“Emilio, stay safe.” She hugs me.
“I’ll do my best,” I tell her.
“Good boy. Now go and put a smile back on Frankie’s face before you leave this house.”
“She’s just worried. She will be fine,” I tell my mother before walking over to Frankie. Bending down, I press my lips to her cheek, keeping it PG for the sake of everyone watching us. “See you soon. Try to stay out of trouble. Te amo.”
“You too, te amo.” Frankie smiles at me.
The car pulls to a stop and my father turns his attention on me and my brothers. “Look out for each other. Don’t leave anyone alone,” he says. “And don’t fucking die. We’re not doing that to your mother.”
“Got it, Papa.” I nod in agreement, so do my brothers.
“Stick to the plan and you all get out if shit goes south.”
“Right,” Elias says. Not a single one of us would ever leave our father if the shit stacked up against us. He’s delusional if he thinks we would.
“You two.” Dad points to me and Elias. “And you two.” He then points to Ezekiel and Esterio. “Stick together.”
“We know the drill, Papa,” Esterio says.
“Good, don’t fucking forget it,” Dad grunts. “Let’s go.”
I climb out of the car and tug on the bulletproof vest I’m wearing, straightening it out. I take a Glock from my holster and cock it. I’m not getting caught unaware again. I’ve had two really fucking close calls in the last couple of weeks. I’m not going for a third.
We separate into the designated teams. My dad, Esterio, and Ezekiel go one way, along with Uncle Carlo. Elias and I follow Uncle Sammie and Uncle Louie. We’ve also got at least fifty foot soldiers around us. Half going in through the back, the other half going in through the front.
Uncle Sammie holds up a hand, signaling for us to wait. Then I hear it, a body falling.
“Got him.” My Aunt Lailani’s voice comes through the comms in my ear. “There’re two more to the left, just past the front gate,” she says.
“Got it,” Uncle Sammie replies.
Elias kicks the crappy metal gate open. For a family with money, you’d think they’d use better fucking material to secure the place. We walk through and Uncle Louie fires at the same time Uncle Sammie does.
“Two more down,” Uncle Louie says into the comms.
“Five down out back.” Dad’s voice comes through next. “You might need to catch up.”
“It’s not a fucking competition,” Uncle Louie grunts.
“If it were, I’d win.” My dad laughs.
I look to Elias, who just shakes his head and rolls his eyes. We continue making our way up to the front of the house, and then we’re all dropping to the ground at the sound of bullets flying our way.
Elias is right next to me. “Good?” he asks.
“Yeah, you?”
He nods. We’re both behind a concrete pillar. When the firing stops, I pop my head up. Uncle Sammie and Uncle Louieare about ten feet away, on their stomachs with their guns aimed at the house. I spot movement in one of the windows. Raising my barrel, I fire, hitting the fucker in the chest. Another couple of shots and he’s falling to the ground.
“Stay down,” Uncle Sammie yells back at me. Elias yanks on my vest, pulling me down. An explosion erupts, and when I look up, the front door of the house has been blown off.
“Damn it! I wanted to throw a grenade,” Elias groans. “Why do they always get to have all the fun?”
“Because they’re trying to make the most of it while they can still move without breaking a hip,” I grumble as I follow him up the path.
“I fucking heard that,” Uncle Sammie grunts at me.