The Mafia Boss Abandoned a Million-Dollar War When His Secretary Whispered, “Come Get Me” — But the Real Betrayal Was Waiting Beside Him.
PART 10
The wound in his expression hardened. “I’ll kill him.”
Priya stood. “No.”
“He arranged your abduction.”
“Then killing him before we understand the plan leaves us blind.”
“You think I care about the plan?”
“You have to.”
“He gave Everett your address.”
“And if you react without thinking, he wins.”
Dante stepped closer. “He put you on a bathroom floor.”
“Yes.” Her voice remained steady. “He also wants you angry. He wants you isolated. Every time he leaks something, you suspect someone outside. Every time you retaliate, the war becomes more expensive. Silas benefits if Marchetti weakens you, Marchetti benefits if you weaken Silas’s rivals, and everyone continues paying for information.”
Dante studied her. “What do you want me to do?”
“Act as though we found nothing.”
“I cannot stand in a room with him.”
“You have stood in rooms with murderers.”
“Not one who heard you beg for help and pretended to care.”
Priya stepped into his space. “Then look at me instead of him.”
Dante’s anger faltered.
“We need to know what he plans next,” she continued. “You said Marchetti requested a meeting.”
“The old tram station tomorrow night.”
“Silas recommended the location?”
“Yes.”
“Then the meeting is not a negotiation.”
Dante’s eyes darkened. “It is an execution.”
The old tram station stood in an abandoned industrial corridor north of downtown. According to Silas, Marchetti had selected it because neutral organizations had used the site for meetings in the past.
Priya examined the surrounding properties. The lot beside the station belonged to the city, but its taxes had been paid three months earlier by Vale Logistics. Everett Vale’s company.
A warehouse occupied the center of the lot. Officially, it had been empty for a decade. Recent utility usage suggested otherwise.
“They’re staging next door,” she said.
Dante stood behind her, one hand resting on the back of her chair.
“They expect us to secure the station, not the surrounding property.”
“Silas will guide your men inside. Marchetti’s people will close the exits.”
“And Silas?”
“He leaves before the attack or stands somewhere the bullets mysteriously miss.”
Dante’s mouth became a hard line.
Marcus and Everett Voss waited across the table. Neither had been told about Silas. Priya preferred it that way.
“What do we do?” Everett Voss asked.
Dante looked at the map. “We attend the meeting.”
Priya turned. “No.”
“You just said we need to understand the plan.”
“I did not say you should walk into it.”
“If we cancel, Silas knows we discovered him.”
“Then send someone else.”
“He will change the plan.”
Dante leaned closer. “I need Marchetti and Silas in the same room.”
“And I need you alive.”
The lieutenants looked away, suddenly interested in the map.
Dante’s voice softened. “I will come back.”
“You cannot promise that.”
“I can promise to try.”
“That is not comforting.”
“It is honest.”
Priya rose from the chair. “You do not get to rescue me and then walk voluntarily into the same kind of trap.”
“I rescued you because you matter more than I do.”
“To you, perhaps.”
“To me is the only measurement I have.”
She stared at him. “Then use a better one.”
Marcus cleared his throat. “There may be another option. If the warehouse is connected to the tram station by a service tunnel, we could enter from the city maintenance side and secure Marchetti’s backup before the meeting begins.”
Priya checked the old construction plans. A utility passage did connect the properties, but part of it had collapsed years earlier.
“No one goes through an unstable tunnel,” she said.
Marcus almost smiled. “You really are the boss now.”
“No. I am the only person in this room concerned with workplace safety.”
Dante looked at the map again. “We approach from the municipal lot, but not through the tunnel. We take the staging site before the meeting.”
“And Silas?” Everett Voss asked.
Dante’s gaze turned cold. “Silas believes he is taking me to the station.”