Chapter 10 - WHEN THE BOSS FALLS
Lorenzo hit the floor.
Evelyn stopped thinking.
She grabbed a wine bottle and smashed it across the nearest gunman’s face.
Someone shouted.
She kicked the laptop across the floor toward a drainage channel.
Salvatore yelled.
“GET IT!”
Dante hesitated.
That hesitation saved her.
Evelyn grabbed Lorenzo under the arm.
“Move.”
“I’m shot.”
“I noticed.”
“Leave me.”
“Shut up.”
Dante suddenly turned and fired at Salvatore’s men.
“GO!”
Lorenzo looked at him.
Dante shouted, “GO, BOSS!”
They ran.
A bullet struck Dante in the shoulder.
He kept firing.
Evelyn dragged Lorenzo through the cellar.
“Where?”
“Freight elevator.”
“It won’t work.”
“Why?”
“They cut power after the shooting.”
“Then stairs.”
Lorenzo nearly collapsed.
Evelyn slapped his face.
“Hey.”
“I’m awake.”
“You die after we get out.”
“Bossy.”
“Very.”
They reached the kitchen.
Maya stood there.
Evelyn froze.
“Maya?”
Her coworker held a first-aid bag.
“What took you so long?”
“What are you doing here?”
“Gilbert called me before he died.”
Evelyn’s face changed.
Maya looked down.
“He told me if anything happened, help you.”
Gunfire echoed below.
“No time,” Lorenzo said.
Maya looked at his wound.
“Is that—”
“Yes.”
“The actual Lorenzo Moretti?”
“Yes.”
“He tips terribly.”
Lorenzo blinked.
Evelyn almost laughed.
Almost.
They escaped through the loading dock.
Maya drove them to her cousin’s veterinary clinic.
“You’re kidding,” Lorenzo said.
“You want a hospital?”
“No.”
“Then congratulations. Tonight you’re a Labrador.”
The bullet had passed through his upper chest without hitting the heart.
Maya stitched the wound while Lorenzo clenched his jaw.
Evelyn sat beside him.
“You can squeeze my hand.”
“I’m fine.”
“Of course.”
The needle went in.
Lorenzo grabbed her hand.
Hard.
Maya smiled.
“Big scary gangster.”
“Keep talking and I buy this building.”
“You’re losing blood, not your attitude.”
Two hours later, Lorenzo slept.
Evelyn opened the metal strip.
The data had copied automatically to it.
Daniel had built redundancy into the system.
Smart man.
Terrible father.
But smart.
Evelyn found one file labeled:
A. MORETTI — 2008
She opened it.
Payment authorization.
Vehicle sabotage.
Target: Isabella Moretti.
Lorenzo’s mother.
Authorized by:
SALVATORE MORETTI.
Not Antonio.
Evelyn kept reading.
A second authorization appeared.
Daniel Carter.
The order to kill her father had also been signed by Salvatore.
She stared at the screen.
Lorenzo woke.
“What?”
She showed him.
He read the file.
His face emptied.
“My uncle killed my mother.”
“Yes.”
“And my father?”
“Covered it up.”
Lorenzo looked away.
Then Evelyn saw another file.
Recent.
Her name.
EVELYN CARTER — ACTIVE ASSET.
She opened it.
A photograph.
A schedule.
The Obsidian.
And a note.
SUBJECT HAS BEEN UNDER OBSERVATION FOR THREE YEARS.
Evelyn’s blood turned cold.
“They weren’t looking for me because of the ledger.”
Lorenzo read the next line.
Then looked at her.
“No.”
May you like
His voice went quiet.
“They’ve been waiting for you to lead them to your father.”
