Chapter 2 - The Men Who Called Him Boss
I kept the shotgun pointed toward the floor.
Mostly.
The first man through my door was enormous.
Six-foot-four at least.
Gray beginning at his temples.
Black wool coat that probably cost more than my truck.
He looked at Luca.
Then at me.
Then at the medical supplies covering my kitchen table.
“Who are you?”
“That’s an interesting question to ask inside my house.”
His expression did not change.
Behind him, four more men entered.
Luca pushed himself upright.
“Rafael.”
The big man immediately turned.
Relief broke through his control.
“Jesus Christ.”
“Close the door.”
Rafael did.
“You’re supposed to be dead.”
“I noticed.”
Rafael crossed the room.
Stopped.
Did not touch him.
“Marco says you went over the south ridge.”
Luca’s expression hardened.
“Marco says?”
“He’s telling everyone Dominic found blood in the car.”
Luca looked at me.
Then back at Rafael.
“And Adrian?”
Rafael hesitated.
That hesitation frightened me more than everything else.
Luca said:
“Say it.”
“Your brother called a council meeting.”
Silence.
“He said you stole from the family.”
Luca’s jaw tightened.
Rafael continued.
“He said Dominic confronted you. You panicked. There was a struggle.”
“And?”
“He says you ran.”
Luca laughed softly.
No humor.
“Convenient.”
Rafael looked at the floor.
“He’s sitting in your chair.”
I understood very little about organized crime.
But I understood that sentence.
Luca’s own brother had tried to kill him.
Then taken his place.
I lowered the shotgun.
A mistake, possibly.
But my arms were tired.
“Does anyone want to explain why my cabin has become a crime convention?”
Rafael looked at Luca.
Luca nodded.
“My brother Adrian wanted control.”
“That part I got.”
“He couldn’t take it while I was alive.”
“Also clear.”
“He arranged the attack.”
“You know that?”
“I saw him.”
That stopped me.
“You saw your brother shoot you?”
“Yes.”
Luca said it with less emotion than I used ordering coffee.
Something about that made it worse.
Rafael looked stunned.
“You’re certain?”
Luca stared at him.
Rafael nodded.
“Stupid question.”
One of the other men stepped forward.
“Boss, we need to move you.”
I immediately said:
“No.”
Five armed men looked at me.
Luca almost smiled.
Rafael frowned.
“You don’t understand.”
“I understand he lost enough blood that moving him again tonight is stupid.”
“We have doctors.”
“Wonderful. Bring one.”
“We have a secure location.”
“So do I.”
Rafael looked around my cabin.
One bedroom.
Small kitchen.
Woodstove.
Snow against the windows.
His face politely communicated disagreement.
I folded my arms.
“He moves tomorrow.”
“Ms.—”
“Nora.”
“Nora, this isn’t your problem.”
“Correct.”
“Then let us take him.”
“No.”
Rafael looked at Luca.
Luca said:
“She wins.”
The entire room changed.
Apparently Luca DeSantis did not lose arguments often.
I went back to changing his bandage.
An hour later, a physician arrived.
Private.
Quiet.
No ambulance.
He confirmed what I already suspected.
Luca could survive the night if monitored.
Moving him through a blizzard created unnecessary risk.
Rafael hated being wrong.
I enjoyed it more than I should have.
By midnight, three men were outside.
Two inside.
Rafael remained near the window.
Luca slept.
I made coffee.
Rafael finally asked:
“You live here alone?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I like it.”
He looked unconvinced.
Men like him probably assumed women lived alone only because something had gone wrong.
He wasn’t entirely wrong.
But I had no intention of explaining.
At two in the morning, Luca woke.
“Water.”
I handed him some.
He drank slowly.
Then noticed Rafael.
“Any word?”
“Nothing good.”
Rafael approached.
“Adrian told everyone you emptied an offshore account.”
“How much?”
“Twenty-three million.”
Luca’s expression almost became admiration.
“He chose a believable number.”
“You’re not taking this seriously.”
“I was shot twice.”
“I noticed.”
That made me look at Luca.
He noticed too.
Apparently everyone around him learned his style eventually.
Rafael continued.
“Half the captains believe him.”
“The other half?”
“Waiting.”
“For what?”
“To see whose name is on the building tomorrow.”
Luca became very still.
Power, I realized.
His world did not run on affection.
It ran on certainty.
If people believed him dead long enough, Adrian became reality.
Luca looked at me.
“Do you have a phone?”
“No signal.”
“Satellite?”
I stared.
“How do you know I have one?”
“You live alone in the mountains.”
“Annoying.”
I retrieved the emergency satellite unit.
He dialed from memory.
Someone answered.
Luca said one word.
“Sal.”
The voice on the other side went silent.
Then:
“Boss?”
Even I heard the shock.
“Who’s loyal?”
Another pause.
“Me.”
“I asked who.”
“Enough.”
“Names.”
He listened while Sal listed them.
Then Luca asked:
“Where’s Adrian?”
“Your house.”
“My office?”
“Yes.”
Luca closed his eyes.
“And my mother?”
Rafael looked away.
I noticed.
Luca did too.
“Sal.”
“She attended the meeting.”
His face changed.
Not much.
A tightening around the eyes.
“What did she say?”
Another silence.
Then Sal answered.
“She recognized Adrian as acting head.”
Luca lowered the phone.
For the first time since I found him, he looked wounded in a way no bandage could help.
His brother shot him.
His mother chose the brother.
I quietly turned away.
Some pain deserves privacy.
Then Sal’s voice came through again.
“Boss.”
Luca lifted the phone.
“What?”
“There’s something else.”
“What?”
“Adrian knows a woman found you.”
Every person in the room froze.
I looked at Luca.
He looked at me.
Rafael stepped closer.
“How?”
Luca asked.
Sal answered:
“Dominic found your blood trail.”
My stomach tightened.
“And?”
“It led toward a cabin.”
Nobody spoke.
May you like
Sal’s next words were quieter.
“They’re already looking for her.”
