Page 14 of Dangerous Secrets

“I’m just saying, Dominic sent me to watch you for a reason, Rome. You’ve been distracted, careless. You’ve made mistakes. You had the damn assassin a few weeks ago and you let his two goons stop you.” Leo’s eyes train on my face instead of the building but I don’t take my gaze away from the backside of that nightclub for a split second. I can’t miss him again.

“You weren’t here. You don’t know how it went down.” Leaving the cigarette dangling from my lips where I pinch it to inhale more smoke, I reach for the binoculars.

“I hear you barely grazed one and missed the assassin who snuck into the building, then got yourself kicked out.” He chortles and hands me the device and I put them to my eyes.

Everything is crystal clear. I can even see glints of light dancing on the rain that falls. It’s amazing the technology these days. Without this, I’d never be able to make out a single thing in that dark alley, but with them, nothing will escape my notice.

One more drag from the cigarette and I toss it out the window and exhale before closing it. Leo may have facts right, but in those situations, there is split-second timing that has to occur. I’d have been more successful if I’d have taken a different approach, but I’m not going to go in haphazardly shooting. I had no way of knowing if that black-clad figure that night was L’ombra, or just an entertainer with a dark jacket. Killing random men will only exacerbate the problem.

“Look there…” The night vision works so well I see the back door open. A figure in all black emerges and looks both ways.

“What is it? I see nothing.” Leo reaches for the dashboard, and I glance at him to see him squinting.

“There, coming out the back door. Someone in all black. That has to be our guy. No one that is up to any good dresses in all black in a dark alley this late at night.” I reach for my weapon and then for the dome light, all while keeping my eyes trained on the man through the night vision binoculars. I flip the light switch to off, so it won’t turn on when I open the door, then I nod at Leo. “Let’s go hunting.”

Leo opens his door and climbs out and I mirror his movements. Both of us shut the car doors as silently as we can, and we meet in front of the car. “I’ll flank the building, you come around the side. We cannot lose this guy again.” Leo’s orders aren’t welcome in my mind, but I don’t have time to argue. If that’s the plan, then one of us will nab the guy. Besides, I can see him, and Leo can’t. It makes sense for him to hug the building.

I head off without making a sound, rolling my feet across the wet pavement one step at a time. It’s good that the rain gives us cover because this alley is like a damn echo chamber. That guy would hear every footfall and spook. This way, we can move in and surprise him.

I watch as I walk. He pulls out a lighter and a cigarette and lights up. The closer I get, the more I can see. It’s a man with a short beard, hoodie zipped to his chin with the hood up. His eyes dart around as if nervously watching for someone. It’s suspicious, but only because I know the type I’m looking for. Of course, he’d be watching for someone to attack him. He knows he’s a target at all times. With as many lives as he’s taken from us, he’s got to know we’re watching him, hunting him.

Sweeping the binoculars across the side of the building, I see Leo advancing too. He’s almost to the dumpster, and the man stands only ten yards on the other side of that. Which is where my gaze stops again. The man, puffing out a lungful of smoke, jerks his head in Leo’s direction and stares for a second. I don’t look to see what my brother is doing again because I can’t lose this guy. So, when he takes off, so do I.

The guy darts down the alley, dropping his cigarette in a puddle and I chase after him. He’s fast, but I’m not going to let him get away. I grip the binoculars in one hand and my gun in the other. I can’t fire until I have him in range. I hear Leo’s footsteps behind me slapping the pavement and splashing in the collected rain.

“Fuck’s sake,” I grunt. I had no intention of doing a chase tonight. I just needed a few more steps and I could have taken him out and Leo made a noise or something.

“He’s turning right!” Leo shouts but I don’t need his play by play. I can see with my own eyes now that we’re out on the street under streetlights.

It’s after eleven p.m. and it’s raining, but this is the city that never sleeps and there are still people wandering around. I run past a couple sharing an umbrella and then a homeless man who holds a newspaper over his head. The guy I’m chasing weaves between the people and the legs of the massive scaffolding erected in front of the row of shops. It’s slippery, and it’s hard to keep my footing at times on the oil-slicked pavement, but I chase him across the street and into another alley.

I’m winded, sucking air. My chest burns and I feel like I will pass out if I don’t catch up to him soon. Leo is still behind me, breathing heavily and stomping the pavement.

“This guy can’t get away, Rome!”

“Don’t you think I fucking know that?”

The man disappears into the darkness again, and just as I round the corner and lift the binoculars to my eyes, I hear the sound of a round being chambered. I slow my steps and raise my gun, but Leo charges forward, plowing into him. They fall to the ground in a heap, rolling and punching. I stand over them, heaving, catching my breath as Leo dominates the man with blow after blow.

When the guy gets the better of him, flipping him over, I have no choice but to act. I fire my weapon in a loud discharge that rattles the windows and drops the man to the ground instantly. He falls with a sickening thud and lays motionless, and Leo crawls out from beneath him.

“Waited long enough,” he says, rubbing his throat. He’s out of breath still, as am I, and both of us stare down at the dead man on the ground. “We need to check him and get out of here before someone calls the cops.”

I hand him the binoculars and pull my phone out, then holster my gun. If I’m correct and this man is the assassin we’re hunting, my job is done, and I can focus solely on Bianca for a while. That is what I truly want to do. Leo was right about one thing; I am distracted because she is the most intoxicating woman I’ve ever met.

Crouching, I turn on my phone’s flashlight feature and pull the hood of the man’s jacket back to reveal his face. Dark bushy eyebrows crown his hollow eyes that remain wide open. Blood covers his ear and neck, a massive hole on the other side of his head. There are no indications that this is our guy, but there is no proof it isn’t yet. In one swift movement I grab the neck of his t-shirt and hoodie and pull hard, tearing it down his chest.

There are no tattoos here, nothing that lines up with what I’ve heard about L’ombra. That makes me frustrated. There is only one thing that can confirm with absolute certainty that this isn’t our man and I have to check. I reach into my pocket and pull out my pocketknife then hand my phone to Leo. ” Hold this.”

Using the tip of the knife I cut down the shoulder and sleeve of the hoodie and t-shirt to expose the man’s right shoulder. There should be a tattoo, a very distinct one of a triangle with an eyeball in the center. It’s the trademark of L’ombra and without seeing that, there is no proof I’ve finished my job. My family will still be at risk. As I fold the cut material back, Leo shines the light onto the man’s bloodied skin. I wipe at the blood with my thumb and reveal bare skin, no tattoo. No mark. Nothing.

“Fuck!” I stand abruptly and grit my teeth. This is the last thing that should have happened. Dominic is going to be furious. At best I’ve killed one of the Italians—that’ll escalate things for sure. At worst, I’ve killed an innocent man.

“Look, he ran for a reason, and he had a gun. It was me or him. You did the right thing.” Leo shoves my phone back into hands. “Let’s go.”

Scowling, I follow him up the alley away from the direction we came. I’m soaked to the bone now and cold, but we have to take the long way around. Anyone who sees us around here will have to give witness to the cops when they get here, and I think I hear the faint whir of sirens in the distance already.

Water squishes between my toes with each step and I hang my head in frustration, staring at the ground as we move in silence. I was certain he was our guy, and now I’m not certain about anything, except Bianca. I’m certain I need to connect with her soon. She works at that club, maybe she’s seen something. It might be a long shot, but I have to try.

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