Chapter 4 - THE BLUE COAT
"Put the gun down, Boss," Marcus said.
His voice was completely flat. Emotionless.
I stood between him and the open bookcase, shielding Elena and the boys.
Marcus had been by my side for fifteen years. He had taken a bullet in the shoulder for me in New York. I had paid for his daughter’s college tuition.
"You?" I breathed, the betrayal burning in my chest like acid. "You were working with Dante?"
"I'm not working with Dante," Marcus scoffed, keeping his aim steady. "Dante is an idiot. He thinks he can control the Moretti empire. He just brought the muscle today."
"Then who are you working for?"
Marcus smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.
"Your wife, Alejandro. I've always worked for Sofia."
That made no sense.
"Sofia is dead."
"Yes," Marcus said softly. "But before she died, she gave me orders. And I intend to carry them out."
He lowered his gun slightly.
"I'm not here to kill you, Alejandro. If I wanted you dead, you would have died in your sleep five years ago. I'm here to take the boys. As Sofia commanded."
My mind was spinning. Answer one: Marcus helped fake the crash to hide the boys.
But Open Two: Why did Sofia trust my head of security over me? And why did Marcus have my dead brother's pocket watch?
"You're not taking them," I said, tightening my grip on my Glock.
"Alejandro," Elena whispered from the dark tunnel behind me. "Please. He will kill us all."
"Mr. Alejandro?" a small voice called out.
It was Mateo again. He stepped out from behind Elena’s legs.
He was wearing a small, navy blue coat.
I stared at the coat. My breath hitched.
I had bought that exact coat in Paris during our honeymoon. I had bought it for a toddler, joking with Sofia that we would need it someday. She had laughed and packed it in her cedar trunk.
Mateo reached into the pocket of the blue coat.
"Don't shoot Marcus," the little boy said, his lower lip trembling. "He brings us ice cream on Tuesdays."
Marcus’s cold exterior fractured for a fraction of a second. A look of profound sadness crossed his face.
That hesitation was all I needed.
I didn't shoot Marcus. I shot the heavy chandelier hanging directly above him.
The massive crystal fixture detached from the ceiling and crashed down between us, sending glass and plaster flying.
Marcus ducked, shielding his face.
I shoved Mateo into the tunnel, stepped inside, and pulled the heavy bookcase shut. The locks engaged with a solid, echoing thud.
We were in total darkness.
"Follow the wall," I ordered Elena, clicking on a small penlight. "Keep the boys moving. We have to reach the garage."
The tunnel was damp and smelled of old earth. We hurried in silence. The four boys held hands, forming a small human chain.
My mind raced. Marcus was protecting them. Dante wanted to use them.
But what was the truth?
We reached the end of the tunnel. I punched a code into the keypad, and a steel door slid open.
We stepped into my private underground garage.
My armored Mercedes sat waiting in the shadows.
"Get in the back," I told Elena.
As I opened the door for her, the overhead fluorescent lights flickered on.
Standing beside the hood of my car was a woman.
She was wearing a long, black trench coat.
Her hair was pulled back.
She looked older, tired, and there was a long, jagged scar along her jawline.
I froze. The gun nearly slipped from my hand.
I couldn't speak. I couldn't breathe.
Elena gasped, covering her mouth with both hands.
The four boys broke free from Elena and ran toward the woman.
"Mommy!" they yelled in unison.
The woman knelt down and gathered all four of them into her arms, burying her face in their hair.
She looked up at me over their small shoulders.
May you like
Her brown eyes were filled with tears.
"Hello, Alejandro," Sofia said.
