. I will find who has my sister and she will be returned to me or this,” I motion towards his dead soldier, “will be your fate as well.” I walk towards a chair that has been placed for me at the edge of the plastic.

Guido stands and stares at his dead friend and asks, “This is who you do business with? These savages?

There is a way to do business and this is not it!” He rages at Salvatore.

“You brought this on yourself. Tell him where Johnnie has the girl and you may yet live.” Salvatore also stares at the dead body on the floor, seemingly unable to look away.

“Again with the fucking girl! Who gives a fuck about the fucking girl?” Guido yells back at him.

In two strides, Salvatore grabs him and walks him backwards until he connects with a pole in the building. “YES! It’s about the fucking girl, Guido! She is an innocent in all of this! She has nothing to fucking do with fucking anything! How can you be so stupid?” He shoves him again and walks away.

“So, you want the girl?” Salvatore turns slowly around. “Yes, you want the girl; I could ring Johnnie and tell him to bring her to you. If, of course, you let us go and you answer personally to Vinnie’s death.” Guido lays out his terms.

I watch Sal stare at Guido, not showing any emotion. I am about to intervene when he says, “Agreed. You give us the girl and I will answer personally to Vinnie’s death.”

Guido smiles as though he has won and then he stares at me. “Do you agree?”

I stare at Sal, who gives me the barest of nods and I say, “Agreed.” A rumble goes around the room and I look at my men, my eyes landing on Fith. “Give him his phone. We will abide by this ruling.”

Jonas walks up to Guido and hands him his phone. He takes it and smiles at us all, then pushes some buttons and places it to his ear. “Yeah, Johnnie, it’s me. Bring the girl to...” He looks at me questioningly.

“The Compound in Tourmaline,” I say.

“Their Compound in Tourmaline, how long will it take you to arrive?” He pauses, listens to his soldier and he nods. “Make sure she’s comfortable and unharmed. Sal will be with me.” He hangs up and smiles into the phone. Without looking at anyone in particular he says, “Now...gentlemen,” again he laughs, “shall we?”

There is no way I am letting this fucker live but I have to, at least, make him think he will. I stand and say to the room, “Let’s ride!” Jonas grabs Guido and pushes him towards the car. I walk over to some of my men and nod at the body. They know what to do; it isn’t the first time someone has died out here. I turn and approach Sal as his phone begins to ring.

“Yes?” he says. Then a smile plays at his lips and he asks, “Can you stall him? How long will it take?” He pauses, listening to the call. “Good. Four hours, no more, yes?” He listens some more and says, “See you then.” He looks up at me and grins.

“Glad one of us has something to fucking smile about,” I say.

“All will be revealed, my friend, all will be revealed.” He does a two-fingered wave and heads out of the barn doors.

Fith approaches me and says, “Prez, I’m sorry they got Emily. If you let me, I’ll make this right.”

I stare at him, shake my head and stride for the exit. When I reach it, I say to Bear, “Bring him back to the Compound.”