Chapter 6 - THE WOODEN ROSARY
The gunshot echoed across the freezing water of the pier.
Marcus Bellini screamed, dropping his useless revolver as Luca’s bullet shattered his right knee. The older man collapsed onto the wet, wooden planks, clutching his leg in agony.
I pulled Leo tight against my chest, covering his ears, trembling violently as the rain soaked us both.
Luca didn't lower his weapon. He walked slowly toward Marcus, the terrifying aura of a mafia boss radiating from him.
"How?" Marcus gasped through clenched teeth, staring at his broken leg. "My gun was loaded."
"It was," Luca said coldly, standing over him. "Until Vanessa tried to shoot my capo, Anthony, with it earlier tonight. She jammed the firing pin when she dropped it in the greenhouse. She clearly didn't tell you that when she handed it to you for protection."
Luca kicked the jammed revolver off the pier. It splashed into the dark water below.
"Where is she, Marcus?" Luca demanded, aiming his gun at the older man's head.
"Go to hell," Marcus spat.
Luca’s eyes narrowed. "I'll send you there first."
Before Luca could pull the trigger, the squeal of tires echoed from the far end of the dock.
A black sedan, headlights off, suddenly accelerated out from behind a shipping container, barreling directly toward us.
"Move!" Luca roared.
He grabbed me and Leo, diving behind a stack of wooden pallets just as the sedan skidded to a halt beside Marcus.
The passenger door flew open. Vanessa, pale and clutching a bloody rag to her shoulder where she had presumably injured herself escaping the estate, dragged her father into the car.
Luca fired twice at the tires, but the heavy rain threw off his aim. The sedan's tires spun on the wet wood, and the car rocketed away into the night.
I sat in the muddy puddles of the pier, clutching Leo, my heart hammering against my ribs.
Luca lowered his gun, his chest heaving. He turned and immediately knelt beside us in the rain.
"Are you hurt?" he asked, his dark eyes frantically searching my face, then Leo's.
"We're okay," I sobbed, rocking my son. "We're okay."
Luca gently placed a large hand on the back of Leo's head, shielding the boy from the worst of the rain. "You were very brave, Leo. Let's get you home."
We hurried back to the armored SUV. The heater blasted warm air as Luca sped away from the docks, heading toward a secure safe house downtown instead of the estate.
Leo, exhausted by the terror, fell asleep almost instantly in the back seat, wrapped in Luca's suit jacket.
I sat in the passenger seat, nursing my bandaged, throbbing hand.
"They got away," I whispered, the fear returning. "They have the real necklace."
Luca glanced at me, a strange, calm expression settling over his face.
"No, they don't."
I frowned. "But you threw the velvet box to Marcus. Leo brought it back."
"Leo brought back a velvet box," Luca corrected softly. "Not the velvet box."
Luca reached into his trousers pocket and pulled out the original, worn velvet box. He popped it open. The breathtaking, three-million-dollar emerald necklace was still safely inside.
"What was in the box you threw?" I asked, stunned.
Luca smiled grimly. "A GPS tracker. Embedded in a cheap piece of costume jewelry."
My jaw dropped. He had planned for the ambush. He had anticipated Marcus's demands and used them to track the Bellinis back to their hideout.
"My men are tracking the signal right now," Luca said, his eyes focused on the road. "By morning, Marcus and Vanessa will be in federal custody. I arranged a deal with the FBI two hours ago."
"The FBI?" I asked, shocked.
"I'm dismantling the syndicate, Nora," Luca said, his voice dropping into a quiet, sincere register. "I've been washing the Moretti money for five years. The legitimate businesses are clean. I just needed to lure Marcus out of hiding to hand him over and sever the last ties to the underworld."
He looked at me, his gaze intense. "I'm done with the violence."
We arrived at the secure penthouse downtown. Daniel was already there, heavily armed, providing security.
I carried a sleeping Leo to the guest bedroom and tucked him under the heavy duvet.
When I walked out into the living room, Luca was standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows, looking out over the Chicago skyline. He had poured two glasses of amber whiskey and handed one to me.
"Drink," he ordered gently. "You need it."
I took a sip. It burned, but it settled my nerves.
"Thank you, Luca," I whispered. "For saving him."
"I promised you I would," he replied, his eyes never leaving mine.
He reached into his pocket and pulled something else out. He set it on the glass coffee table between us.
It wasn't a weapon or a piece of jewelry.
It was a simple, wooden rosary.
My breath caught in my throat.
"I found this in Anthony's desk while we were searching for the gold watch," Luca said quietly.
I stared at the wooden beads. I knew them intimately. I had seen my father hold them every Sunday until the day he died ten years ago.
"That's my father's," I whispered, tears instantly welling in my eyes. "It was lost when he died in that car accident."
Luca looked deeply into my eyes.
"Nora, your father's death wasn't a car accident. He was run off the road."
The world stopped spinning.
May you like
"By who?" I gasped.
"By Marcus Bellini," Luca said softly. "Because your father was the only accountant who caught the embezzlement ten years ago, before Marcus faked his death."
