Chapter 9 - THE WOUND
The bullet went through Dominic’s side.
Missed his liver.
Missed his spine.
Missed everything that would have killed him quickly.
Lucky.
That’s what the surgeon said.
I didn’t feel lucky.
I sat in the hospital waiting room with Lily asleep across my lap and Ethan sitting beside me.
His hand was wrapped around mine.
He hadn’t let go for two hours.
Marco paced.
Finally, a doctor came through the doors.
“He’s stable.”
Ethan stood.
“Can I see him?”
“Soon.”
He looked at me.
“Is Dad going to die?”
“No.”
The doctor answered before I could.
“He is not going to die.”
Ethan nodded.
Then burst into tears.
I pulled him against me.
That was how Dominic found us an hour later.
They let us into his room.
He looked terrible.
Pale.
Tubes everywhere.
Lily walked straight to the bed.
“You got shot.”
Dominic opened one eye.
“So I’ve been told.”
She frowned.
“That was bad.”
“Also been told.”
“You scared Mommy.”
I nearly choked.
Dominic looked at me.
“Oh?”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“She is confused.”
Lily looked at him.
“Mommy cried in the car.”
“Thank you, Lily.”
I covered my face.
Dominic smiled.
Then Ethan stepped closer.
“Dad.”
The smile disappeared.
“Hey.”
Ethan leaned against him carefully.
Dominic kissed his hair.
“I’m sorry.”
Ethan pulled back.
“For what?”
“For not listening enough.”
“You listened.”
“Not enough.”
Ethan looked at him for a long moment.
Then nodded.
“Okay.”
Kids forgive differently than adults.
Faster sometimes.
Cleaner.
Marco entered.
“We have Gabriel.”
Dominic’s face hardened.
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Police custody.”
“And the other man?”
“Dead.”
Dominic looked at me.
“The key.”
I still had it.
In my pocket.
“What happens now?”
“We find out what Elena hid.”
The next morning, we went to a private bank in Manhattan.
Dominic should have stayed in the hospital.
He didn’t.
He sat in a wheelchair because the doctor threatened to physically restrain him otherwise.
The key opened a box registered under a fake corporate name.
Inside were three hard drives.
A handwritten letter.
And photographs.
Dominic opened the letter first.
My dear Dom,
If this reaches you, I failed to tell you the truth while I had time.
Your father’s network never disappeared after he died.
It changed hands.
Someone close to you has been keeping it alive.
Do not assume Gabriel is the greatest danger.
He never was.
Dominic stopped reading.
Marco frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Dominic continued.
The person behind it knows your house, your routines, Ethan’s health, and every security weakness.
He will stand beside you when you discover this.
Trust nobody because of history.
Trust actions.
Dominic slowly lifted his eyes.
Marco stood across from us.
So did I.
So did Dominic’s attorney, Peter Sloan.
A man who had arrived ten minutes earlier.
Peter smiled nervously.
“That sounds ominous.”
Dominic looked down at the photographs.
Then froze.
I picked one up.
Peter Sloan.
Sitting at a restaurant.
With Robert Cole.
Another photograph.
Peter meeting Gabriel.
Another.
Peter outside Ethan’s school.
Dominic slowly turned his wheelchair.
Peter’s face had gone white.
“Dominic.”
May you like
Marco reached for his weapon.
Peter reached inside his jacket first.
