Page 115 of Contempt

She recognized that car.

It was Renzo’s rental.

Time for a distraction, then.

Lucia smiled a little wider at Christian, wanting to keep his eyes on her. “I can come back, if—”

“No,” he said, tipping his head to the side, “the show is just getting started. I think it’ll be even better to watch it with you.”

Fine, if that’s what he wanted.

She needed to get his phone, though. That’s what he’d told her father, right? He needed his phone for the kill switch.

NINETEEN

Stepping out of the vehicle, Renzo felt the cool rush of air sweep under his jacket. He eyed the exit door of the warehouse where he knew the Marcello men were currently stuck inside, waiting for the bomb to blow.

Figuratively.

And literally.

Shooting a look to the side at the sounds of murmurings, Renzo found another small army of cars and men. A few, he recognized just from having grown up on the goddamn streets. Anybody hustling on the streets knew the important faces of the crime families controlling New York. It wasn’t smart to play stupid on that sort of thing.

Renzo hadn’t seen these men in years, though.

Not even on the news.

Giovanni Marcello shoved his older brother away when Dante came closer, and then jabbed a pointed finger back at the warehouse. His mouth opened to shout at the other man, but he quickly snapped it shut when the two realized Renzo was standing there watching their little spat without any shame.

If people were going to have public moments, then they should expect the public to consume it. That’s what humans did.

Giovanni was quick to straighten up, and fix his suit jacket. Dante was already turning to greet Renzo as he came closer to the two men. A couple of cars away, a group of gathered men were huddled in a semi-circle. Probably discussing a plan to get the others out of the warehouse, although Renzo couldn’t be sure.

He knew if that was what they were discussing, well … he had bad news for them. There was no way out from the outside. Someone was going to have to go in, and work it out from inside. He doubted any of these people wanted to go inside that fucking warehouse. It was human nature to not want to be the sacrifice.

Renzo didn’t blame them.

And he was the only person in this city who might be equipped to deal with a bomb of this standard. Especially if everything Christian said about the bomb was true—that it was big enough to level a good portion of this block; that it had several backups to blow if the first and second didn’t work; that he had a kill switch.

Problem was … Renzo wouldn’t be able to know if those things about the bomb were true unless he went inside. He had to get his eyes on the bomb. He had to get his fucking hands on it, and see how it was wired. Look at all the bits and parts—the electronics attached, and the method used to make it tick.

Then, and only then, would Renzo be able to determine if what Christian said was entirely true, or only partly true. And if it was all true, then he had to figure something out for these people, and fast.

Because they were all fucked.

Every last one of them.

“You’re gonna have to get out of here,” Renzo told the only Marcello looking his way—Dante. “As I know it, that bomb is big enough to blow this place out, and the block, too. Anyone standing within a block of this place could be in serious danger.”

Dante nodded, and opened his mouth to start to say, “Yeah, I got—”

“We’re not fucking going anywhere.”

Renzo’s gaze drifted to the angrier of the two. Or shit, maybe Giovanni—Andino’s father, as far as he knew—was just terrified. His son was inside. He couldn’t go in. “You want your wife to bury a son, nephew, and a husband when they finally dig your bodies out of the rubble?”

Giovanni’s jaw hardened in his frustration. “I can’t go. He’s right there,” the man snapped, pointing at the fucking wall like Renzo couldn’t see it. “He’s right there, okay. He’s just beyond that fucking wall, and you want me to go?”

“Emotions are a bit high here,” Dante murmured. “We got the same messages as Lucian, and the live feeds. We’re all informed on what’s inside, and how it’s going to go down if someone can’t get them out, or disengage the bomb.”