Chapter 3 - The Safehouse With No Exit
Pain came in white flashes.
Gabriel could not fully sedate me without risking my heart, so Sarah held my shoulders while he cut into the wound.
“Stop moving,” Gabriel ordered.
“I am not moving.”
“You nearly broke my wrist.”
“That was involuntary.”
Sarah pressed harder against my shoulder.
“Look at me.”
“I’m looking.”
“No, you’re threatening the doctor with your eyes.”
“He should work faster.”
“He is removing a bullet from your body on an office desk.”
“Couch.”
“That distinction will comfort your obituary writer.”
Gabriel reached deeper with the forceps.
My vision blurred.
Outside the office, metal groaned as Luca’s men worked through the security barrier.
Gabriel finally lifted the bullet into the light.
“Got it.”
The small piece of blood-covered metal dropped into a steel tray.
Sarah released a breath.
“Is he going to live?”
“If the bullet didn’t tear anything critical.”
“That is not an answer.”
“It is the only answer available.”
Gabriel stitched the wound while I fought to remain conscious.
“Julian,” I said.
Sarah leaned closer.
“What about him?”
“Call him.”
Gabriel froze.
“You think he betrayed you.”
“I need to hear his voice.”
Sarah handed me her phone.
I dialed my brother’s private number.
Julian answered immediately.
“Hello?”
“It’s me.”
Silence.
Then his voice cracked.
“Dante?”
“Disappointed?”
“Where are you?”
“Alive.”
“Thank God. I heard the meeting was attacked.”
“You heard?”
“Luca called me. He said negotiations collapsed.”
“Marcus is dead.”
Julian breathed sharply.
“I’m sorry.”
“You sent him with me.”
“He was your best man.”
“He tried to tell me something before he died.”
Another pause.
“What did he say?”
I watched Gabriel and Sarah exchange a glance.
“He said your name.”
Julian’s breathing changed.
Barely.
But I heard it.
“So?” he asked.
“So tell me why.”
“You’re hurt. You aren’t thinking clearly.”
“Where are my guards?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why is the Kinzie warehouse empty?”
“I don’t know.”
“Only four people knew I reopened this safehouse.”
“Dante, listen to yourself.”
“I am.”
“You’re blaming family because Luca ambushed you.”
“Family gave Luca my route.”
Julian’s voice became colder.
“You always do this.”
“Do what?”
“Treat me like a boy waiting outside your office.”
“This is not about your pride.”
“It was always about my pride.”
Sarah’s eyes narrowed.
Julian continued.
“You inherited everything because you were born first. Father gave you the clubs, the docks, the house, the loyalty. What did he leave me?”
“A seat beside me.”
“A chair in your shadow.”
“You sold me to Luca for a better view?”
“I didn’t sell you.”
My hand tightened around the phone.
“What did you do?”
“I arranged leverage.”
“Marcus is dead.”
“That wasn’t supposed to happen.”
The room went silent.
Even Gabriel stopped moving.
Julian realized his mistake.
“Dante—”
“Where are you?”
“I can fix this.”
“Where are you?”
“We meet Luca at dawn. You step away from the organization, and he recognizes me as head of the Moretti family.”
“You told him I survived.”
“I had no choice.”
“You always have a choice.”
“I’m trying to save what is ours.”
“You destroyed what was ours.”
Julian lowered his voice.
“Come to the old freight terminal at five. Alone. Sign the transfer papers, and Luca lets you leave Chicago.”
“And the waitress?”
Silence.
I looked at Sarah.
She understood immediately.
Julian had known about her.
“You have people watching us,” I said.
“She is a witness.”
“She saved my life.”
“That makes her dangerous.”
“No. That makes her protected.”
“You can’t protect anyone tonight.”
The line went dead.
Sarah took the phone from my hand.
“He knows who I am.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Traffic cameras. Luca owns people in the police department.”
Her face tightened.
“My apartment.”
I tried to sit up.
Gabriel pushed me back.
“What are you doing?”
“My mother is there,” Sarah said. “And my little brother.”
“How old?” I asked.
“Evan is seventeen.”
“Call them.”
Sarah dialed.
No answer.
She tried again.
Still nothing.
Her breathing quickened.
“She always answers.”
“Sarah.”
She grabbed her coat.
“I’m going home.”
“No.”
She turned on me.
“You don’t get to say no.”
“Luca expects you to go there.”
“My family is in danger because I helped you.”
“And running into a trap won’t help them.”
“What would you do if it were your family?”
I thought of Julian.
“Something reckless.”
“Then move.”
Gabriel stepped between us.
“Dante cannot leave.”
“He can stay.”
“No,” I said. “We go together.”
“You’ll tear the stitches.”
“Then stitch me again.”
Gabriel cursed under his breath.
The pounding outside suddenly stopped.
Silence filled the warehouse.
Sarah looked toward the door.
“Why did they stop?”
“They’re listening,” I said.
“For what?”
An alarm began beeping.
Gabriel checked the wall monitor.
Red warning text flashed across the screen.
FIRE SUPPRESSION SYSTEM DISABLED. GAS DETECTED.
“They cut the main line,” he said.
A sharp chemical smell drifted through the ventilation duct.
Sarah covered her mouth.
“What is that?”
“Smoke accelerant,” I said. “They’re going to burn us out.”
Gabriel grabbed his bag.
“The tunnel. Now.”
I forced myself upright.
The room tilted, but Sarah caught me before I fell.
“Still fine?” she asked.
“Perfect.”
The tunnel entrance was hidden beneath a steel cabinet in the back room. Gabriel pushed it aside, revealing a narrow concrete staircase.
Smoke began leaking beneath the office door.
Sarah descended first. Gabriel followed while supporting my other side.
The tunnel smelled of wet stone and rust. Emergency lights flickered along the walls.
Behind us, glass shattered.
Flames spread across the warehouse floor.
“Where does this lead?” Sarah asked.
“To a loading dock near the river.”
“And after that?”
“We get your family.”
A blast shook the tunnel.
Dust rained from the ceiling.
Sarah stumbled.
I caught her wrist.
She looked at me.
“You should save your strength.”
“I am.”
“For what?”
“For the men who threatened your family.”
We reached a steel door at the end of the tunnel.
Gabriel opened it cautiously.
A blue sedan waited near the river.
Sarah stared at him.
“You parked beside the secret exit?”
“I’ve known Dante for fifteen years.”
“Smart doctor.”
We climbed inside.
Gabriel took the driver’s seat.
I handed him Sarah’s address.
“Go.”
As the car pulled away, flames rose above the warehouse roof.
Sarah looked back through the window.
“My car was there.”
“I’ll replace it.”
“I liked that car.”
“It had duct tape on the bumper.”
“It was paid off.”
I leaned my head against the seat.
“You’ll receive something equally ugly if you prefer.”
Despite everything, she laughed.
Then her phone rang.
Her mother’s name appeared on the screen.
Sarah answered instantly.
“Mom?”
A man spoke instead.
“Miss Jenkins.”
Sarah’s face went white.
Luca Vancetti’s voice was calm and smooth.
“You took something that belongs to me.”
Sarah looked at me.
I held out my hand.
She gave me the phone.
“Luca.”
“Dante. Your voice sounds weak.”
“Your men are poor shots.”
“They were told to leave enough of you for identification.”
“What do you want?”
“You know.”
“Julian.”
“He has agreed to a new future.”
“And you believe he’ll remain loyal to you?”
“I don’t require loyalty. Only fear.”
“Where are Sarah’s mother and brother?”
“Safe for the moment.”
Sarah gripped the back of the seat.
Luca continued, “Five o’clock. Freight terminal seventeen. Bring the transfer documents and your family seal.”
“If you hurt them—”
“You’ll do what? Bleed on me?”
I said nothing.
Luca laughed softly.
“Come alone, Dante. Or the Jenkins family disappears before sunrise.”
The call ended.
Sarah reached for the phone.
“What did he say?”
I looked at her.
“He wants a meeting.”
“Then we go.”
“He said alone.”
“Do you believe him?”
“No.”
“Good. Neither do I.”
Gabriel looked at us in the mirror.
“You both understand this is an execution.”
May you like
Sarah’s fear hardened into determination.
“Then we make sure the wrong people die.”
