Page 3 of Never Say Never

A fist flew my way and I easily dodged it. Laughter filled our small section of the office.

"Not cool," Jamie groaned. He shook his head. "I heard you and Tracy broke up so that means you're free to chill this weekend."

"Did she have the entire department thinking we were dating?"

I looked at the guys and they shrugged. Rumors spread like wildfire here. It didn't matter that we were all grown adults; when it came to gossip, they weren't any better than a bunch of teenage girls.

"I heard you're going to be reported to HR again," Summer said. She sauntered over to us, her arms full of paperwork. She tucked a braid behind her ear. Her light brown skin, almond shaped eyes, and oval shaped face made her look youthful. If I didn't know everything about her already, I would have assumed she was only twenty. But at twenty-nine, she was one of the most skilled FBI agents. She was number one in behavioral analysis. She was high on my list of people to keep an eye on and stay the hell away from.

"No, that's just talk. I did nothing wrong. We were two consenting adults. She just got lost in delusion land."

Summer stared at me. "You have issues."

"You have no clue." I winked at her knowing she wouldn't touch me with a ten-foot pole.

Summer shook her head and headed toward the conference room.

"Right, York wants all of us in the room," I said.

Jamie and Hunter both went from joking to serious. I watched them go, my eyes following them as they walked.

At the end of the day, regardless of how buddy-buddy we were with each other, they were the enemy wanting to take down my family. I'd kill every single one of them and sleep like a baby the next day. It wasn't personal. Family always came first.

I headed down the cubicles, alerting the rest of the agents who'd been selected. I had a personal file at home on each of them. Knowledge was power. The years spent away from my twin and brothers was pure agony, but I didn't waste a second of it. I soaked up everything the academy could teach me and then some. I made sure to use every tool at my disposal. And until now, my family was in the clear. The Vitale name was always in lights, and I’d seen the file on them. But for years, they had flown under the radar as my bosses were handed juicier names and easier cases. Ones that I helped orchestrate.

Now? That was no longer the case.

Thanks to my oldest brother's husband, Harlow, they now had the FBI along with the Acetos and Triads breathing down their backs. There was a full-on war on the horizon, and I'd do my part to make sure my brothers came out on top.

I picked up the flash drive with my research on it and headed for the conference room.

"Good, everyone is here. Close the door, Agent Gallo," York said. He was all business but his silky deep voice was enough to make me forget about work.

I plopped down next to Hunter. The entire room was silent, all eyes focused on our boss. He commanded a room like no man I'd seen before. If he wasn't a law abiding citizen, he'd make one hell of a mafia boss.

The lights dimmed and the TV screen turned on which had images casted to it. York stood next to it with his phone in his palm. He tapped it once, the small phone dwarfed in his big hands.

"We've been called in to work with local law enforcement. Some of you may already know why you've been selected. You've all been handpicked by me and the director to work on this case." His wide shoulders rolled back as he met every single one of our gazes. Another image came onto the screen.

My brothers faces appeared on the screen.

"We're going to take down the Vitale family."

The Vitale Brothers.

I’d spent long nights pouring over their files and trying to find a way to get to them. The problem was that for twenty long years they had been just a blip on the radar. A kidnapping here, a gun shipment there, but nothing that could be tied to them definitively. Now, things had changed.

Bodies littered the streets of New York. A church had been set on fire. Carnage was taking over, and I would be damned if I let them destroy my home like they seemed hellbent on doing. It was time to put an end to them.

"These three have caused more death and destruction in New York in the past few weeks than we've seen in years. The oldest, Benito Vitale, runs the operation." I tapped my phone and the screen changed. "This is his husband, Harlow Vitale. Son of an infamous yakuza leader. Together they seem to have started something with this man." Another swipe. "Qiang of the Triads. Other families seem to be getting involved, and this is turning into all-out war."

"Shit," Hunter mumbled. "They're really some crazy assholes."

"That's putting it nicely," I said as I walked back and forth. "This is Giancarlo Vitale. He's the middle child and he acts like it. You can identify his victims from how badly beaten they are. Benito strangles, Giancarlo beats. And then there's Enzo; he's the torturer. Trust me, you won't be able to recognize his victims. If you can even find them."

I switched the slides and a collective groan filled the air. I kept my back to the image. They were all burned into my brain at this point, portraits of splashed blood, broken bones, and severed body parts. My eyes fell on Paul who looked like he was going to vomit any minute now. I hadn't expected him to have such a weak stomach. Usually, he was the type that could handle a crime scene without so much as flinching, but now he looked like he wanted to bolt for a trash can.

"These are their partners. Tex Caster and Ash Calahan. Tex works at their nightclub, Blu, as a bartender now and Ash works in Benito's building as an assistant to both of the brothers. If you ask me however, it's a cover-up. There's been some word that he really tracks the books and hands out punishments that his boyfriend carries out. I wouldn't be surprised, honestly."