Epilogue - Emilio
The blue glow of my monitors is the only light in the room. Three days since Rafe killed Dale Callahan, and I haven't slept. Can't sleep. Not when she's back in the city.
My fingers fly across the keyboard as I pull up the security feed from the Grand Metropolitan Hotel downtown.
And there she is. Mara Vale. Her dark hair is shorter now, cut in a sleek bob that frames her face.
She moves with the same fluid grace that once captivated me, the same calculated confidence that still haunts my dreams.
Three years, two months, and sixteen days since she disappeared from my life.
I zoom in, studying her features with an intensity that should disturb me. The curve of her jaw. The slight furrow between her brows as she checks her phone. The way she scans the lobby, missing nothing.
My other screens display what she can't see: the digital tripwires I've placed around her, monitoring her every move.
Her hotel reservations. Her encrypted communications.
The burner phones she cycles through like playing cards.
For months—years, if I'm honest with myself—I've tracked her across continents, through countless identities.
Even when the family thought she had vanished completely, I kept watching. Kept waiting.
A notification pings. My pulse quickens as I open the message:
E— Chase wants blood. Your family first, then everyone you care about. I've accepted the contract. —M.V.
My fingers hover over the keyboard. She shouldn't have warned me. It's a tactical error, one the Mara I knew would never have made. Unless...
I type my response:
Why tell me?
The reply comes almost instantly:
You know why.
Three words. My chest tightens. Behind me, my door opens, and I quickly minimize the window.
"Anything new?" Rafe asks, leaning against the doorframe. There's exhaustion etched in the lines of his face, but also something I haven't seen in him before. A lightness. That's Sloane's influence.
"Chase is mobilizing," I reply, pulling up a different screen to hide my correspondence. "He's called in every favor, every ally. The Callahans are preparing for war."
Rafe moves closer, studying the map I've created displaying Callahan movements across the city. "We knew this was coming."
"Not like this." I pull up another window, showing financial transactions I've been monitoring. "He's liquidating assets. Millions. This isn't just revenge for Dale. It's personal. He's planning to wipe us out completely."
Rafe's jaw tightens. "Dom's called a family meeting. Ten minutes."
I nod, my attention already drifting back to the minimized window, to Mara's message. "I'll be there."
As Rafe leaves, I return to the security feed. Mara is gone from the lobby, but I know where she's heading. I always know. The tracking algorithm I built has been following her for years. She thinks she's invisible, moving through the world like a ghost. She doesn't realize I see her everywhere.
Another notification. A new message:
Midnight. The place you promised to take me. Come alone.
My heart pounds against my ribs. The memory surfaces unbidden—Mara in my arms, her whispered confession about the small café overlooking the river, how she'd always wanted to watch the sunrise there. How I'd promised to take her someday.
A promise I never kept.
I check the time. Two hours until midnight. Two hours to decide if I'm walking into a trap. But I already know I'll go. I've been waiting for this moment since she disappeared, leaving nothing but an empty bed and a void in my chest that nothing has filled.
I close the message and pull up my surveillance system, accessing the security cameras around the café. It's nearly empty, save for a couple lingering over coffee in the corner. No signs of Callahan men. No obvious threat.
Still, caution is hardwired into me. I run facial recognition on the couple, confirming they're tourists from Chicago. I scan the surrounding buildings, the parked cars, looking for anything out of place. Nothing. But that doesn't mean it's safe.
Nothing is safe when it comes to Mara Vale.
My phone buzzes with a reminder of the family meeting. I should go. Should warn them about what's coming. About who's coming.
But I won't. Not yet. This is between me and Mara. It always has been.
I open a drawer and remove a small black case. Inside, my custom Glock rests in foam padding. I check it methodically, the movements automatic after years of practice. Loaded. Safety on. I holster it, then pull on my hoodie, keeping the hood low over my face.
As I leave my room, I pass Sloane in the hallway. She's leaving Rafe's room, her face drawn with worry.
"Family meeting?" she asks.
"Something like that." I move past her, avoiding her eyes. She's perceptive, this woman my brother has chosen. Too perceptive.
"Be careful," she says, and something in her tone makes me pause.
I look back at her, weighing how much to reveal. "Things are going to get bad," I say finally. "Stay close to Rafe."
She nods, understanding the warning for what it is. "And what about you?"
A ghost of a smile touches my lips. "I have business to attend to."
I leave before she can ask more questions, slipping through the mansion like the shadow my brothers named me. The guards nod to me as I pass, but I keep my head down, avoiding their eyes. Better they don't remember seeing me tonight.
Outside, the night air is sharp with coming frost. I bypass the main gate, taking the hidden path through the woods at the edge of the property. My motorcycle waits where I left it, concealed beneath a tarp. I uncover it silently, then check my phone one more time.
A new message from an unknown number:
They're moving against your family tonight. Warehouse on Pier 17. I've bought you time, but not much.
My blood runs cold. The warehouse houses millions in product. If the Callahans hit it...
I should warn them. Should turn back.
But the clock shows 11:30 PM. Thirty minutes until Mara.
I hesitate, torn between duty and obsession. Then I type a quick message to Domenico:
Callahan move tonight. Pier 17. Send reinforcements.
It's not enough. I should be there. Should help defend what's ours.
But Mara is waiting, and I've been waiting for this moment for too long to turn back now.
I mount the motorcycle and roar off into the night, the wind cutting through my clothes, as sharp as the guilt slicing through my chest. The roads blur beneath me as I race toward the café, toward her.
I park a block away, scanning the area once more before approaching on foot. The café is closed, but the side door is unlocked, just as her message implied it would be. Every instinct screams trap, but I move forward anyway, one hand on my holstered gun.
Inside, the café is dark and empty. A single table in the corner has a candle burning, but no one sits there. On the table is an envelope with my initial on it: E.
I approach cautiously, scanning for any movement in the shadows. The envelope isn't sealed. Inside is a note in her familiar handwriting:
Not yet. They're watching both of us now. When the time is right, I'll find you. Or you'll find me. You always do. —M.V.
I stare at the words, disappointment and relief warring within me. She knew I would come. Knew I wouldn't be able to resist.
The flame of the candle flickers, casting shadows across the paper. I fold it carefully, slipping it into my pocket, already memorizing every curve of her handwriting.
My phone vibrates. A message from Domenico:
Too late. Warehouse hit. Leo injured. Get back here NOW.
Guilt surges through me. I should have been there. Should have put family first.
I extinguish the candle and move quickly back to my motorcycle. The war has begun, and I've already failed my first test of loyalty.
But as I race back toward the mansion, toward my family, Mara's note burns in my pocket like a promise. Or a threat.
When the time is right, I'll find you.
She's playing with me. Has been for years. This elaborate dance of predator and prey, roles constantly reversing. Watching. Waiting. Wondering who would break first.
I push the bike faster, the wind whipping at my face, but my mind remains in that café, with the ghost of a woman who betrayed everything I stood for. The woman I've never been able to let go.
The woman I'll continue watching, hunting, wanting. Until the end.
As the mansion comes into view, lights blazing, security on high alert, I make myself a promise. I will find her. Will make her explain why she left, why she's working for Chase, and why she warned me.
I will find her, and when I do, I won't let her disappear again.
The war with the Callahans may be inevitable. My brothers may need me now more than ever.
But this, this obsession, this hunt, is mine alone.
And I've never been one to lose.