Chapter 3 - The Secret Beneath Her Uniform
At nine the next morning, Sarah walked into Vincent Caruso’s estate wearing jeans, boots, and a dark jacket.
She had slept for two hours.
Vincent waited in his library with three men.
Paul stood with his neck braced.
Marcus had one arm in a sling.
The third man, Dominic Russo, looked untouched.
Dominic had served as Vincent’s adviser for twenty-four years. He was lean, gray-haired, and perfectly dressed.
He looked Sarah over.
“This is the waitress?”
“This is the woman who saved Vincent,” Paul replied.
Dominic smiled politely.
“An impressive performance.”
Sarah looked at him.
“Performance?”
“Figure of speech.”
Vincent pointed toward a chair.
“Sit.”
Sarah remained standing.
“Who was seated at table seven last night?”
Vincent answered.
“Judge Nolan. Councilman Price. Dominic. Me.”
“Who arrived first?”
Dominic said, “What does that matter?”
Sarah ignored him.
Vincent replied, “Dominic.”
“Who selected the restaurant?”
“I did.”
“Who confirmed the reservation?”
Dominic’s smile faded.
“I manage Vincent’s schedule.”
Sarah turned to him.
“Did you change the time?”
“No.”
“Did anyone know Vincent would be there?”
“Half the city knows Vincent dines there on Tuesdays.”
“Roman did more than know the night. He knew the exact table, number of guards, building layout, and the type of ammunition Marcus carried.”
Marcus looked up.
“How could he know that?”
“He expected the first shot to hit his vest.”
Dominic folded his arms.
“Keller is a professional. Professionals prepare.”
Sarah nodded.
“Then why was his left leg injured?”
No one answered.
“He had fresh blood on his boot,” she continued. “He had been in another fight within an hour of entering the restaurant.”
Vincent frowned.
“With whom?”
“Maybe the person who hired him.”
Dominic laughed quietly.
“That makes no sense.”
“It does if Roman demanded more money or discovered part of the plan had been hidden from him.”
“What part?” Vincent asked.
Sarah looked toward Dominic.
“That I was there.”
Dominic’s eyes sharpened.
Sarah continued.
“Roman recognized my training. That means he has access to old intelligence files.”
Vincent stepped closer.
“What files?”
Sarah stayed silent.
Paul spoke gently.
“You saved all of us. You don’t have to keep protecting your past.”
Sarah looked at him.
“My name is Sarah Hale. Before I became a waitress, I served with a private diplomatic protection unit contracted by the federal government.”
Dominic’s eyebrows rose.
“A bodyguard?”
“Among other things.”
Vincent asked, “Why did you leave?”
“A mission in Prague.”
“What happened?”
“My team was assigned to protect a prosecutor preparing to testify against an international weapons network. Our route was compromised.”
“By someone inside?”
“Yes.”
“How many survived?”
“Two.”
“And the prosecutor?”
Sarah’s voice lowered.
“He didn’t.”
The room became quiet.
Vincent noticed a thin scar along her wrist.
“Roman was connected to that attack?”
“No. But he worked for the same network years later.”
Dominic took a slow breath.
“And now she happens to appear inside Vincent’s restaurant just before Keller attacks.”
Sarah turned toward him.
“You’re suggesting I arranged it?”
“I’m suggesting coincidence is a comforting word used by careless people.”
Sarah took one step closer.
“You arrived at the restaurant forty minutes early.”
Dominic’s face did not move.
“You had a drink at the bar,” she continued. “You spoke to Marcus. You asked whether Tony’s wife had delivered yet. Then you went into the private restroom.”
Marcus stared at him.
“How do you know that?”
“I was serving the bar area.”
Dominic said, “None of that proves anything.”
“No. But this might.”
Sarah removed a small plastic bag from her jacket.
Inside was a tiny black device.
Vincent looked at it.
“What is that?”
“A signal transmitter.”
Dominic’s hand tightened around his cuff.
Sarah placed it on the desk.
“I found it taped beneath table seven after Roman left.”
Vincent stared at Dominic.
“You checked the table before I arrived.”
Dominic did not answer.
Paul moved toward the door.
Dominic suddenly pulled a compact pistol from behind his jacket.
Sarah struck first.
She knocked his wrist upward as the gun fired.
The bullet shattered a lamp.
Paul tackled Dominic.
Marcus kicked the weapon away.
Vincent stood completely still.
Dominic struggled beneath Paul.
“Get off me!”
Vincent approached slowly.
“Twenty-four years,” he said.
Dominic looked up.
“I kept you alive for twenty-four years.”
“And sold me on the twenty-fifth.”
“You were destroying everything.”
“What did I destroy?”
“Our future.”
Vincent’s voice became colder.
“Explain.”
Dominic laughed bitterly.
“You wanted to withdraw from the ports. You wanted to sell the clubs. You wanted to turn legitimate because Grace asked whether she could bring your grandchildren to visit.”
Vincent’s expression changed at the mention of his daughter.
Dominic continued.
“You built an empire, then became ashamed of it.”
“I became tired of burying men.”
“You became weak.”
Sarah watched Vincent.
For a moment, she feared he would kill Dominic where he lay.
Instead, Vincent asked, “Who else?”
Dominic said nothing.
Vincent knelt beside him.
“Roman Keller will return. He does not leave contracts unfinished.”
“You think I’m afraid of Keller?”
“No,” Sarah said. “You’re afraid of whoever hired you to hire him.”
Dominic looked at her.
That was enough.
Vincent saw the fear.
“There is someone above you,” he said.
Dominic remained silent.
Vincent stood.
“Lock him in the wine cellar.”
Paul pulled Dominic to his feet.
As they dragged him toward the door, Dominic shouted, “You can’t protect him, Sarah.”
She turned.
He smiled.
“You couldn’t protect Elias Novak in Prague.”
Sarah froze.
Vincent saw the color drain from her face.
Dominic continued.
“You watched him die in your arms. Keller knows that. The people behind him know everything about you.”
Paul forced him out.
The door closed.
Vincent looked at Sarah.
“Who was Elias Novak?”
“The prosecutor.”
“You cared about him.”
“He trusted me.”
“And you believe you failed him.”
“I did fail him.”
Vincent shook his head.
“No. The traitor who sold his route failed him.”
Sarah stared at the transmitter on the desk.
Vincent continued.
“You are not responsible for every person a monster kills.”
“You don’t know what I’m responsible for.”
“No,” he said quietly. “But I know what it is to let the dead judge every day you survive.”
Sarah looked at him.
For the first time, Vincent Caruso did not seem like a crime boss.
He seemed like a widower who had spent eleven years speaking to a grave.
Vincent picked up the transmitter.
“Help me find the person behind Dominic.”
“I’m not joining your organization.”
“I’m asking you to help dismantle part of it.”
Sarah considered him.
“One condition.”
“Name it.”
“No executions. No revenge killings.”
Vincent’s jaw tightened.
“That is not how my world works.”
“Then find someone else.”
She turned toward the door.
Vincent watched her walk away.
“Agreed.”
Sarah stopped.
He repeated, “No executions.”
May you like
She faced him again.
“Then we start with Dominic’s phone.”
