CHAPTER 31
A thin film of fog clung to the water’s edge, curling around the ankles of metal containers stacked high like forgotten tombs. Streetlights flickered overhead, casting weak pools of yellow over the gravel, where no footsteps fell. Not yet.
Luca moved in silence, crouched low behind a freight crate half-swallowed by rust. He gripped his gun tighter than necessary. There was no wind, but the air bit cold into his knuckles. He didn’t shiver.
Marcello was already in place, leaned against the side of a decommissioned trailer, eyes locked forward like he’d been carved from shadow itself.
He hadn’t spoken since they split off thirty minutes ago—just a glance exchanged in the car before the doors shut and the plan unfolded like muscle memory.
This wasn’t a real shipment. This was bait.
And only they knew it, not even their men..
The container marked 4137 had been placed at the far end of the eastern lane. Unregistered. Unloaded. Empty except for the sensor inside wired to send a ping if anyone touched it.
Luca’s earpiece buzzed once, soft and short. He tapped his jaw and spoke low.
“Grayson. Talk to me.”
There was a faint click, then the calm, sharp voice answered.
“Camera 12 just picked up movement, they came in through the service gate"
How close?”
“Thirty yards out. East ridge. They’re moving fast."
Luca moved through the dark like a shadow. Controlled, steady. His gun silenced and loaded was tight in his hand. The cold metal against him was familiar...... Comforting.
Marcello stood half-concealed behind an abandoned forklift, still as glass, watching the lot. His expression unreadable and detached.
Luca’s earpiece clicked once.
“Movement,” came Grayson’s voice, quiet but sharp. “around the south gate."
Luca’s jaw locked. He scanned the shadows, saw nothing. But he knew better.
“How many?” he muttered.
“Hard to say. One for sure. Maybe more. Moving toward you.”
He tapped the signal and eased to his left, ducking low behind a stack of barrels. Across the lot, Marcello was already in motion, shifting without sound, circling wide.
They moved in sync. Silent, smooth.
"East wing.." Grayson whispered. “One body crouched low. Heat signature shows long weapon. Maybe a scope.”
Marcello was already moving in.
A flicker of movement. The shadow of a hood. Someone shifting behind the crate like they knew the layout of the dock too well.
Luca raised his gun. Glanced once toward Marcello and got the signal to move in.
He approached fast from behind, footsteps silent and as the figure stepped into view, Marcello’s voice cut through the dark like a blade:
“Drop it.”
The man froze.
One second. Two.
Slowly, hands rose into the air. He didn’t speak. Didn’t twitch.
Luca moved in, keeping the muzzle of his weapon trained between the man’s shoulder blades. He circled around just enough to glimpse the face beneath the hood—young, clean-shaven, not one of theirs.
Then—
Grayson’s voice snapped in again. “North side. Another one.
A second figure bolted from behind a container near the fence. Rookie mistake.
Luca raised his gun but Marcello fired first.
A whisper of a shot cracked through the night. The runner dropped mid-stride, slumped hard onto the gravel, motionless with a thud.
Marcello walked toward the body calm and calculated while Luca secured the first man in a chokehold, muffling the brief struggle until he slumped against the crate as he eased the body down gently.
Marcello dragged the second body behind a row of stacked crates. Luca followed, helping him secure it in the shadows
Marcello straightened, brushed his hands off, and looked out across the fog-drenched lot. His expression was unreadable still, sharp.
Then, at last, his voice:
“That’s two.”
Luca nodded. “There’ll be more.”
Marcello didn’t argue. He stepped closer, speaking low as he scanned the shadows.
“They knew where to enter. How to move.. .”
Luca kept his voice calm. “They were prepared for everything but not us.."
A faint crunch of gravel echoed near the east ridge.
Both men pivoted at once, guns raised. No sound. No movement. Just the shape of something shifting behind the old electrical box near the chain-link fence.
Grayson’s voice came through, clipped and tense.
“ I've got eyes on someone moving towards you”
Just then:
A shadow stepped out.
Luca narrowed his eyes. “Hold up.”
The fog parted just enough.
And there he was.
Nino.
Marcello approached from the front, low and measured, gun raised but finger just off the trigger.
Ten feet from Nino, he stepped out of the shadows.
Nino froze.
Then slowly turned, hands half-raised in mock surrender.
A smirk tugged at his lips. “Boss.”
Marcello didn’t return it. “You're either incredibly stupid,” he said quietly, “or you’re working for someone who thinks we are.”
Marcello stepped closer his voice tight and clipped with a low growl..
“You’re going to tell us,” he said, “exactly who sent you.”
Nino swallowed.
Luca stepped in, fast, grabbed him by the collar and shoved him against the container wall. Not hard. Just enough to let him feel how close he was to not walking out.
“Talk,” Luca growled.
“I can’t,” Nino said. “If I talk, I’m dead.”
“You’re already dead,” Marcello said quietly. “We’re just deciding who pulls the trigger.”
Luca struck him so hard from behind with his gun sweeping Nino’s legs out and dragging him backward before the man could shout.
Marcello was there instantly, pressing the muzzle of his silencer to the back of Nino’s head as he hit the ground hard.
“Don’t make a sound,” Luca growled, already binding his hands behind his back with cold precision.
Nino spat blood. “You should’ve killed me when you had the chance.”
“We still might,” Marcello murmured. “But you’re going to talk first.” they said hauling him to his feet.
The drive was quiet, and Marcello hadn’t said much since they left the docks.Nino was still out cold in the back. Tied, gagged, barely conscious
Marcello leaned slightly forward. “you setup the bombs like I asked?”
“Yes, they are planted along the north entrance and behind the fuel drums, too .”
Marcello nodded slowly...
"Thats good they won't be expecting anything....”
“They’re not,” Luca said. “They still think our crew’s coming for pickup later.”
Marcello’s voice didn’t change. “Good”
There was a pause on the line. Then Grayson said, “i need confirmation before I trigger the bomb?”
Marcello didn’t answer immediately and Luca glanced at him..
Marcello met his eyes then said.
“We let them walk in. Let them feel like they’ve won, then .....light them up.”
Luca gave the smallest nod and gave him a sick smile of triumph...
There hadn’t been a single shot fired in over two weeks and for the first time in days, no one was bleeding,.
The Wolves were gone, Nino, the fucker had spilled everything even before they could torture him, he really was weak.
Marcello’s people had cleaned up the rest, and Luca had gotten the last name crossed off two nights ago outside of Alcamo.
Dante had slipped through the cracks his trace cold
And now... everything was back to normal although still conscious of Dante's escape..
Or so they thought ....
Luca came in late. Mud still on his boots, jacket damp at the collar from the cold. He didn’t say anything when he stepped into the room. Just closed the door behind him and walked to the table where Marcello sat.
Marcello didn’t look up. He was nursing a drink — not the kind meant for celebration. Just something bitter enough to keep his head clear.
Luca pulled something from inside his coat. Set it on the table.
A black envelope.
Marcello stared at it for a moment. Then reached out and turned it over and traced the embedded dark silver wolf’s head at the back of the envelope..
Found it in my city penthouse,” Luca said quietly. “Taped behind the latch.”
“How long?”
“No idea,” Luca said. “Could’ve been hours. Could’ve been last night. Grayson’s checking the feed now.”
Marcello opened it, his movements precise.
Inside, one piece of paper. Heavy. Cold to the touch. Folded once.
He read it once, then again, slower.
My men. My shipment.
They were precious to me.
You’ve got something precious too, Luca.
I’d hate to ruin it.
Marcello folded the letter, set it down without a word.
The air shifted.
Luca didn’t speak for a long time.
He stood there, jaw clenched, hands at his sides, like he was trying to hold something in something that didn’t have a name.
When he finally did speak, it came out low. Tired.
"She’s all I’ve got, Marcello.”...he paused then added... "I should’ve seen it coming,” his voice was quiet. Worn.
Marcello didn’t respond he just watched his second in command trying to keep it together, he knew what she meant to him and himself too even though he couldn't say it out loud..
" I thought I could keep her separate. Lock her away from all of this and she'd stay untouched. That if I just… kept the line clear, no one would ever find her and use her to get to me.” his voice broke slightly
Another pause.
“That letter proved I was wrong.”
Marcello leaned back slowly as he listened.
I know you care about her,” Luca said
It wasn't accusatory or bitter. Just… raw.
“I’ve always known .”
Marcello stared at him and shifted his weight
“I don’t like it,” Luca admitted. “I’m not supposed to like it.”
His mouth tightened for a moment, then relaxed.
“But I’ve watched you. I’ve watched the way you look at her . You don’t look at anything else that way or anyone.” a pause
" I should hate you for it,” Luca muttered, almost to himself. “And maybe I will, later. But right now... .”
Silence.
Luca shifted his weight. His jaw clenched, then loosened again.
“I need your help," he continued
That landed hard. He hated asking. Hated admitting there was something he couldn’t handle alone especially when it came to her..
“I don’t trust many people,” he said. “But I trust that whatever you feel for her will make you lay down your life before anything happens to her”
A pause.
“And that scares the shit out of me but I need her safe.. I need you to keep her safe”
Then finally Marcello answered holding Luca's gaze his voice low and honest
“ I will keep her safe Luca you have my word.”
And he meant it...
“I can’t watch her twenty-four-seven. And if Dante gets close—if he even breathes near her—I won’t be able to think straight. You know I won’t.”
Then he continued
" I need her here in the family house where we have guards loyal to you but they need to be stationed outside and their guns out of sight," .... He paused again then continued..."only Grayson, you and me should be on the inside or else she'll...."
Marcello nodded cutting him off" I've got her, I'll make sure she's comfortable here. "
Luca gave him a firm nod like it was reassurance trust, loyalty and everything in between then stepped outside..
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