The king moves
Chapter 27: The King Moves
Lorenzo Vitale did not sleep.
Not that night.
Not after seeing bullet holes in the windshield.
Not after seeing shattered glass covering Amara's seat.
Not after realizing how close he'd come to losing her.
The thought alone was enough to make his jaw tighten.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
At three o'clock in the morning, the Vitale mansion was awake.
Every captain.
Every lieutenant.
Every trusted soldier.
Present.
Nobody had been given a choice.
The atmosphere inside the conference room felt heavy.
Dangerous.
Like the calm before a hurricane.
At the head of the table sat Lorenzo.
Silent.
Still.
Terrifying.
No one spoke.
No one dared.
The king was angry.
Very angry.
A captain finally cleared his throat.
Immediately regretting it.
"Boss—"
Lorenzo looked up.
The room temperature dropped ten degrees.
Instantly.
The poor man swallowed.
Hard.
"We found one of the shooters."
Silence.
Immediate silence.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Lorenzo leaned back.
Slowly.
"Alive?"
The captain nodded.
"Yes."
A pause.
"Barely."
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Nobody missed the slight smile that touched Lorenzo's lips.
A dangerous smile.
The kind that belonged on wanted posters.
"Good."
The single word sent a chill through the room.
Because everyone knew what it meant.
Meanwhile...
Several miles away...
Amara Queen was equally awake.
Unfortunately.
The emerald dress hung over a chair in her penthouse.
Ruined.
Destroyed.
Unwearable.
The betrayal.
The dress betrayal.
Undefeated.
Amara stared at it while drinking coffee.
At three in the morning.
Like a completely normal person.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Her phone buzzed.
A text message.
Lorenzo.
Immediately.
The betrayal.
The man-who-never-sleeps betrayal.
Undefeated.
She opened the message.
Are you awake?
Silence.
Amara stared at the screen.
Then typed:
It's three in the morning.
His response arrived instantly.
So yes.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The surgeon rolled her eyes.
Immediately.
Then replied:
You should be sleeping.
Three dots appeared.
Disappeared.
Appeared again.
Then:
You almost got killed.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
The humor vanished immediately.
Amara looked down at the phone.
The message felt different.
Heavier.
Real.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
After a moment she typed:
I'm okay.
The response came almost immediately.
I know.
A pause.
Then another message appeared.
I still don't like it.
The betrayal.
The caring-man betrayal.
Undefeated.
For some reason...
That made her smile.
A small smile.
A dangerous smile.
The kind nobody else ever got to see.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Across the city, Lorenzo stared at the screen.
Then smiled when her next message appeared.
My dress didn't survive.
Silence.
Then Lorenzo laughed.
Actually laughed.
The sound startled every captain in the room.
Immediately.
Because the man had looked ready to start a war five minutes ago.
Now he was smiling at his phone.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
One brave captain glanced at the screen.
A mistake.
A terrible mistake.
Lorenzo looked up.
Slowly.
Dangerously.
The captain immediately found the floor fascinating.
Very smart.
Very, very smart.
Another message arrived.
You owe me a new dress.
The smile returned.
Immediately.
The traitor.
The complete traitor.
Lorenzo typed back:
Twenty new dresses.
Her response came instantly.
That's ridiculous.
You're ridiculous.
Silence.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
For the first time all night...
The knot in Lorenzo's chest loosened.
Just a little.
Because she was alive.
Safe.
Still arguing with him.
Still being Amara.
Unfortunately for Viktor Romano...
That realization brought Lorenzo back to the reason this meeting existed.
The smile disappeared.
Instantly.
The king returned.
The phone was placed face down on the table.
The atmosphere changed immediately.
Every man in the room straightened.
Because now came the dangerous part.
Lorenzo looked toward the captain who had spoken earlier.
"Where is he?"
The captain swallowed.
Hard.
"The shooter?"
"Yes."
A pause.
"Warehouse Twelve."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Lorenzo stood.
Slowly.
The movement alone was enough to make several grown men nervous.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Because everyone in the room understood something.
Tonight wasn't about revenge.
Not really.
Tonight was about sending a message.
A very loud message.
To Viktor Romano.
To the city.
To anyone foolish enough to try again.
Lorenzo adjusted his cuffs.
Then looked around the room.
His expression calm.
Cold.
Certain.
The expression of a king preparing for war.
"They took a shot at what's mine."
Silence.
The room froze.
Because nobody missed the wording.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Lorenzo smiled.
A dangerous smile.
A deadly smile.
The kind that made powerful men pray.
"Let's remind them why that's a mistake."
End Chapter 27