Chapter 5 - The Man Who Should Have Been DeadVincent hit the floor as wood and metal tore through the apartment.
Gunfire followed.
Sal returned fire.
Marco dragged Lily behind the kitchen wall.
Vincent rolled toward the doorway.
Three men came through.
Black coats.
Silver wolf pins.
Vincent fired.
The first man dropped.
The second vanished behind the stairwell.
The third ran.
Vincent chased him.
Down one flight.
Two.
Outside.
Rain hammered the street.
The man jumped into a black SUV.
Vincent fired at the rear tire.
The vehicle swerved.
Then disappeared.
Sal came running out.
“Lily!”
“She’s safe.”
“Marco?”
“Inside.”
Vincent looked down.
The dead attacker wore a silver wolf pin.
But it was different from the coin.
There was a tiny number engraved underneath.
17.
Vincent picked it up.
“What does seventeen mean?”
Sal stared.
“Nothing good.”
Inside, Lily was shaking.
Marco crouched beside her.
Vincent knelt.
“Are you hurt?”
She shook her head.
“Did they say anything?”
“One of them did.”
“What?”
“He said, ‘The ledger is gone.’”
Vincent looked at Sal.
“And?”
“He said something else.”
“What?”
Lily answered.
“They know where the house is.”
Vincent felt a chill.
“What house?”
Lily stared at him.
“My new house.”
“You don't have a new house.”
“My mom bought one.”
“With what money?”
“She said it was already paid for.”
Vincent stood.
“Where?”
Lily reached into her backpack.
She pulled out a folded piece of paper.
A street.
A number.
A house.
Vincent recognized it.
It was three blocks from Romano territory.
Too close.
He called the number written at the bottom.
Nobody answered.
He called again.
A man's voice finally picked up.
“Hello?”
Vincent knew the voice.
He had heard it once before.
Twelve years ago.
At his brother's funeral.
“Who is this?”
The voice laughed softly.
“You know who.”
Vincent's grip tightened.
“Daniel?”
Silence.
Then:
“Don't let Lily come home.”
The line went dead.
Vincent stared at the phone.
Sal whispered:
“Was it him?”
Vincent nodded.
Marco looked at the address.
“Then we need to move.”
“No.”
Vincent stood.
“We go there.”
Sal shook his head.
“That could be a trap.”
“Everything is a trap.”
Vincent looked at Lily.
“She needs answers.”
Lily looked up.
“Is my dad really alive?”
Vincent hesitated.
He had spent his entire life learning never to promise what he could not prove.
“I don't know.”
She nodded.
Then quietly:
“I do.”
“What?”
“I've seen him.”
Vincent's heart stopped.
“When?”
“Three weeks ago.”
“Where?”
“In the park.”
“What did he say?”
“He said he couldn't come home.”
“Why?”
She lowered her voice.
“He said there was someone in our family who wanted me dead.”
Vincent's blood turned cold.
“Who?”
Lily's eyes filled with tears.
“I don't know his name.”
“Then how do you know he is family?”
“He wears my dad's ring.”
“What ring?”
She pointed to her own neck.
A thin chain disappeared beneath her shirt.
Vincent reached out.
“May I see it?”
She pulled it free.
Hanging from the chain was a gold ring.
Roman numerals.
A wolf.
And one word engraved on the inside.
CARLO.
Vincent stared at it.
His uncle had Daniel's ring.
And Daniel was alive.
Which meant the man his family had buried twelve years ago had known exactly who wanted him dead.
And now Vincent realized something much worse.
Carlo wasn't hiding from Daniel.
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Daniel was hiding from Carlo.
And Lily had just become the one thing Carlo could use to make Daniel come back.
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