Chapter 24 #2
He is right. We have been planning for three hours, ever since Rosalina collapsed and the doctor sedated her. But every hour we wait is another hour Patrick has to hurt Erin, to change his mind about keeping her alive, to move her somewhere we cannot find her.
"Luca," I say, turning to him. "How long do you need to set up at the docks?"
"Forty-five minutes to get there and position the charges." Luca ticks the steps off on his fingers. "Another ten to make sure everything is wired correctly. Call it an hour total.
"Gabriel." I look at him across the table. "How long to reach the tunnel entrance and navigate to the compound?"
"Twenty minutes to the speakeasy, ten minutes to navigate the tunnels, five minutes to breach the basement." Gabriel folds his arms. "Thirty-five minutes total, assuming no complications."
I check my watch. 9:47 PM.
"Then here is how it goes," I say, planting both hands on the table.
"Luca leaves now. Triggers the chaos at the docks at eleven sharp.
Patrick responds, leaves the compound. Callahan moves Erin to the basement.
" I look between them. "Luca, once the docks are burning and Patrick has taken the bait, circle back to the speakeasy.
We go in together. Gabriel, Luca, and I enter through the tunnels at midnight, extract Erin, and are out by twelve-thirty at the latest."
"And Patrick?" Luca asks again, because we still have not addressed the central question.
I look at both of them.Gabriel, who has been my cousin and my right hand since we were children, and Luca, who has been the other half since birth. Two men I trust with my life, with Rosalina's life, with everything that matters.
"Patrick will be at the docks dealing with the fire or the theft or whatever chaos Luca creates," I say slowly. "Which means he will be exposed. Vulnerable. Away from his compound and his guards."
Understanding dawns in Luca's eyes. "You want me to take him after we extract Erin."
"I want you to end him," I correct. "Permanently. After we get Erin out safely, you go to the docks and eliminate the threat. No witnesses, no loose ends. Patrick Murphy dies tonight, and the story is that he was killed during an attack by rivals trying to move in on O'Connor territory."
"And Callahan takes over," Gabriel says, nodding slowly. "Claims Patrick's death as an unfortunate casualty of his poor leadership and consolidates power with the backing of Seamus's old guard."
"While we deliver Erin safely back to Rosalina," I finish. "And everyone lives happily ever after except the man who murdered Seamus and Dolan."
Luca is quiet for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then: "I want to look him in the eyes when I do it. I want him to know why he is dying."
"Take as much time as you need," I tell him. "Just make sure he is dead before one AM."
"He will be." Luca holsters his gun and picks up the bag of supplies he prepared earlier—explosives, detonators, accelerants, everything needed to create convincing chaos. "For Dolan. For Seamus. For every person he has hurt."
"For Rosalina and Erin," Gabriel adds quietly.
"For family," I say, and the word settles over all of us like a vow.
Luca heads for the door, pausing only to clasp my shoulder once—a brief squeeze that conveys everything words cannot. Then he is gone, disappearing up the stairs to begin his part of the mission.
Gabriel and I are left alone with the maps and the plans and the weight of what we are about to do.
"Your father will find out eventually," Gabriel says after a moment. "About tonight. About us attacking the Irish without his approval."
"I know."
"He will be furious."
"I know that too."
Gabriel looks at me, studying my face with that intense focus he reserves for important moments. "And you are willing to accept the consequences? To defy Giovanni for this?"
I think about Rosalina upstairs, drugged into unconsciousness because the grief was too much for her pregnant body to handle.
I think about the birth certificate clutched in her bandaged hands, about the way she sobbed into my chest when I told her Dolan was dead.
I think about the baby growing inside her—our baby, mine or Gabriel's or Luca's, it does not matter—and the family we are building together.
And I think about my father, who has spent my entire life telling me I am too soft, too emotional, too much like my mother. Who would see Rosalina as a weakness to be exploited rather than a strength to be cherished.
"I stopped caring about my father's approval a long time ago," I tell Gabriel honestly. "The only approval I need now is Rosalina's. And she needs her sister back. So we are getting her sister back."
Gabriel's mouth curves into a rare, genuine smile. "Good. Because I was going with or without your father's blessing."
"I know you were."
We spend the next forty minutes gathering supplies and weapons, changing into dark clothing suitable for moving through tunnels and shadows. I check my gun three times—loading, unloading, loading again—a nervous habit I cannot seem to break.
At 11:00 PM, the phone rings.
I answer it immediately. "Yes."
"Fire at the docks," Callahan reports, his voice tight with tension. "Big one. Patrick just left with twelve men. The compound is down to four guards, all of them watching the perimeter."
"And Erin?"
"I am moving her now. Give me twenty minutes."
I hang up and look at Gabriel. "We are on."
The drive to the speakeasy takes eighteen minutes—Gabriel drives like a demon, weaving through Manhattan traffic with reckless precision.
The old bar is exactly where it should be, tucked into a basement on a street corner that has seen better decades.
The door is locked, but Gabriel produces a key and we are inside within seconds.
The tunnel entrance is behind a false wall in the storage room. Gabriel finds the latch, pulls, and the wall swings inward to reveal a narrow brick passageway that smells like mold and old secrets.
We descend into the darkness.
Luca is already waiting for us at the tunnel entrance, having circled back after setting the docks ablaze. His face is smudged with soot, his eyes bright with adrenaline.
"It is done," he says simply. "Patrick took the bait. The fire is big enough to keep him occupied for at least an hour."
"Good," I say. "Now let's get Erin."
The tunnels are exactly as claustrophobic as I expected—barely wide enough for us to walk single file, the ceiling low enough that I have to duck in places.
Gabriel leads with a flashlight, navigating by memory and instinct through twists and turns that all look identical to me.
Luca brings up the rear, his weapon drawn and ready.
"How do you know where we are going?" I ask after the fifth turn.
"When the alliance was formed, I made it protocol to map and memorize their tunnel system," Gabriel says without looking back. "Can't protect allies if you don't know their escape routes. Basic tactical intelligence."
We walk in silence for another ten minutes, the only sounds our footsteps and breathing echoing off the brick walls. Then Gabriel stops abruptly, holding up a hand.
"We are here."
The basement entrance is a metal grate set into the ceiling—rusty and old but still functional. Gabriel climbs up, tests the grate, and pushes it open with a soft scrape of metal on stone.
We emerge into a dark basement that smells like gun oil and concrete. Callahan is waiting for us, and beside him—
Erin.
She looks like hell. Her red hair is matted and tangled, her face bruised on one side, her eyes hollow with grief and trauma. But she is alive, and when she sees us, recognition flares in her expression.
"Dante," she breathes. "You came."
"Of course we did," I tell her, moving forward to quickly assess her condition. Bruises, yes, but nothing obviously broken. Pregnant belly still rounded and intact. "Can you walk?"
"I can run if I have to," she says, and there is steel in her voice despite everything. Seamus's daughter, through and through.
"Good. Because we need to move fast."
Callahan hands Gabriel a rifle. "For the perimeter. I am coming with you—I need to make sure she gets out safely."
We move through the tunnels faster on the return trip, urgency driving us forward. Erin keeps pace despite her condition, her hand protective over her stomach, her jaw set with determination.
We are almost to the speakeasy exit when we hear it.
Footsteps. Behind us. Multiple sets, moving fast.
"They found the tunnel entrance," Gabriel says grimly, already turning to face the threat. "Go. Get her out. I will hold them off."
"Gabriel—" I start, but he cuts me off.
"That is an order, cousin. Get Erin to Rosalina. I will be right behind you."
"Like hell you will," Luca says, stepping forward to stand beside Gabriel. "You are not doing this alone."
Gabriel looks at him, surprise flickering across his features. Then understanding. "Luca—"
"Save it," Luca interrupts, checking his weapon with practiced efficiency. "You and Dante take Erin and go protect our girl. "
I want to argue, want to tell Luca that we go together or not at all. But Erin's hand tightens in mine, and I can hear the footsteps getting closer, and I know there is no time.
"Luca, get out of here alive." I promise, looking between them. "Gabe, let’s go.."
"Luca, don’t be ridiculous come on," Gabriel says, already taking position at a narrow chokepoint in the tunnel, rifle raised.
“ Get out of here before they kill all of us and we leave Rosalina alone,” Luca growls, pushing Gabriel towards the exit."Go! I got this."
I grab Erin's hand and pull her forward, Callahan right behind us, and we run.
Behind us, I hear gunfire.
And I pray Luca knows what he's doing.