Men of Mayhem (66 page)

I took in a sharp breath as I thought over everything Devon had said. It made sense, which only made me feel worse for thinking he had deceived me. I had to save him; I couldn’t let him die. I loved him, and clearly he felt the same way if he was willing to risk his life for me. “We need to save him, Jay.” I quickly checked the weapon I had
borrowed
from Nick. The magazine was mostly full and there was a bullet sitting perfectly in the chamber. I might only get one shot so I wanted to be sure that it worked. “I won’t let him die. I love him.”

Jay offered a smirk before gesturing to the other men. “Let’s go find him then. Maybe I can eliminate a few more of Ricci’s men along the way, or at least the asshole who killed my father.” He cocked the gun and led the small group to where he assumed Devon had last called in. 

Please let us find him alive. I’m not sure what I’ll do if he died to save me, and I don’t want to find out either.

Savior

“Where would they have taken Devon?” I questioned.

Jay had come to an abrupt stop and was glancing around wildly as if something wasn’t right. The other men Jay had brought with him instantly surrounded me as protection. I sighed, but relented without an argument. I knew that it was their job to protect me, and arguing with them would have just made it worse for them all. I could bide my time until I needed to break through their protective circle and save Devon.

“I don’t know,” Jay admitted. His glance traveled over the dusty floor as he inspected the footprints and the scuff marks on the floor. “To me it looks as if a struggle occurred here. They must have found out Devon called us in.”
Jay straightened himself before turning to face us again. There wasn’t an easy way to explain what happened here, and it wouldn’t be easy to find Devon now if he had been found out.

“What do we do, Jay?” I asked.

Jay sighed, running his fingers through his dark hair in frustration. “I don’t know, Faith.”

Jay knew I wouldn’t leave without Devon, but to take the time to look for him would be disastrous. Even I knew that. I had told him what the Riccis said would happen and I needed to talk to my father immediately. Could they waste the time to look for Devon and still get word to Moretti? It looked as if Jay didn’t think so, but that wouldn’t stop me from trying to save Devon and my family. It would cause an argument, bring attention to us, and that meant more people coming to shoot us. It wasn’t worth putting the men and me in danger. So Jay considered a compromise, one to please us both.

“We can’t stay long to look for him,” Jay said, relenting to my persistence without having to argue with me further on the matter. “I’m giving fifteen minutes to this. If we haven’t found him by then…we leave. And Faith…” Jay said as he turned his full attention toward me. “You and I will go and call your father so he can have the information you have. If any of you find Devon, or think he’s gone and we have to go, then come find me and we will leave.”

I nodded, knowing that this was going to be the only option I had and my only chance to find Devon. I knew Jay was trying to keep me out of the danger, to protect me, but my mind was only on Devon. He had lied to save me, and now it was clear, thanks to Jay’s despondent expression, that Devon may have been captured. If he was found out, there was almost nothing we could do for him now.

“Here.” Jay latched a hand onto my bicep and pulled me into a hiding spot as the other men raced off in search of Devon. “Call your father, and do it quickly.” He handed me a phone and I dialed without hesitation. It was a number I knew by heart. I silently thanked my father and apologized for chastising him for forcing me to memorize it. It actually came in handy now that I had lost my phone in the fight back at the apartment.

My father answered on the second ring, and began questioning what was happening and where I was, completely unaware that I had called. When he gave me a chance to speak, it only brought more questions which I didn’t have time for. I had to finish this and then somehow save Devon.

“Dad, just listen, please,” I begged. My father fell silent, signaling that he was listening to me, ready to receive the bad news I had coming. “I’m safe, Jay made sure of that. We had to call because we couldn’t wait to get back to you with the news. It may already be too late.” I took a moment to compose myself. I didn’t want to cry over the phone to my father about what I had been through and what was to come. It wouldn’t help the situation, it would only make it harder.

“The Riccis have a plan to wipe out the Moretti family. Tell everyone to scatter throughout the territory, maybe even into Ricci territory, and order them to lay low. They plan on then taking over our territory once they think we are wiped out. Maybe that’s when we can fight back, but for now it should be to go into hiding so there’s a chance a few of us can survive.” I heard him let out a sigh before agreeing. I was about to hang up when he called for me.

“Be safe, Faith. Come home as soon as you can.”

I felt the lump form in my throat as I choked back my emotions. I needed to be strong for the both of them, and our family. “I will. I’ll see you soon. Please be safe yourself. I’m not sure exactly what they are planning, but they seem certain it would be the end of us.”

“I’ll take care of it,” was all he said before hanging up.

I stared at the phone for a moment to collect myself, but soon one of the men Jay had brought with him came to find them. He was breathing heavily, and there was a panic set deep in his eyes, which caused me to instantly fear the worst.

“We found him,” the man huffed out. “If you want to save him then you need to come quickly.”

I nodded my head and followed after the soldier with Jay right behind me. The man led us down a few hallways, and it wasn’t long until an argument split through the air. The soldier turned and pressed his index finger to his lips telling us to remain silent. I nodded, and soon the man let me through to see what was going on.

Devon was on his knees with his hands behind his head. He was facing toward me, but he didn’t react so I assumed that he didn’t see me. He was too busy keeping an eye on Riccardo and the gun held tightly in his hand.

“How could you do this, Devon?” Riccardo questioned. “You’ve betrayed your own family by letting that girl escape.”

Devon didn’t reply; he remained still and unmoving as Riccardo continued.

“You’re the reason we’ll lose now. You’ll be responsible for everyone’s deaths. Their blood is on your hands!” Riccardo cried. He turned to take a few paces away from Devon. There were two other men with Riccardo and Devon.
They must be who alerted Riccardo to my vanishing act.
“But I won’t let you ruin this any further.” Riccardo turned back to Devon and raised the gun.

Without thinking, I sprang forward from my hiding spot and raced toward Riccardo and Devon. I heard Jay curse behind me, but I don’t think he moved. Jay tended to think ahead, and would most likely only reveal himself when it was absolutely needed. I knew he’d talk to me about it later, but for now he just had to hope I didn’t get myself killed.

I let a soft smile curve onto my lips as I rushed forward. I knew this was stupid. No one would understand why I put myself at risk, hell, I barely did, but it had happened and there was no turning back now.

I reached out to take hold of the gun, planning to take it from Riccardo as my father had taught me to do, but Riccardo turned toward me and stopped me in my tracks. “Look who showed up,” Riccardo spat. “This is all
your
fault. You’re the reason he’s betrayed his family.”

I didn’t react. I couldn’t; the slightest move would most likely get me killed. Riccardo seemed dead set on killing me where I stood.

“If you hadn’t gotten to him, then he would still be dedicated to getting rid of your family and ending this war. He wouldn’t have given you the chance to get out, and he wouldn’t have called in men from the Moretti mafia to save you. When I find those men, they’ll die first,” Riccardo promised. “After you, of course.” Riccardo smiled before moving his finger toward the trigger.

I tensed, unable to react, but at the same moment Devon leapt from his position to force Riccardo’s gun into the air, causing Riccardo to narrowly miss killing me and hit the roof above us. Devon and Riccardo started fighting for control of the weapon. Devon was still in the line of fire, but seemed to be holding off Riccardo well enough. I was going to help when I heard the other two men react. There was the soft but recognizable click of a gun going off safety just before two shots rang out, and the Ricci men fell to the ground. I turned to thank Jay, but he quickly moved away from me to block the door.

“Finish this, and soon,” he ordered as the other men he had brought with him flooded into the room. They each took a position at the door and began to look for more Ricci men. For once I prayed that no one would come to break up the fight, it would only lead to more bloodshed.

I turned my attention back to Riccardo and Devon as a few stray shots went off. Devon pulled his arm back and landed a punch to Riccardo, though it had little effect. I held the knife I had used in my fight with Nick tightly in my grasp as I stepped forward, and Riccardo hit Devon with the butt of the gun. The metal pounded against Devon’s skull, making me cringe even though he did his best not to react. Even though Riccardo was fighting dirty, Devon didn’t give up his grip on the gun. He fought with Riccardo until I leapt forward and pierced my blade into Riccardo’s back, right between the shoulder blades.

Riccardo dropped the gun, and I reacted to buckle Riccardo’s legs out so he’d collapse to the ground. My knee landed perfectly into the back of his knee and caused him to fall over. He landed in a heap at Devon’s feet and was now at his mercy.

“I’m taking over now, Riccardo,” he said, his voice cold as it had once been with me, but more intimidating. His posture was relaxed, as was his hand as he held the gun we aimed at Riccardo’s chest. He had come to terms with killing the leader of his mafia, and relished in the moment. “Your reign of terror is over. The Ricci mafia will be no more.” Devon didn’t allow Riccardo to beg for his life; he killed him without remorse.

Devon looked at the ground, presumably trying to take in what had just happened as I retrieved my knife from Riccardo’s back. There was uncertainty hanging over my head as I stepped toward Devon, who immediately came to meet me. His arms wrapped around my shoulders, and I instantly relaxed into his chest. His presence comforted me and I melted into his hold easily.

“I’m sorry for what I had to say to you,” Devon said, interrupting the silence. “I needed to make sure Riccardo believed me so that you could have a chance to get out, but to do that I had to call your family. I’m sorry for what you went through. I honestly had no idea they were going to take you.”

I felt tears well up in my eyes as I clung to him. He had risked his life to save mine, and now he had committed the ultimate act of betrayal to his own mafia—killing their leader. He had shown that he meant every promise he had ever made to me, even when he said he didn’t know they were going to take me. “If I had known, I would have made sure that you were protected, far away from them and somewhere safe. I felt like my heart was ripped out when I saw you were gone.”

“I know you did what you had to do,” I stated as I looked up into his eyes. He had tears threatening to rush over his eyelashes, but he refused to let them fall. “You saved me, and now it’s my turn to save you. We have to get out of here before someone comes looking for Riccardo. They’ll know you killed him to take over. We have to leave.”

Devon simply shook his head. “I’m going to stay here and take control for the mafia. I have an idea on how to spin this for everyone’s benefit, but it will take some convincing for those most devoted to Riccardo,” Devon said as he reluctantly put space between us and handed me over to Jay. “Please wait in our apartment and I will come for you once we are safe. They won’t be expecting to find you there, and you’ll be able to contact your father to collect your family again.”

Devon leaned down and kissed me again. The second his lips touched mine I became instantly relieved to have him close to me again. I felt at home, protected, and loved all in that moment. Even as his tongue lightly danced along my bottom lip, letting the emotions from the last heated kiss we shared to linger a little longer. He pulled away reluctantly as someone started screaming for him in the hallway. I silently prayed that his plan would work or I’d never see him again.