Michael
The afternoon drags. Meetings blur together. Calls stack on top of each other. I barely notice the sun starting to lower outside until my phone buzzes again a little after five.
Enzo. “Yeah.”
“Boss, I just brought Miss Katie back to the estate.”
I close my eyes briefly.
“How was she?”
“Good,” he says simply. “They bought books.”
Of course they did.
“Everything quiet?”
“Yes, Boss.”
“Thanks.”
I end the call and stare down at the paperwork in front of me. Somewhere between this morning and now, exhaustion settled into my bones.
By seven, I’m still downtown with Marco while another useless financial report sits open across the conference table between us. Marco says something about port schedules, but I barely hear him.
I pick up my phone.
“Boss?”
“Enzo, how’s everything at the estate?”
“All quiet here,” he says. “Miss Katie’s upstairs.”
I glance toward the darkening windows overlooking the city.
“Thanks, Enzo.”
I hang up and lean back in the chair. I drag a hand over my face while the city glows outside the office windows.
Somewhere out there, Sal’s still moving around my city with somebody protecting him, and every hour we lose gives him more time to disappear again.
Back at the estate, Katie’s probably curled up in bed, reading her book and waiting for me to come home because I promised her movie night like a normal fucking person with a normal fucking life.
I push back from the table and stand, rolling tension out of my shoulders while Marco looks up from the paperwork.
“You leaving, Boss?” he asks.
“Yes.”
“I’ll keep working through these.”
“Call me if anything changes,” I tell him, reaching for my jacket off the back of the chair. “Immediately.”
I slide my arms into it.
“Keep guys on the motel,” I continue. “And I want eyes on the ports all night.”
Marco nods.
“You got it, Boss.”
I head for the door before pausing briefly.
“And Marco?”
“Yeah?”
I look back at him.
“If we get him, you know what to do.”
“Understood.”