Chapter 5 - The Price of Innocence
The man with the knife laughed,
but it was a hollow,
unstable sound.
"You think you’re a hero now, Calder?"
"The great Mafia boss playing savior?"
"This woman is Sarah Jenkins,"
"She’s the wife of a man who betrayed the High Council."
"She has the ledger that lists every bribe,"
"every murder,"
"and every dirty cop in the Tri-State area."
"If you take her, you’re declaring war on people bigger than you."
I didn't blink.
"I’ve been at war since the day I was born,"
I said.
Sarah looked at me,
tears streaming down her face.
"Emma,"
she choked out.
"Is she safe?"
"She’s eating a sandwich in my bakery,"
I told her,
my gaze never wavering from the gunman.
"She’s waiting for you."
The man tightened his grip on the knife,
a thin line of red appearing on Sarah’s neck.
"Enough talk!"
he yelled.
"Give us the girl and the backpack she’s carrying,"
"and we’ll let the mother live."
I felt a surge of cold fury.
They didn't just want the book;
they wanted the child as well,
likely to ensure Sarah’s silence forever.
"You made one mistake,"
I said,
my voice dropping to a whisper.
"What’s that?"
the man spat.
"You assumed I’d negotiate."
In one fluid motion,
I fired.
The bullet grazed the man’s ear,
the shock of the sound and the pain making him flinch.
In that split second of distraction,
Luca and Nico burst through the side windows,
their silenced weapons coughing.
The two other men fell before they could even scream.
The leader tumbled back,
clutching his head,
and I was on him before he could recover.
I slammed him against the concrete pillar,
my hand around his throat.
"Where is the rest of your team?"
I demanded,
the barrel of my gun pressed under his chin.
"Go to hell,"
he wheezed.
I didn't argue.
I pulled the trigger,
not into his head,
but into his foot.
The scream that followed echoed through the cavernous warehouse.
"I have all night,"
I said,
"and I have very little patience left."
"Tell me who sent you,"
"or the next one goes through your kneecap."
Sarah was sobbing now,
partly from relief and partly from the horror of the violence before her.
I ignored the blood,
the smell of sulfur,
and the darkness.
I looked at the woman,
seeing the mother Emma had described.
"It's over,"
I said to her,
though I knew it was only the beginning.
The High Council had sent these men.
If they were involved,
then Emma and her mother weren't just in danger;
they were marked for death.
And by stepping in,
I had just marked myself too.
But as I looked at Sarah,
I knew I couldn't have done anything else.
"Let's go,"
I told my men.
May you like
"We’re moving them to the fortress."
"The war has started,"
