I hear his men screaming, and since my men knew bursting through the gate was my signal, the pop of gunshots starts going off immediately. The two with me open fire as well, shooting the guards that were in the security hut.
I stop at the front of the mansion and get out, pulling my gun out from behind my back. I lift my arm up and shoot Salvatore’s men, watching in satisfaction as they drop one after the other.
It doesn’t take us long to kill all the men who were outside roaming around the property. I shoot the lock on the front door and kick it in, the frame slamming against the wall hard enough to echo through the halls.
A bullet whizzes past my head, but I duck just in time to avoid it, quickly pointing my gun in the direction the shot came from and pulling the trigger. I get one of them in the head, and Pete gets the other one.
I hear footsteps running toward us, so I aim and fire as they appear. I hear more shooting coming from deeper inside the house and know that my men have already gained access from the back.
“No one gets in or out. I want every entrance covered,” I say into my earpiece.
“Yes, boss!” they all reply.
Once the threat is contained, I give my men more orders. “Search the entire house from top to bottom and see if you can find her. And watch your backs in case anyone is hiding.”
They leave to do my bidding as I walk into the living room to find that my men have all the household staff gathered in here. There are only about a dozen of them.
“Where is Salvatore?” I ask no one in particular. There’s a beat of silence before an older woman answers.
“I-We don’t know, sir. He hasn’t been home here in a few days.”
They all look scared out of their minds. Actually, there is pure terror on the girl’s faces. I have no doubt that the sadistic asshole must have abused these people. A few moments later, my men all file into the living room one by one.
“No one else is here, boss. The house is clear,” one of the guys says.
Fuck! That means the asshole is keeping her somewhere else.
“Do any of you want to stay here?” I ask. None of them answers, because they probably think it’s a trick question or something. “I need an answer.”
“N-no, sir. We never wanted to be here. We were forced to live here, and s-some of us were stolen from our families and brought here against our will,” one of the girls finally answers after a while, tears streaming down her face. Son of a fucking bitch! Is that fuckwit trafficking women in one of our territories?
“I’m setting you free then. Because this place is going up in flames in a few minutes anyway,” I say, and some of my guys take that as their cue to go fill the house with gasoline. “But there are stipulations.”
“W-what are they?” another young girl asks wearily. Fucking hell, she looks like she’s super young, and my disgust with Salvatore increases tenfold. Human trafficking is one of thethings I fucking despise, and I’m sure the asshole has been dabbling in it.
“My men will take you somewhere safe. And then I’ll personally make sure each and every one of you gets the help you need and deserve. Then, once you’ve done what needs to be done to get better, I’ll help you all get on your feet. Whether that’s staying in the city or leaving it will be up to you,” I tell them.
“How do we know we can trust you?” she bravely asks.
“You don’t. But I’m promising all of you here that you’ll be safe. Salvatore’s going to be dead soon anyway.”
“O-okay,” another girl says. There’s fire in her eyes, and I can tell that she’s determined to live.
“Does everyone agree to my terms?” I ask.
“Yes,” they all say, still cautious, but I can’t blame them.
“Have a little faith and a little trust, and I promise as soon as the doctor says you’re well enough, you can do whatever you want with the rest of your lives.”
A few of them stand taller before another one speaks. “I’ll be holding you to that,” she says, with fire in her voice, and I nod.
“Take them to the apartment building and make sure everyone gets settled,” I tell the men left with me before turning back to my audience. “It’ll most likely be a few days before I can check in on you because there are some things I need to do, but I want you all to relax in the apartments. Someone else will come over and see you all tomorrow to talk about getting you the help you need.”
They all nod before following my guys out of here. When they’re all gone, and I hear the vehicles start up before driving away, I speak into my earpiece. “Make sure you get them all to the apartment safely and try not to spook them too much. Ask them if they need anything and get it. Then, when you’re all done with that, meet me back at my parents’ place.”
“Got it, boss,” Paulie says a moment later.
My guys, who were throwing gasoline all over the house, come back into the living room. “Done?”