Chapter 10 - Tony Valente’s Last Bargain
Riley’s mother, Carol Hayes, had lived in Arizona for nine years.
Anthony knew her address.
Riley called.
No answer.
Dominic arranged protection immediately.
Too late.
Carol’s home was empty.
No forced entry.
Coffee still warm.
Anthony had taken her.
Riley wanted to go alone.
Dominic refused.
She reminded him what happened when men tried ordering her around.
He remembered the knife.
They compromised.
Riley would appear alone.
Dominic would stay out of sight.
The burned butcher shop smelled of wet ash.
Anthony waited inside.
Carol sat bound to a chair.
Alive.
Tony stood beside her.
He had been released from federal custody after evidence connected specifically to him had mysteriously disappeared.
Riley understood.
Harbor still had people inside law enforcement.
Anthony held Ethan’s scale.
“Ledger.”
“Gone.”
“Copies.”
“With federal investigators.”
Anthony smiled.
“Then I want Dominic.”
Riley’s stomach tightened.
“This was never about records anymore.”
“No.”
Anthony hated Daniel Castelli.
And Dominic was Daniel’s legacy.
Tony moved toward Riley.
“You broke my knee.”
“You grabbed me.”
He slapped her.
Riley barely reacted.
That angered him more.
He reached again.
She caught his wrist.
History repeated itself.
But this time Tony had learned.
He pulled a gun.
Dominic stepped from the darkness.
“Put it down.”
Anthony smiled.
Exactly what he wanted.
Gunmen appeared on the upper walkway.
Dominic had walked into a kill box.
Riley looked at him.
He had known.
He came anyway.
Anthony ordered him onto his knees.
Dominic did it.
Riley’s chest tightened.
The man who had once entered her shop demanding submission now knelt willingly to keep her mother alive.
Anthony raised his weapon.
Then Carol screamed.
Riley moved.
Tony fired.
Dominic tackled Anthony.
Marco’s team entered through the rear.
Gunfire erupted.
When it stopped, Tony lay wounded.
Anthony had escaped again.
Carol was safe.
Dominic had been hit in the shoulder.
Riley pressed cloth against the wound.
“You idiot.”
“You noticed.”
“You could have died.”
“So could you.”
“That’s different.”
“How?”
She had no answer.
Tony laughed weakly from the floor.
“You two still don’t understand.”
Riley turned.
“Understand what?”
“My father doesn’t need Harbor anymore.”
Dominic stared.
Tony smiled through blood.
“He already sold the entire network.”
“To who?”
Tony’s smile vanished.
“You should ask the person who bought it.”
His phone began ringing.
Dominic picked it up.
May you like
The caller ID displayed a name.
Marco Bellini...
