Chapter 7 – The Traitor’s Final Bargain

“Auntie Rachel!” Lily screamed, her tiny voice piercing the fog. She was crying, her pink jacket soaked and muddy.

My heart shattered. “Lily! It’s okay, baby, I’m here!”

I looked at Grant in utter disbelief. His left arm was in a makeshift sling from where Luca had shot him, but his right hand held the gun steadily against my six-year-old niece’s temple.

“Grant, what are you doing?!” I screamed. “I thought the Rossis had her!”

Grant laughed, a desperate, unhinged sound. He looked feverish, his eyes wide and bloodshot.

“The Rossis used me, Rachel!” he shouted, pacing nervously. “They promised me the Moretti contract if I got them the watch and the ledger! But when Luca shot me, they abandoned me! They left me to die in that dining room!”

“Then why do you have Lily? Put the gun down!”

“Because I need insurance!” Grant spat. “I managed to escape the vault when the estate was attacked. I took the kid from the Rossi safehouse. Now I have the leverage. You’re going to give me the ledger, and I’m going to sell it back to the Rossis for ten million dollars. Then I’m disappearing.”

“You’re sick,” I whispered, stepping forward. “She’s a child, Grant. She used to call you Uncle. Please.”

“Stay back!” Grant cocked the hammer of the gun.

“Drop it, Grant.”

The voice came from the shadows behind him.

Luca emerged from the fog. His expensive suit was torn, covered in mud and blood, and he was limping slightly. But he held his weapon with lethal precision, aimed directly at Grant’s head.

Grant spun around, dragging Lily with him as a shield. “Moretti! How are you still alive?!”

“It takes more than a helicopter to kill me,” Luca said coldly. He didn’t look at Grant; he looked at Lily. His eyes softened. “Hi, Lily. Remember me? I’m Luca.”

Lily sniffled, terrified of the gun, but she nodded.

“You’re being very brave,” Luca said gently. “Just hold still for one more minute.”

“I’ll kill her!” Grant shrieked, pressing the barrel harder against Lily’s head. “Give me the ledger, Rachel, or I pull the trigger!”

“Daniel,” Luca said quietly into his collar mic. “Take the shot.”

Nothing happened.

Grant laughed hysterically. “Your sniper? I had Rossi’s men sweep the rafters before you got here. Your guy is dead, Moretti.”

My blood ran cold.

Luca didn’t flinch, but I saw the micro-expression of tension in his jaw.

“Give him the ledger, Rachel,” Luca commanded softly.

“No!” I cried. “He’ll shoot us anyway!”

“Give it to him.”

I trembled, holding the heavy book out. Grant stepped forward, his greed overriding his caution. He reached out with his injured arm to grab the ledger.

The moment Grant’s hand touched the book, I let it drop.

Grant instinctively looked down as the heavy book hit the wet concrete.

It was a distraction of less than a second.

Luca fired.

He didn’t shoot Grant in the head. He shot the gun right out of Grant’s hand.

The metal shattered. Grant screamed in agony as the impact shattered his fingers. He dropped Lily.

I lunged forward, sweeping Lily into my arms and rolling us behind a stack of rusted shipping crates.

Luca closed the distance in three strides. He kicked Grant’s legs out from under him, sending my ex-husband crashing to the concrete.

Before Grant could get up, Luca drove the heel of his shoe into Grant’s chest, pinning him down.

“You put a gun to a child’s head,” Luca whispered, aiming his weapon right between Grant’s eyes.

“Wait!” Grant begged, weeping pathetically. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’ll go to prison! Let the cops take me!”

“The police don’t handle my family’s affairs,” Luca said.

I covered Lily’s ears and buried her face in my shoulder.

But before Luca could pull the trigger, the piercing wail of police sirens flooded the shipyard. Red and blue lights cut through the fog, surrounding the pier.

Luca lowered his gun, letting out a frustrated sigh.

He looked over at me, huddled behind the crates with Lily. The rage in his eyes vanished, replaced by profound relief.

“It’s over, Rachel,” he said softly.