Operation Wolf: Eli (Wolf Elite Book 2) Read online

  OPERATION WOLF: ELI

  (WOLF ELITE, BOOK 2)

  Sedona Venez

  OTHER BOOKS IN THIS SERIES

  Operation Wolf: Gunner (Book One)

  Operation Wolf: Hunter (Book Three)

  ABOUT OPERATION WOLF: ELI

  (WOLF ELITE, BOOK TWO)

  Eli has been obsessed with curvy Olivia for years, but she’s far from your ordinary woman. Not only is she a mobster’s daughter, but she’s also the best thing that has ever happened to Eli. The only thing worth remembering since his return from war.

  Forced to keep his distance, he struggles with the constant reminder that she is the one who got away. That is, until he discovers she is the mark of a hit, and he needs to move quickly before it’s too late.

  There’s just one complication.

  He’s the man responsible for taking her out.

  Contents

  OPERATION WOLF: ELI

  Other Books in This Series

  About Operation Wolf: ELI

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

  NEW RELEASE ALERTS

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  CHAPTER 1

  Eli

  I LOOKED OUT THE window of my apartment, brooding as I gazed at the woman passing through the courtyard three stories down. The moonlight gleamed softly against the silky tresses of her auburn hair, illuminating the skin of her forehead and hands. Her head was bent down as she adjusted the textbooks she carried in one arm, so I couldn’t get a good look at her face, but that didn’t matter. I’d know Olivia Giordano anywhere—whether she was dressed in a pink T-shirt and jeans, as she was now, or wearing nothing but mud and grass and her father’s silk bathrobe, as she had once long ago when we were in love and high school sweethearts.

  I smiled faintly at the memory. Those days had been good, even the rough ones, because Olivia was always around to brighten my life. Her father had been furious with her that day for ruining his favorite bathrobe. But Olivia had never sought to be anything other than what she was. That was why everyone loved her, had been drawn to her, like butterflies to a pool of nectar.

  Just as I was then. Just as I am now.

  I watched as she climbed the stairs, briefly disappearing and then emerging on the third-floor walkway on the other side of the courtyard. I wondered how she would react if she knew that I was standing here, observing her. That I’d tracked her down and moved in to the apartment across the complex from hers when I returned to Chicago three months ago. That I’d kept tabs on her ever since.

  Would she welcome me with open arms and ask me where I’d been? Or would she be angry at my intrusion?

  Sighing, I tried to step away from the window, but I couldn’t. I knew Olivia was an obsession I needed to let go of, but my eyes remained glued to the window as she stopped in front of her apartment door and fished for her keys in her coat pocket. I admired the way her tight jeans accentuated her curves. Curves that had become more defined since I last saw her a few years ago. She’d grown from a spring bud into a summer blossom, and more than once, I’d wished I could take her in my arms and see just how much she’d grown up.

  But that’s impossible. I can’t go back to Olivia. I can’t even let her know I am back in town. If I did, I would get sucked back into the mob life again, and that’s something I swore I’d never let happen.

  Loving a mobster’s daughter came with a high price. And Olivia and I had decided years ago that it wasn’t worth paying. So, now, I had to be content with only looking after her, even if it was from a distance.

  She closed the door behind her, and I turned away from the window and wandered over to the kitchen to grab a beer from the fridge. Normally, I’d be at the shifter club on Rush Street, working as a bouncer, but I’d been given the night off. I loathed the long nights off. I never seemed to know what the hell to do with myself. I liked being at the bar. It gave me comfort to be with others of my kind. A sort of camaraderie I never felt anywhere else—at least, not since I’d returned from war.

  It was funny how I felt like such an outcast in the city where I’d grown up. The city I’d thought I’d known like the back of my hand. Now, a few years later, I wondered if I’d really known anything at all.

  Slipping my hand into my pocket, I drew out the gold pocket watch Dad had given me before he died many years ago. It was the most valuable thing he had ever owned, a Civil War relic, and consequently, it was now the most valuable thing I owned. Though Dad and I’d had our ups and downs, I’d held on to it all these years, and it gave me solace every time I pulled it out to look at it.

  I was taking a swig from my beer when my cell rang, nearly startling me into dropping the bottle. Scowling, I glanced at the screen, not recognizing the number and wondering who the hell was calling me at this time of night. The only phone calls I ever got were from the club when they needed me to come in early. And now that I was home and comfortable, I suddenly found I didn’t necessarily want to haul my ass down to Rush Street when the nightlife was already in full swing.

  Swiping my finger across my cell, I answered, “McCauley.”

  “Eli!” a panicky, familiar voice burst through the line, accompanied by a faint crackling sound. “I’m so glad I reached you. Hey, how have you been, buddy?”

  “Ian?” My blood ran cold at the sound of my old friend’s voice.

  Ian and I used to run with the mob back in the day—before I’d decided to call the gangster life quits and joined the military.

  “How the hell did you get my number?”

  I’d been deliberately avoiding all of my old friends, especially Ian, who had made a pact with me to quit the thug life and go straight. Then he’d backed out, only to return to the insanity. I didn’t have any patience for those who tried to drag me down. Not after all I’d been through and how hard I had worked to clean up my life and go straight.

  “Silvia gave it to me.”

  Shit.

  Silvia was a former friend of Dad’s, whom I’d run into weeks ago by accident. She also happened to be Ian’s estranged aunt. Now, I was kicking myself for giving her my number, but I’d felt bad for her when she told me that her husband just died and she was all on her own with no one to help her with small errands.

  “Look, Eli, I know I’m the last person you want to hear from right now,” Ian said. “But I . . . Eli, I need your help.”

  I gave an exasperated sigh. “What are you in for this time, Ian? Racketeering? Extortion?”

  “No, I’m not—”

  “Sorry, Ian, but I can’t help you. I don’t have any money to front you for bail. Not this time. If you didn’t want to end up in the tank, you should have gone straight, like I did. You’ve had so damn many opportunities to get out of that mess.”

  “I’m not in jail!” Ian burst out. “And I haven’t been running any rackets or dealing or anything like that in a long time. I have been an honest guy for the past few years, Eli. Really. It’s just that I’ve never been able to shake the gambling, you know, and—”

  “Hello, Eli.” A different voice ca
me on the line, one with an Italian accent that sent a trickle of sweat down my spine. “It’s Nick Santorini. I used to know your father very well. I’m sure you’ve heard of me.”

  “Hi, Nick,” I replied carefully. My mind was racing as I tried to figure out what the hell this guy wanted with me.

  Nick Santorini was a capo for the Chicago Outfit, the Italian mobster organization my dad used to belong to. I had worked for them indirectly via the street gang I used to run with. I’d quit the business shortly after Dad was shot during a gang fight, but I remembered Nick as one of Dad’s drinking buddies.

  “Sure. What can I do for an old friend of my father’s?”

  “Ah, so you do remember! That’s good,” Nick replied with a chuckle. “See, I wasn’t sure if you would, what with you being gone so long. I’m really sorry to interrupt your conversation with your buddy Ian over here, but I felt like he wasn’t adequately explaining the situation to you, and I just wanted to help him out.”

  “Sure,” I replied, feeling a cold lump of lead drop into my stomach. I could already see where this was going, and I cursed myself for being stupid enough to answer the call. “What exactly is the situation?”

  “Well, see, Ian’s gotten himself into a bind here,” Nick explained. “He’s got a fairly good eye for poker, but he slips up when he’s drunk, and he owes one of our casinos quite a chunk of money.”

  I bit back a groan. “How much?”

  “Well, it’s in the six figures. Ian’s a good kid though, and we’ve been trying to work with him on the payments, but I’m afraid the boss has run out of patience. Either he’s got to pay up now, or we’re going to have to pull the deal, if you know what I’m saying.”

  I swallowed, knowing what that meant. They were going to kill Ian if he didn’t quickly pay the debt. There was no way my old friend was going to be able to come up with anything close to the amount that would assuage the Outfit once they got blood in their eyes.

  “I’m not sure what I can do to help, Nick. I don’t have six figures to lend Ian.”

  “Well, I figured you wouldn’t, with you just coming back from the military and all.” Nick chuckled.

  “How did you know that?” I snapped.

  Shit. Shit. Shit.

  “Ian told me. Anyway, I wish soldiers got paid that kind of cash, but that just isn’t how it goes. Nah, I’m not after you to try to squeeze you for cash, sonny. What I want is your expertise.”

  “My expertise?”

  “Yeah, that’s right. See, good soldiers are getting tougher to find these days, especially with the FBI cracking down on us harder than they used to. The boss is starting up a new business opportunity, and we can’t have guys on board who are going to turn into informants and go running off to witness protection. Bad for business.” He paused for a moment and then continued, “I remember you did good work back in the day, sonny, and I want you to come and work for us again. If you do, we’ll consider Ian’s debt paid in full.”

  “I see,” I replied slowly.

  I wholeheartedly wished I could reach through my cell and throttle the shit out of Ian. Doing so would certainly save me a lot of damn trouble. But, deep down inside, I knew I couldn’t let the mob kill Ian, not if there was a way for me to stop it. Though Ian was a weak-willed man, he’d always been there for me in the past and even saved my ass on a few occasions. I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if I turned my back on my old friend now.

  “How long will I have to serve?” I countered.

  “Excuse me?”

  “How long will I have to serve the Outfit?” I rephrased my question. “If I’m doing this to pay off a debt, I’m assuming I won’t be getting paid. I want to know how long I have to serve and whether or not I’m going to need to quit my job at the club and find a different one that’ll fit better with my schedule.”

  “Oh, don’t worry about keeping a second job. You’ll still get paid,” Nick assured me. “Maybe not as much as your father did, not with you starting off as a soldier and all, but you’ll make enough to keep that nice little apartment you’ve got there. As for the time frame, I think five years is a good number to pay off $250,000, don’t you, Ian?” I didn’t hear Ian say anything in the background, but I assumed Ian nodded because Nick said, “Exactly. Five years, Eli. That’s all we’re asking for. Then you’re free to get on with your life.”

  “Okay,” I agreed, even though I knew Nick was lying.

  Once you joined the mob, you were usually in for life unless you went to the Feds, offering to cough up valuable information in exchange for protection. Witness protection was the last place I wanted to go. Since I couldn’t go back to the military again, I could see no alternative aside from letting the mob kill Ian. And even that wouldn’t help now that they knew I was back in town and where I lived. They’d simply find some other way to leverage me back into the mob, and if that didn’t work, they’d just kill me.

  What the mob wants, the damn mob gets.

  “That’s what I wanted to hear!” Nick chuckled. “The boys will be so glad to hear you’re back, Eli. They really will. We’ll have something for you tomorrow, so be here by eight o’clock.” He rattled off an address to me. “Ian will be here too, so you’ll have a friendly face to look forward to.”

  “See you then, Nick.”

  I ended the call, knowing that my last few hours of freedom would soon be over.

  CHAPTER 2

  Eli

  “YOU MAY NOW KISS the bride!”

  I watched as Gunner grabbed Celine by the waist and pulled her flush against him for a hot, steamy kiss beneath the outdoor wedding arch. The guests erupted into cheers, and I joined in, whooping and hollering right along with the rest of them, as if I were standing in the crowd instead of less than two feet away from the groom.

  “Hey, get a room already!” Hunter, one of the groomsmen and a fellow shifter Army buddy, shouted from alongside me.

  I’d flown in along with the rest of our former squad to stand as Gunner’s groomsmen, and I was extremely grateful to be here. It gave me a sense of peace, of solidarity, that I’d nearly forgotten was possible to possess since Nick Santorini blackmailed me into joining the Outfit.

  Here, among my comrades, I could just about shut out the memory that, just a few days ago, my hands had been covered in blood from beating the hell out of a Gaylords gangster for the heinous crime of selling heroin on the Outfit’s turf. Today, I could almost stop thinking about the fact that I’d left the man bleeding on the street with a rattle in his chest that told me it was entirely possible he wouldn’t survive the night. Almost.

  I didn’t know whether or not the man had lived, and I took some small comfort in that. I’d been out of the city, on a plane to New York City, before the media could release the story.

  Shaking my head, I pulled myself away from my dark thoughts and back to the wedding. Gunner and Celine had chosen to have the ceremony on the rooftop of Celine’s father’s SoHo hotel, and the weather had accommodated with clear, sunny skies and a pleasantly warm breeze. It was a wonderful day, and I wanted to enjoy it while it lasted.

  Besides, sharing in the joy of my friend’s union made me feel somewhat normal. After all, I could never explain to my comrades just what kind of mess I was in. I had far too much love for these men to drag them into my problems. No, I’d serve the mob for as long as I needed to until my friend’s debt was paid and I was able to figure out a plan that would finally lead me away from that dark world once and for all.

  I forced myself to focus on the beautiful couple who stood to the side of me, their smiles contagious and their love so pure you couldn’t help but feel it even in the blackest corners of your heart.

  “All right, all right,” Gunner conceded with a cheeky grin, pulling away from his bride. “Darling, you’d better throw the bouquet now.”

  Instantly, a gaggle of girls and women appeared in front of the aisle, all shouting and giggling as they jockeyed for position. Celine threw the bouquet
, and two women caught it at the same time. A fight broke out over who should keep the damn thing, which I supposed was only natural since they were all shifter women and even cattier and more possessive than their human counterparts.

  “Okay, okay, break it up.” I waded in among the throng and plucked the bundle of flowers out of the hands of a pretty woman in a pink dress. “The lady in the yellow got it first, so I’m giving it to her,” I announced a little more loudly. “Anyone got a problem with that?”

  The woman in the pink dress looked as though she wanted to say something, but I gave her a look, and she quickly withered. I knew an instinctive menace glittered in my sky-blue eyes and seemed to fill every inch of my broad, muscular frame. Whether it came from my time as a military soldier or a Mafia enforcer, I couldn’t say, but the shifter females all hastily backed off.

  “Thank you,” the woman in the yellow dress lisped quietly, accepting the flowers. Then she quickly melted back into the crowd.

  Somewhat embarrassed at all the eyes now turned my way, I pivoted on my heel and returned to my place next to the groom, so the wedding party could begin its march down the other side of the aisle.

  “Appreciate you stepping in, Eli,” Gunner muttered just before the music started. He offered Celine his arm. “Last thing I need is for those shifter women to start getting into a real catfight in front of all these humans. And you certainly seem to have a way of calming the ladies.”

  “Anytime.” I smirked.

  Then Gunner was off down the aisle. I stepped in behind him, taking the arm of Celine’s maid of honor, a black-haired she-wolf named Tamara with a killer figure clothed in emerald-green satin. Her eyes sparkled as she took my arm, her ruby-red lips curving into a smile that told me she was plotting how to get me into bed before I left for Chicago.

  The next few hours were a blur—standing in the wedding party line to receive greetings and adjourning to the reception hall to dive headfirst into a banquet, followed by dancing and drinking and games galore. I made sure to keep my distance from Tamara, and it wasn’t long before she took the hint and was off seeking greener pastures, flitting between several men on the dance floor.