Chapter 2 - The Woman Who Didn't Fear Him
By breakfast, Sofia had repaired most of Nico's bedroom.
The giraffe remained stuck on the chandelier.
“That thing is staying there forever,” she muttered.
Nico pointed upward.
“His name is Gerald.”
“Gerald needs to learn gravity.”
Lorenzo entered the dining room.
Nico immediately stopped eating.
That bothered Lorenzo more than he wanted to admit.
“Morning.”
“Morning,” Nico replied.
Sofia continued spreading strawberry jam on toast.
Lorenzo stared at her.
“You sit at the table?”
She looked up.
“He asked me to.”
“I did,” Nico confirmed.
Lorenzo pulled out a chair.
“Then sit.”
Sofia studied him.
“You're acting weird.”
Matteo nearly choked on his coffee near the window.
Lorenzo looked at him.
Matteo immediately became interested in the garden.
Lorenzo turned back to Sofia.
“People don't usually tell me I'm acting weird.”
“Maybe that's part of the problem.”
Nico giggled.
Lorenzo sat.
“Where did you work before this?”
Sofia frowned.
“You hired me without reading my file?”
“My sister hired you.”
“That's reassuring.”
“Answer.”
“I taught preschool for five years.”
“Why did you stop?”
Sofia's hands paused.
“My mother got sick. I came home to take care of her.”
“And now?”
“She passed last year.”
Lorenzo understood that silence.
He didn't offer condolences.
He knew how useless they felt.
Instead he asked, “Why housekeeping?”
“It pays.”
“I can pay you more.”
“I didn't ask.”
“You're taking care of Nico.”
“Because he's a kid, not because your bank account is impressive.”
Lorenzo leaned back.
“You really aren't afraid of me.”
Sofia glanced toward the two guards visible outside the dining room.
“I didn't say that.”
“Good.”
“I'm terrified.”
Lorenzo raised an eyebrow.
“But somebody around here should occasionally tell you when you're being an idiot.”
Matteo coughed again.
This time it sounded suspiciously like laughter.
Before Lorenzo could respond, Nico pushed his plate away.
“Can Sofia take me to the garden?”
Lorenzo hesitated.
Nico almost never asked to leave the house.
“The garden?”
“To find dragon tracks.”
Sofia nodded.
“Very serious investigation.”
Lorenzo looked toward Matteo.
“Double the perimeter.”
Sofia groaned.
“We're going forty yards from the house.”
“Double it.”
“Do you station snipers at the grocery store too?”
“Yes.”
She stopped.
“You're joking.”
Lorenzo wasn't.
Matteo's phone rang.
He stepped away.
Sofia watched Lorenzo carefully.
“Was last night about the men outside?”
Lorenzo's eyes moved to Nico.
“Go get your boots.”
Nico ran from the room.
The moment he disappeared, Sofia spoke.
“Don't lie to me.”
“I don't owe you explanations.”
“No. But if danger is near Nico, I need to know.”
“You need to follow instructions.”
“I need to keep him safe.”
“So do I.”
“Then stop pretending those are different things.”
Lorenzo stood.
The door opened.
Matteo entered.
“We found the sedan.”
“And?”
“Abandoned near Route 9.”
“The men?”
“Gone.”
Sofia's face tightened.
Lorenzo looked at her.
“You heard nothing.”
“I'm standing right here.”
“Exactly.”
Matteo handed Lorenzo a small plastic bag.
Inside was a photograph.
Bianca.
Nico.
Taken before Bianca died.
Across the front, someone had written:
One widow was enough.
Lorenzo's expression became stone.
Sofia saw it.
“What does that mean?”
“Nothing.”
“That's not nothing.”
“Sofia.”
“Is Nico being threatened?”
Lorenzo stepped toward her.
“You will take Nico upstairs. You will keep him away from the windows. You will not leave this property.”
She held his gaze.
“Who's threatening him?”
“Do what I said.”
“I can't protect him from something I don't understand.”
His voice hardened.
“This isn't a negotiation.”
Sofia didn't move.
Then Nico came running back.
“I found my boots!”
Both adults immediately changed.
Sofia smiled.
“Perfect.”
Lorenzo crouched.
“Plans changed.”
Nico's face fell.
“No garden?”
“Not today.”
“You promised.”
Lorenzo paused.
He had promised.
Not the garden.
Something more important.
That he would come back.
That he would be there.
“Fine.”
Matteo stared at him.
“Boss—”
“Clear the courtyard.”
Sofia looked surprised.
Lorenzo picked up Nico's coat.
“We're going outside.”
Nico grinned.
“You too?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know how to find dragon tracks?”
“No.”
Sofia opened the door.
“Then stay close.”
For twenty minutes, the most feared man in Boston walked through wet grass behind a five-year-old carrying a plastic magnifying glass.
Matteo followed ten feet away with an earpiece and the expression of a man questioning every decision that had led him there.
Then Nico stopped.
“Daddy!”
Lorenzo crouched.
“What?”
Nico pointed at a muddy shoeprint.
“Dragon.”
Sofia whispered, “Definitely.”
Lorenzo examined it.
Large boot.
Fresh.
Not Matteo's.
His smile disappeared.
He touched his earpiece.
“Lock the estate down.”
Sofia saw his expression.
“What?”
“Take Nico inside.”
“Lorenzo—”
It was the first time she'd used his first name.
He looked at her.
“Now.”
This time she obeyed.
As Sofia hurried Nico toward the mansion, Matteo joined Lorenzo.
“You recognize the tread?”
Lorenzo nodded.
“Military.”
“You think Greco got someone inside?”
“I know he did.”
Matteo looked at the mansion.
“Why leave a footprint?”
Lorenzo stared toward the upper windows.
“He wanted me to know.”
May you like
Then somewhere inside the house, an alarm began screaming.
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