The drive to the docks felt like a descent into another world. The skyscrapers bled into skeletal warehouses and rusted cranes that looked like prehistoric monsters in the fog. My mind was still back at the house, picturing my sister alone and breathless, but I had to lock that version of me away. I couldn't be a brother right now. I had to be a ghost.
The SUV rolled to a stop on the pier, the headlights cutting through the thick, salty mist. A group of Santo's men were already there, silhouettes standing around a shipping container.
"Stay close," Santo said, his voice returning to that commanding, icy chill. He didn't look at me as he stepped out, but the way he hesitated for a fraction of a second told me he was waiting for my footsteps to follow.
I stepped out, my hand instinctively resting on the grip of my weapon. The air was freezing, and the sound of the black water slapping against the concrete was rhythmic, like a ticking clock.
"Don Santo," one of the men stepped forward, bowing his head. "The crates are ready for inspection. But there's a problem."
Santo's posture went rigid. "I don't pay for problems, Marco."
"The scouts... they saw a car. It's been idling two blocks away for twenty minutes. It doesn't belong to the Syndicate. It looks like a civilian vehicle."
My stomach dropped into my shoes. A civilian vehicle. No agent from the bureau would be that sloppy. My mind flashed to my sister. If she'd panicked if she called one of my friends to take her to find me because she couldn't breathe
"Go," Santo murmured, his eyes locking onto mine. He didn't even look at Marco. He was staring directly at me, his gaze sharp enough to cut. "Take the perimeter, Dante. Find out who's watching us. If it's a spy, bring me their head. If it's... someone else... bring them to me alive."
The way he said someone else made my blood run cold. He knew. He didn't know the specifics, but he knew I was compromised.
I broke into a run, my boots hitting the wet pavement with a heavy thud. I rounded the corner of the warehouse, my heart hammering against my ribs. Two blocks away, under a flickering streetlamp, sat a beat-up silver sedan. My close friend's car.
"Please, no," I whispered, the 'Dante' mask cracking for a split second.
I reached the car and ripped the passenger's door open. My sister, Maya, was slumped over on my friend, her face pale, her breathing shallow and wheezing. She had followed my GPS. She had come to find her only lifeline.
"Maya, look at me," I grabbed her shoulders, my voice trembling. "I told you to stay put."
"Dante... I ..couldn't... breathe..." she gasped, her eyes fluttering.
I reached into the glove box, found her spare inhaler, and pressed it to her lips. After two frantic puffs, her chest began to steady, but the terror in my gut didn't fade. I checked my rearview mirror.
A black sedan was pulling up behind us. Not the police. Not my handlers. It was Santo's personal guard.
and Santo left his business with Marco and stepped out into the rain. He didn't look angry; he looked fascinated. He walked toward us with the slow, deliberate grace of a king, his long coat fluttering in the wind. He stopped at the open car door, looking down at my sister, then up at me.I stood up, stepping between him and the car, my hand hovering over my gun. I was ready to kill him. I was ready to die. The mission, the agency, the years of deep-cover work—none of it mattered.
"So," Santo said, his voice barely audible over the sound of the rain. He reached out, his fingers tracing the line of my jaw, forcing me to look at him. His touch was cold, but his eyes were burning with a dark, possessive fire. "This is your Little Bird. She looks just like you, Dante. Or should I call you by your real name?" The slow burn had just turned into a forest fire. I was caught between the man I was supposed to destroy and the only person I had left to love.
"If you touch her," I hissed, my voice cracking, "I will burn your world to the ground."
Santo smiled, and it was the most terrifying thing I'd ever seen. "I'm not going to touch her, Dante. I'm going to keep her. Because as long as I have her... I have you."