Chapter 12 - The Man Luca Trusted
This time, Luca did not lose control.
That frightened Marco more than rage would have.
“No panic,” Luca said.
“Check cameras.”
Marco made calls.
Within sixty seconds, they had an image.
A security guard carrying Emma through the garage.
Luca recognized him immediately.
Daniel Russo.
Twenty-eight.
Worked for Luca for five years.
No disciplinary issues.
No debt.
No known connection to Sokolov.
Marco looked sick.
“I hired him.”
“So did I.”
“His background was clean.”
“Then he was turned recently.”
They traced the vehicle.
Russo’s phone pinged near an abandoned ferry terminal.
Luca’s heart medication sat in his pocket.
He took it without being told.
Marco noticed.
“Miracles happen.”
“I’m learning.”
“Slowly.”
Luca looked at him.
“Drive faster.”
At the ferry terminal, Russo stood alone beside the river.
Emma was nowhere in sight.
Luca approached with his weapon lowered.
“Where is she?”
Russo was crying.
That surprised him.
“I’m sorry.”
“Where is my daughter?”
“My wife.”
Luca stopped.
“What?”
“Sokolov has her.”
Russo held up his phone.
A photograph showed a woman tied to a chair.
“They took her this morning. Said if I didn’t bring Emma, they’d kill her.”
Marco’s anger softened.
“Daniel.”
“I didn’t know what else to do.”
Luca stepped closer.
“You had one job.”
“I know.”
“To protect her.”
“I know!”
“Where did you take Emma?”
Russo pointed across the river.
“Old freight terminal in Jersey.”
“Exact location.”
He gave it.
Luca turned.
Russo grabbed his sleeve.
“Please.”
Luca looked at him.
“My wife is there too.”
“I heard you.”
“You’ll get her?”
Luca stared at the man who had betrayed him for the same reason Luca would have burned down an empire.
Love.
Fear.
Leverage.
For the first time, Luca understood the trap from the other side.
“Yes.”
Russo’s face collapsed.
“Thank you.”
Marco looked at Luca as they walked away.
“You’re letting him live?”
“For tonight.”
“You’ve changed.”
“No.”
Luca looked toward the river.
“I finally understand why men break.”
They crossed into New Jersey with only six trusted people.
No captains.
No larger crew.
No one whose loyalty Luca hadn’t personally verified.
The freight terminal was dark.
One warehouse glowed near the water.
Marco checked his weapon.
“You know what Sokolov wants.”
“Me.”
“Yes.”
“So give him me.”
Marco stared.
“That is not the plan.”
“It might have to be.”
“No.”
“If you get Emma out—”
“No.”
“Marco.”
“I’ve buried too many Bellinis.”
Marco’s voice cracked.
“I’m not burying you.”
Luca looked at him.
“You may not get a vote.”
They approached the warehouse.
A speaker crackled overhead.
Sokolov’s voice filled the darkness.
“Welcome, Luca.”
Floodlights snapped on.
Emma sat behind a wall of glass.
Next to her was Daniel Russo’s wife.
Emma saw Luca.
Her face lit up.
“Daddy!”
Luca took one step forward.
Then Sokolov appeared on the upper catwalk.
A remote control in his hand.
“You came.”
Luca stared at Emma.
“Yes.”
Sokolov lifted the remote.
“One press locks the room.”
Another button.
“One press fills it with smoke.”
Luca’s face went cold.
Sokolov smiled.
May you like
“And one press ends your daughter’s story before she ever gets to draw your face again.”
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