CPOV
Ana and I had stayed on the couch long after Luca had gone to bed, taking in all the information that he had given us. From the sickness Oriella had tried to hide so as not to worry my son, to the tiredness she could not hide. She didn't know she was pregnant until they did the test together, only that she thought she had caught some bug and didn't want to ruin this week for anyone by being sick. She hadn't ruined anything, only made a perfect ending to a very enjoyable week.
Granddad, Nonno, I thought to myself, smiling.
"Shit, we're going to be grandparents" I said, kissing my wife's forehead as she lay with her head against my chest.
"Think about how my grandparents will feel then. They will be great great grandparents" she giggled.
"Our little boy is going to be a father. He's still a teenager."
"Now, yes. By the time the baby is due, depending on how far Oriella is, he will be twenty."
"Still our little boy" I smiled, pulling Ana in closer to me.
"Always."
When Ana started to yawn, I let the dogs out once more before finally taking my wife to bed.
…
"Is Ori up yet" Lucy asked.
"I haven't seen her" Ana replied, smiling.
"I will go and wake her up then. She was lending me a top for our trip home since Rosie decided to use the other one I wanted to wear as a chew toy and it's now full of holes."
"No" Ana and I said both together, not wanting Oriella bothered if she was still sleeping. We had a few hours until we had to leave so there was no rush.
"Lucy, if you're going to hang your clothes on the floor, they're going to get damaged. Only the other day were you saying Rosie was cute sleeping on your dress. Now you know she might have a nibble while she's doing it."
"I didn't hang my top on the floor, as you say Mum. It fell off the hanger."
"And you didn't pick it up."
"Oh, I love the morning conversations in this family. What are we discussing today" Beatrice asked, coming into the kitchen.
"My lack of closet space and a clothes hamper" Lucy told her.
"More like your bone-idle granddaughter" Ana teased, bumping hips with our daughter.
"Now I know what to buy you for your birthday Lucy, a clothes hamper" Beatrice teased, hearing my daughter groan.
Clothes she would want but not a clothes hamper.
Luca and Oriella came down about thirty minutes later, both smiling. Neither Ana nor I had said anything about her pregnancy, not knowing who knew and also not wanting to take their joy of announcing it away from them. My wife hugging Oriella had the attention of most though, especially when they both had tears in their eyes as they pulled away.
"Is everything ok" Beatrice asked as Luca wrapped his arm around Ori.
"Yes Grandma, everything is perfect" he smiled, looking to Oriella.
"I'm pregnant" Oriella told everyone.
There was stunned silence in the room for a second before it soon erupted into squeals and tears as congratulations rang out.
"When is the baby due" Lucy asked what we would all like to know.
"We're not sure, my body hasn't been playing ball recently" she told her, obviously not wanting to discuss the finer details of a woman's cycle, in a room full of men.
It's nothing most of us have not worked out for ourselves before now.
"When we get home, we will get you in at the surgery" Kate told her, excitedly as she started asking how Ori was feeling.
"Our wedding" Luca said, turning to his mother and I.
"Depending on how far Oriella is, you shouldn't have to change it unless you want to bring it forward" Ana told him.
"No, we still want to get married on Christmas Eve if we can. I'm just not sure how the priest will be, marrying us with Oriella being pregnant."
"It wouldn't be the first time we have had a wedding there with a pregnant bride" Antonio told them, looking to Ana. "Your mother was pregnant with Theo when she walked down the aisle."
"Too much sex before marriage in this family" Matteo joked, before congratulating his brother.
"No sex talk in this house. We all came from immaculate conception and so did Oriella's baby" Lucy ordered, making Gabby laugh.
"Whatever you say sis" Luca laughed, resting his hand on Oriella's flat stomach.
…
We said goodbye at the airfield to Dante and Giulia before having a quiet flight home. Everyone was exhausted after this week away, even though it was a break from the norm. The norm being guns and drugs that I'm going back into.
"I think John will be happy to relinquish control" Jason said as the landing lights came on in the cabin and Ana called across from where our seats were, to get my arse back there.
"I told him he can have the next week off to recuperate."
"And what was his response to that" he asked.
"Told me to fuck off and it was all in a day's work" I laughed.
"Are we making a move on this address they found."
"Yes, John said there is activity there. It's heavily guarded so we will need to all go in. I want to look at the plans that he had made of the area, see where it is on the map and make sure we have every scenario covered before we decide to act. This needs to end Jason, but I don't want to end up losing someone because we rushed in."
"I agree."
"We will get the girls home safe and meet tomorrow morning at the large office and go over everything then."
"Ok, I will get everyone together" he told me as I got up, giving Gail her seat back before making my way over to Ana, to take my own seat.
…
"Good to be home Princess" I asked Ana as we walked through the front door.
"Yes, I loved being away but it's nice to get back."
The dogs who had followed us through the door, headed straight for the glass doors at the back.
"You know what they want, don't you" Matteo said, getting the key to open the doors.
"Water" Ana and I said together as the dogs ran through the doors and straight down to the gate that led to the water's edge, barking at Matteo to hurry up and open it.
"Impatient much" he complained as he tried to open the gate, while the dogs were trying to push it open at the same time. "SIT."
Immediately four large arses hit the floor while Rosie the defiant one continued to yap.
"Don't give me that attitude, young lady" he told her, picking her up, only to get slobbered on.
When the gate was finally open, we heard splash after splash as they all jumped off the jetty, into the cool water.
"Was Hugo and the others this bad" I asked Ana.
"Hugo was worse" she giggled. "I lost count of the amount of times he would sneak off, only for us to hear a splash moments later."
"Dad."
"Yeah son" I said, turning to Luca.
"Theo said we're meeting tomorrow, do you need me."
"Is everything ok" I asked, looking to Oriella who was sat in the living room talking to Isabella.
"Yes, it's just Kate said she was getting Ori in first thing in the morning for a scan and I would like to be there."
"That's fine son, we're not making a move tomorrow. I want to go over plans, know what we're dealing with first."
"Mum, can you come with us" he asked Ana.
"Just try and stop me" she smiled, pulling our son in for a hug.
…
"The main house seems to have a constant patrol around it, this" John said pointing to a smaller building at the side. "For a small building it certainly has a lot of traffic."
"Guards rest room" Matteo said.
"Or weapons storage" Theo added.
"Either way, I would like to have a look inside. If it does contain weapons, we will know if they start running that way when the firing starts. I want eyes on that building to make sure no one reaches it."
We were in the office on the grounds of my home, going over everything John and Lorenzo had found out on the property.
"How many lookouts" Antonio asked.
"Two. One on each of the south and west sides. Going in from the north would be better. It is a wooded area, good cover although I suspect traps, maybe tripwires. If you decide to go in that way, they will need to be neutralised beforehand, preferably in the daytime" John told us.
"Yes, anyone who comes back anything less than perfect will deal with Mum" Matteo said, knowing what my wife was like.
"Ok, Barney, I want you going in first with cover. Check the route and disable any traps that have been set. Anything that you think will set an alarm off, bypass it."
"Will do Boss" he told me.
Barney loves nothing more than a challenge and sending him into the unknown, would definitely provide him with that.
We looked over the real map of the area, not just the one John had drawn. Going in the front would be the perfect way but we would lose the element of surprise. My final decision on which way to approach the compound where the house is situated, will depend on how Barney gets on.
I turned towards the door when it opened as Luca entered.
"You're late" Matteo teased him.
"I had good reason" Luca smiled, placing a photo in front of me before he gave others out to our family around the room.
I picked it up, a laugh leaving my mouth.
"Really" I asked, looking to the first photo of my grandchildren, Two.
As soon as my Dad, Frankie, Mac and Antonio saw it, they knew what I had seen. Matteo and Theo had to be told.
"Ok, what is wrong with your baby" Matteo asked, turning the scan photo this way and that.
"My children are perfectly healthy thank you" he said, a beaming smile on his face.
"Children, as in more than one" he asked, as Luca held up two fingers.
"How can a family that had never had any twins before, suddenly have three sets" Dad laughed.
"Oriella's grandmother was a twin" Luca told us, as I looked at my grandchildren once more.
"Are we still on for a Christmas wedding" Theo asked.
"Yes, the babies are due on the 9th of April but Kate said twins usually come early."
"They do in this family" Frankie replied, looking at his own photo.
"Is Ori ok" I asked Luca.
"Yes, she's just tired. Oriella's had a phone call from the office when we were on the way home, asking if she would be in tomorrow because she was supposed to be back at work today" he said, not happy at all.
"Bro, I think you have as much chance of getting Oriella to quit working as Dad does Mum" Matteo told him.
"I don't want her to quit, Ori enjoys her work. I will be just happy when Garcia is dealt with and then I can breathe easy. Oriella cannot fight off anyone in her condition, let alone run down five flights of stairs."
"It will be all over soon Luca" Theo told him.
"Until the next problem."
"Always looking forward brother" Luca said, pushing Matteo's shoulder.
Barney left, taking a team with him who would give him cover while he works, if need be. Me, I went back to my wife, taking the photo of my grandchildren with me.
"Snap" I said, holding the same photo out to Ana.
"I cannot believe they're having twins. Luca needed to sit down."
"He neglected to tell us that part, too excited in fact." I told her.
"He has every right and he's not the only one who's excited as well."
"Mum, Dad this is brilliant" Lucy happily waved her photo about. "Please Grandma, Hugo, Betsy and all the other puppies, please make the babies be girls. There are too many boys in this family, we need to even it out just a little bit."
"Amen to that" Ana laughed.
"Girls, Ana. Shit I will never sleep at night."
"You won't, how do you think Luca and Oriella will feel" Ana laughed.
"While you're here, I sleep. Luca and Oriella are going to want their own place eventually. That means all four of them, three female if Lucy gets her wish, will not be within these walls."
"You never worried about Luca moving out before" Ana said, turning to me.
"I know, call it being an overprotective Granddad."
"Wherever they live, they will be protected. Luca will see to that and so will you and all our family."
"I know. Boys or girls they will need protecting until they can kick arse and defend themselves."
"Does that mean I can retire David and Ian as I can certainly kick arse" she asked me.
"Not in this lifetime Ana, I need you safe."
"Speaking of safe, when do you all go."
"As soon as we know fully what we're dealing with. I want Garcia gone but I won't rush in there and ruin everything."
…
I helped Ana make dinner. Not many times I can say that but I did help so she didn't try and lift a heavy pan with a broken finger. While we were halfway through cooking, my phone went with some pictures that Lorenzo had sent me.
"Princess, do you know her" I asked, showing Ana the photo.
"No, never seen her before. She looks pissed though" Ana told me as I showed Beatrice the photo too in case she had seen her around the bakery. "You think she has been in one of my businesses too" Ana asked me.
"No, just with the last one making a visit, I didn't know if this one had too."
"Who is she" Lucy asked, taking my phone from me before I could stop here.
"We're not sure but she was with the bad guys."
"Bad guys, Dad. I'm not five" she said, rolling her eyes.
"Ok, she's with the enemy. Will that do."
"I suppose" she said before going back to her own phone.
"What are you giggling at Ana" I said to my wife, which made her laugh more.
"You two. Don't ever stop bickering" she giggled, especially when Lucy threw a piece of pasta at her mother.
I don't think Lucy and I will ever stop bickering. We're too alike in personality and she sure has my temper when she starts.
I sent the photos to my top team, none of them knowing who the woman was. Sam is running it through the police computer, so maybe something will come up there.
"Could it be the wife" Ana asked when we had finished dinner.
"It's looking more likely, although where they got married I don't know as there is no record here that we could find."
"Mexico" Ana asked.
"Maybe. Either way she is there and she doesn't look like she is being forced, so will be dealt with just the same as Garcia."
Climbing into bed that night, I had just rolled Ana underneath me when my phone started.
"Ignore it" I said, sucking on her neck.
"Christian, you of all people do not ignore calls. It will drive you mad" she told me.
I would agree but having Ana's naked body underneath me, my mind was elseware.
"Ana Grey" she said, answering the call. "Hi Lorenzo, yeah hold on he's here" she told him, passing me the phone.
I knelt between Ana's legs, naked as the day I was born and speaking casually to a cop on the phone. Someone up there is having a fucking laugh at me, especially when my wife starts playing with her pussy.
"What's going on" I asked, finally.
"Barney said, traps have all been neutralized and he would advise going in at night. We have scoured the whole area and he has dealt with what we have found but they had bear traps out here Christian, nasty crude shit which would deliver the maximum pain."
"That will be Javier's doing. He loved hunting from what Dad found out about him years ago. Loved nothing more than to hurt something he classed as less powerful than a man with a gun. Fucking coward."
"We filled the traps, setting them off so they didn't go off if someone stood on one accidentally. Christian one thing we have found here, they have dogs."
"Ah fuck, I can't shoot them" I complained.
"I know. I think you will struggle to find someone willing to do that. We need something to make them sleepy as these are big, Neo size."
"I hope to god they're not as my kids will want to bring them home with them" I sighed, knowing what my wife and children are like with those dogs. Shit I'm no better. "Get back here but leave a team to observe tonight and make sure we have another in place tomorrow. If everything goes to plan, we go in tomorrow night."
"Will do Boss" he said before hanging up.
"What will the children want to bring home" Ana asked.
"Nothing Princess, now where were we."
"I think you might have wanted a taste of this" she said, putting her fingers to my lips where I could taste her.
"Fuck Princess" I groaned, forgoing her fingers and headed for the source.
"That's what I want you to do, fuck your Princess" she moaned, especially when I did just that.
…
"Everyone in position" I said through the radio, hearing all the teams check in.
We had been here for about three house, waiting for the sun to go down. I had seen this woman, flitting here, there, everywhere throughout the time we have been here. From the house, to the building we suspect holds arms, to a large kennel out back which housed the two dogs. I groaned the first time I saw the two, one a Rottweiler and as Lorenzo suspected, the other a Neapolitan Mastiff. Why that breed, it was like they were mocking us once more.
The dogs had trailed after her and I had to halt Luca from shooting her when she had kicked one of the dogs out of the way. We didn't know which one it was but it didn't matter, you don't hurt a dog. I have spent far too many years loving the fluff balls to intentionally hurt one so we had to come up with a plan B, namely the tranquillizer gun that Theo held. We wouldn't use it until after the shooting started, knowing that a squealing dog will give away our plan.
"John, how's the gate" I asked him when everyone had checked in.
"Ready to go Boom."
"Do it then" I said as my team made our way forward through the trees.
When the sky lit up and the alarms sounded, we all moved in. The air was littered with bullets, hitting their intended targets as we moved closer to the house. We outnumbered them three to one so no matter where the guards ran to, they met a bullet.
"What's the betting the doors locked" Matteo said.
"Move out of the way then" Jason said, before the door was splinters.
"Nice" I smiled as we moved into the house. "Spread out" I told them, hearing hurried footsteps from upstairs.
They knew we were here, the element of surprise gone now as Theo and I headed up the stairs.
"Eyes open" I told him as we moved from room to room, finding everyone empty until we reached the last one at the end of the hallway.
"THE GAMES UP GARCIA" I shouted, before bullets pierced through the door in front of us.
"Mac, do you have a visual" I asked, waiting for his reply.
"Moment" he finally panted along with something that sounded like too old for this shit. "Visual confirmed."
"Take the shot then."
I heard the window smash before a body hit the floor and then the anguished cry from Garcia.
"YOU BASTARD" He screamed before more bullets came through the door.
With all the holes he was making, I had a nice view from where I was standing. Good enough to take my own shot, that hit him in the leg, his gun clattering to the floor.
"Hold your fire Mac" Theo told him as I kicked the door in and we quickly moved inside.
Ricardo Garcia was lay holding his leg but he didn't have his eyes on me, they were on the body of the woman on the floor.
"She didn't deserve that" he said, looking to me with hate in his eyes. "We had been barely married a year."
"Well I have twenty on you but you didn't give a shit about going after my wife, my daughter" I said, standing over him.
"I had nothing to do with that. I never wanted anything to do with it in the first place" he cried, holding his leg that was slowly bleeding out.
"Doesn't matter. You have been part of the problem since the start, whether directly or indirectly. Gia for instance."
"She was a fucking means to an end, nothing."
"I bet your wife was happy about that. And your means to an end, that was sent to antagonise my wife meant you were part of it after all."
"Fucking kill me then" he said, looking defiantly into my eyes.
"This ends now" I said as my bullet left my gun, piercing his brain. "Get everyone to check in Theo."
While I heard my son, I stood over the bodies of this man and his wife. Neither meant anything to me but they had been part of the plan to hurt those who I cherish the most.
"Dad we have two alive, shot but alive."
"Are they talking" I asked turning to him.
"Yes."
"Good" I said leaving the room with Theo by my side.
"No, no, no Matteo" I told my son who was stood waiting for us to exit with a dog sat at his side.
"She's a Neo Dad."
"Yes, and how many other Neo's on this planet. We can't take everyone home; your mother will kill us."
He looked at me, knowing I was talking shit. Ana would bring the dog in and love it just like every other one.
"Where is the other dog. Have you forgotten about that one and where are these men."
"The other dog is gone" he sighed, nodding over to where Luca was digging a hole. The men can burn but not the dog. "The men are in the small building. It's full of weapons Dad."
I started to make my way over to the building with my sons and team in pursuit. There were two men here, both who were suffering from different gunshot wounds but I ignored them for the moment, taking a look around.
"Sweet Jesus" I said as I looked at the weapons on display. "They were ready to start a war."
"Why didn't they then. Why store guns everywhere but never use them against us" Ethan asked.
"I don't think we were the intended target" Lorenzo said, handing me some papers.
"I know these" I said, looking at the names and photos in my hand.
"Yes, Percille. They run most of Idaho from Boise up to Sandpoint."
"Including Dalton" I told them. "Why would they be targeting them."
"Maria grew up in Idaho, maybe she knew the family or of them. It wouldn't surprise me if she pissed them off too" Theo told us.
"Why hit our family then if we weren't the intended target" Luca asked.
"We hit every business they had, every way they could make money to fund their operation. We shut them down because they were on our territory" I told them.
"So, they terrified our girls out of revenge because she couldn't get her own way. What a bitch" Luca said.
"Yes and seeing how powerful your mother was, must have driven Maria mad because we kept taking that power away from her, showing her up as a weak leader."
"Is that the plan, the target is the Percille family" I asked the one man who was still conscious, the other bleeding out while we stood around to talk.
"Yes" he groaned, before asking for help he will never receive.
"That is why they must have chosen here. We're only about a hundred miles away from the Idaho border" Matteo told us.
"I agree."
We did a complete check of this place, making sure there was no one left alive. John and Lorenzo would take pleasure in doing clean up on this one. It is their find after all.
"What are we doing with the weapons" Theo asked as the house burned.
"Arrange transport to the warehouse, see what we can keep and have the rest destroyed. I would send them over to Percille considering they were meant for there anyway but I don't want them aiming our way if there is ever a falling out."
"Cool, I always wanted a rocket launcher" he laughed before walking away.
"And what am I going to do with you" I asked, looking down at the big brown eyes, looking up at me.
I gently patted my hand on her head, feeling the wound that was there. She was covered in them, Matteo had checked, getting more and more pissed off with everyone he found. Little cuts and grazes that from the look of it had been caused by being hit by a stick or some other sharp object.
I sighed, pulling my phone out of my pocket and called my wife.
"Christian" she groaned, obviously waking up, although I know Ana wouldn't have gone to bed, not without me there.
"Hey Princess, it's done, we're coming home."
"Are you ok, the boys" she asked.
"We're fine Ana…. Do you know how you always say you love our big family, especially when it grows."
"Yes."
"I'm bringing a new member home, one who will definitely make it grow."
Thank you for reading
Until next time, take care
Caroline.