Chapter 9 - THE FEAST OF VULTURES
The return to the estate felt different.
The walls seemed higher,
the silence more profound.
I had the documents locked in my private safe,
the weight of them feeling like a ticking bomb.
The Romanos wouldn't stop now.
They knew I had the evidence.
They knew I had the power to dismantle their entire operation with a single phone call.
But more than that,
they knew about Emily.
I stood on the balcony of my bedroom,
watching the first light of dawn touch the horizon.
The city looked peaceful from here,
a lie of glass and steel.
A soft knock on the door interrupted my thoughts.
It was Emily.
She was wearing a silk robe I had provided,
her face pale but her eyes steady.
"I can't sleep,"
she said,
walking out to join me on the balcony.
"Neither can I."
"What are you going to do with the files?"
she asked.
I looked out at the city.
"I could turn them over to the authorities.
It would destroy the Romanos.
But it would also destroy the Callahan name.
Everything my father built.
Everything I've worked for."
"Is that a bad thing?"
she asked,
her voice soft.
"To lose an empire built on blood?"
"It's the only world I know,
Emily.
Without it,
I'm just a man with a lot of enemies and nowhere to go."
"You're a man who could be anything,"
she said,
turning to face me.
"You're not your father,
Richard.
I saw that in the crypt.
You protected me.
You didn't have to,
but you did."
"I did it because I couldn't live with myself if I didn't,"
I admitted.
"That’s called a conscience,"
she said with a faint smile.
"It’s a very inconvenient thing to have in your line of work."
I looked at her,
really looked at her.
The way the dawn light played across her skin,
the strength in her posture.
She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen,
and she was also the most dangerous.
Because she made me want things I couldn't have.
Peace.
Normalcy.
A life where I didn't have to check the shadows before I walked into a room.
"Emily,"
I said,
my voice dropping.
"When this is over...
when the Romanos are gone...
I want you to leave.
Go somewhere far away.
Start over.
I'll give you whatever you need."
She looked at me for a long time,
her expression unreadable.
"Is that what you want?
For me to leave?"
"It’s what you need,"
I said.
"You don't belong here."
"Maybe I don't,"
she whispered,
stepping closer.
"But maybe I don't want to go back to being the girl who waits for the world to hurt her."
She reached up,
her fingers tracing the line of my jaw.
"I spent my life healing people,
Richard.
But I think I'm the one who needs saving this time."
I didn't think.
I didn't hesitate.
I leaned down and kissed her.
It wasn't a gentle kiss.
It was a collision.
A desperate,
hungry thing that tasted of salt and longing.
She responded with a fervor that surprised me,
her hands tangling in my hair,
pulling me closer.
In that kiss,
the past and the future didn't matter.
There was only the heat of her body,
the softness of her lips,
and the realization that I would do anything—absolutely anything—to keep her safe.
Even if it meant burning my own world to the ground.
But the moment was broken by the sound of a phone ringing.
It was the secure line on my nightstand.
I pulled away,
both of us breathing hard.
I answered the phone.
"Boss,"
Victor’s voice was urgent.
"We have a problem.
A big one."
"What is it?"
"The Morettis.
They’ve made a deal with the Romanos.
They're merging,
Richard.
And they've just declared war on us.
They've hit three of our warehouses in the last hour.
And they're heading for the estate."
I looked at Emily,
my heart sinking.
May you like
The vultures had finally gathered.
And they were hungry for more than just blood.
