Chapter 4 - The Man Dominic Couldn’t Control
The first shot shattered the lamp.
Dominic drove Riley down.
Marco fired toward the doorway.
Kline screamed.
The intruder escaped through a rear window.
When the room went silent, Kline lay against the wall, blood spreading across his shirt.
Riley dropped beside him.
“Call an ambulance.”
Kline grabbed her apron.
“Harbor.”
“What is it?”
“Not what.”
Blood touched his lips.
“Who.”
Then he died.
Police sirens approached far too quickly.
Dominic understood.
“They were already coming.”
Riley looked at him.
“Meaning?”
“We were supposed to be found beside his body.”
They escaped seconds before patrol cars arrived.
By sunrise, Dominic Castelli was wanted for questioning in Samuel Kline’s murder.
Riley’s photograph appeared beside his on local news.
PERSON OF INTEREST.
She stared at the television.
“I own a butcher shop.”
Dominic stood behind her.
“Yesterday you did.”
She turned.
“What does that mean?”
Marco entered.
“Fire department called.”
Riley’s expression changed.
“No.”
“Shop went up twenty minutes ago.”
She didn’t cry.
That was worse.
Dominic watched her sit slowly.
Everything her father had built was gone.
He expected her to blame him.
She said, “Victor did this.”
“Yes.”
“Then we finish it.”
Dominic studied her.
“Riley, this isn’t your war.”
She looked at him.
“They burned my father’s shop after I learned he was murdered.”
Dominic had no answer.
That afternoon Victor called.
Dominic put him on speaker.
“Nephew.”
“Uncle.”
“Give me the ledger.”
“You killed my father.”
A pause.
Then Victor laughed.
“I wondered how long Ethan’s daughter would take.”
Riley leaned toward the phone.
“You knew my father hid it.”
“Yes.”
“You sent Tony.”
“Yes.”
“Why increase the collection?”
“To make you angry.”
Dominic looked at Riley.
Victor continued.
“Your father told me something once. He said his daughter would tolerate almost anything done to her, but she would never tolerate disrespect toward his shop.”
Riley felt sick.
Tony’s insult.
His hand on the scale.
The entire confrontation had been engineered.
Except Tony had underestimated her.
Victor had not.
“You wanted me to hurt Tony,” she said.
“I wanted Dominic interested in you.”
Dominic’s eyes sharpened.
“Why?”
“Because Daniel made the same mistake with Ethan. He trusted him.”
Victor hung up.
A minute later Dominic’s secure phone received a photograph.
Riley opened it.
Tony Valente sat in a chair.
Alive.
Smiling.
Behind him stood men Riley recognized from Dominic’s organization.
Not Victor’s.
Dominic’s.
One of them held a sign.
BRING HER HOME.
Riley looked at Dominic.
“Your men?”
Dominic said nothing.
His empire wasn’t being attacked from outside.
It was splitting underneath him.
Then Marco’s phone rang.
He answered.
His face changed.
“Boss.”
“What?”
Marco slowly lowered the phone.
“They’ve taken the Castelli house.”
May you like
Dominic went still.
“And your mother is inside...”
