Chapter 28
28
Mateo
T he warehouse is silent now, bodies strewn across the floor, my footsteps echoing in the otherwise empty hallways. I make my way back to the office. This isn’t over yet.
I step into Carlo’s office, my senses sharp, every muscle on edge, but the room is empty. The fluorescent light buzzes eerily above as I move around the desk, gun cocked, just in case he’s hiding underneath. He isn’t behind the desk, though.
I accidentally knock over a half-empty water bottle, and when I bend down to get it, I realize the floor is uneven. I kneel down, running my hands along the floor to feel for a catch. My fingers graze against a slightly raised edge, and I dig my fingernails into it, pulling it up to reveal a trap door. There’s nothing but darkness, but I can hear running water deep below. This must go all the way down to the sewer.
So he ran.
I grit my teeth, my frustration mounting. Of course he ran, Carlo wouldn’t have the guts to face me without leverage. He’s a snake, a coward. Running is in his nature. He set up this whole trap for me only to slip away when the violence broke out. He would never survive at the top.
I crouch down, gripping the edge of the hatch and pulling it open the rest of the way. I grab the phone from the desk, swiping up to open the flashlight. There’s a ladder a few feet below, leading down into what looks like a sewer system. Reluctantly, I begin my descent, the air thick with the scent of damp concrete and rust. I climb down into the darkness.
The hatch clatters shut above me. Apart from the phone flashlight, I’m in total darkness. I take a deep breath, letting my eyes adjust as I strain to listen for any unusual noises. I walk further into the sewer system, knowing Carlo couldn’t have gotten far. As my ears get used to the normal sounds of the sewer, I try to pick out anything that sounds like it doesn’t belong. Finally, I hear it. There’s a echoing through the tunnels. It sounds like heavy breathing, labored, desperate. I follow it, my footsteps silent, my movements controlled as I close in on my prey.
The tunnel twists and turns, a labyrinth of concrete and shadows, but I keep going, the sound growing louder with each step, until finally, I see him.
Carlo is slumped against the wall, his face pale, blood seeping through his shirt from a wound on his side. His breathing is shallow, ragged, each gasp of air punctuated by a soft whimper of pain. He looks up as I approach, his eyes widening in terror as he realizes he’s cornered, trapped.
“Mateo,” he croaks, his voice barely more than a whisper. “Please don’t do this. Let me live and I swear to God I’ll never bother you again.”
I stand over him, my gaze cold, unfeeling. This is the man who tried to destroy me, who used every dirty trick in the book to undermine my family, to take away everything I’ve worked for. And now he’s begging for his life, his eyes filled with desperation, with fear.
I don’t move. I don’t speak. I just stare down at him, letting him feel the weight of my presence, the inevitability of his fate.
“Please,” he begs, his voice trembling. “I’ll do anything. I’ll leave, I swear. You’ll never see me again. I’m done. My brother is dead, my men are dead, there’s nothing left for me here. I’ll disappear, I’ll change my name and live a quiet life in the country somewhere. Please.”
He’s nearly weeping now, the emotion in his voice thick despite how labored his breathing has become. Each word comes out as a pained wheeze. Part of me wants to shoot him just to put him out of his misery.
For a moment, I consider letting him live. I consider leaving him here, in the darkness, to rot in his own fear and misery. Maybe that would be punishment enough, to let him crawl out of this place, broken, defeated, knowing that he’s lost, that he’ll never be a threat to me or my family again.
I take a step back, my gaze steady, my voice cold. “Fine,” I say, my tone clipped, dismissive. “I’ll send someone to get you out. But you’re done, Carlo. Do you hear me? This is over.”
He nods frantically, relief flooding his face as he realizes he’s been spared. “Yes, yes, I swear. Thank you, Mateo. Thank you.”
I turn sharply on him, disgusted to be in the presence of such a weak, small man. My mind is already shifting to the next task, to getting Ginny and Rocco out of here safely. But then, just as I’m about to step around the corner, I hear it. A soft click, the unmistakable sound of a gun being cocked.
I spin around, my instincts taking over, my hand reaching for my weapon as I catch sight of Carlo, his hand shaking as he aims a gun at my back, his eyes wild with desperation.
What a coward. Of course he doesn’t have the courage to threaten me to my face. Like the sewer rat he is, he thought he could get away with shooting me in the back.
Time slows. I see his finger tighten on the trigger, see the determination in his gaze, the last-ditch effort of a man with nothing left to lose.
I don’t think. I don’t hesitate. I raise my gun, the shot ringing out, loud and final, echoing through the tunnels. Carlo’s gun clatters to the ground as his body completely collapses to the ground, his eyes glazed, lifeless.
I stand there for a moment, my gun still raised, my breath even and controlled though my heart is hammering in my chest. I don’t take pleasure in hurting people, not the way the Savinis seemed to. Sometimes violence is the only means to an end. Taking a man’s life—that’s something that’s hard to recover from. He put me in an impossible position. Kill or be killed. Now he’s gone, and with him, the last remnant of this twisted vendetta.
I lower my gun, slipping it back into my holster as I turn and make my way back through the tunnel, each step heavy, the weight of everything settling over me like a shroud. It takes me a moment to gain my bearings, to remember where I came in. After stumbling around for a while in the dark, I finally find a ladder and look up to find just the faintest sliver of light where the hatch didn’t completely close.
I climb the ladder, pushing the hatch open and pulling myself up into the office. The feeling of death is heavy in the air.
As I step outside, the cool night air hits me. I take a deep breath, letting it clear my mind, ground me. My eyes adjust to the darkness of the night, nothing but a dim, flickering streetlight shining overhead. I finally Ginny and Rocco standing a few yards away, leaning against each other for support. Ginny’s face is pale, her expression tense, but she’s fussing over him, making sure he’s okay.
Before I can reach them, a shout rings out, drawing my attention to the side. Bats is in pursuit of one of Carlo’s men who managed to get away, his barbed wire-wrapped bat swinging wildly as he chases the guy around the corner, his laughter echoing through the night. At least someone’s happy.
Red, meanwhile, is hunched over in one of Carlo’s cars, fiddling with the wires as he works on it. The car sputters to life, and he grins, looking up just in time to see me approaching.
“Boss!” he calls, his grin widening. “Got us a ride.”
I nod, glancing back at Ginny and Rocco, relief flooding through me as I realize we’re all here, all alive.
We pile into the car, Bats sliding into the driver’s seat as Red takes shotgun, leaving me in the back with Ginny and Rocco. I glance over at Ginny, her hand resting on Rocco’s shoulder as she murmurs something to him. She sounds concerned, but her tone is gentle.
I reach out, my hand covering hers, a silent promise that I’m here, that I’ll keep her safe, that nothing will ever come between us again.
I look over at Ginny, her gaze meeting mine with warmth, I feel a sense of peace I haven’t felt in years.