Chapter 5

Anthony was not at the repair shop.

His younger brother, Daniel Cole, was there, packing.

The moment he saw Elio, the color drained from his face. "How did you find this place?"

I put the photo of the drug lot numbers on the table. "Did your brother handle these?"

Daniel did not answer. He kept glancing at the door. "Anthony told me last night to skip town."

"Why?"

"Because somebody started cleaning house."

He swallowed. "He said if I wasn't gone by today, I'd disappear just like he did."

I was about to ask more when Elio suddenly raised a hand.

A car had stopped outside. It was not one of ours.

The back door of the shop swung open, and my hand went straight to my gun.

Two men came in. One of them saw me and froze.

They hadn't expected me to be here.

Daniel had been their target all along.

One of them swore under his breath and started backing toward the door.

He did not want to open fire on me in a place like this.

Anyone in their line of work knew there was a huge difference between killing a middleman's brother and shooting a Caruso.

But his companion spotted my guards coming down the alley. He drew his gun and tried to shoot his way out.

Before he could fire, Elio dragged me behind a column.

There was no hesitation in the way he moved. He knew exactly where the line of fire was and where to find cover.

My bodyguards stormed through the door at the same moment.

One covered the front while the other circled around back.

I did not try to prove anything by rushing out. I stayed behind cover and kept my gun trained on the side entrance.

In my last life, I had already paid with my life for trying to escape without a plan. I wasn't going to make the same mistake just to prove I wasn't afraid.

In the middle of it, a man lunged at me from the side.

There was nothing flashy about the move, only the brutal speed beaten into him by years of doing the Vieris' dirty work.

I finally understood why he had kept all of this hidden.

An illegitimate son who could shoot, who noticed everything, and who knew too many secrets was exactly the kind of man the Vieris would fear.

The other man raised his gun as he fell.

The muzzle pointed straight at me.

For the first time, Elio's voice rang across the whole building. "Get down!"

His voice was low and raw, cracking under the force of the shout.

I ducked on instinct.

The guards fired at the same instant.

When it was over, I did not get up right away.

I kept looking at Elio.

His face had gone white, and one hand was pressed to his throat.

"You can talk."

Elio was silent for a few seconds. When he spoke again, his voice was quieter and rougher. "Yes."

One word. Nothing more.

On the drive back, he explained in short, broken sentences. At fifteen, he had overheard a deal he was never meant to hear, and they had beaten him for it. His throat had never fully recovered.

For six months, he could barely make a sound. Eventually, some of his voice came back.

"Does your family know?"

"They know I can make sounds."

Elio touched his throat. "They don't know how much of my voice came back."

For years, he had let everyone believe long sentences hurt. Most of the time, he used paper or his phone. When he had no choice, he forced out a few rough syllables.

Over time, "almost mute" simply became "mute."

"You never slipped once?"

Elio was quiet for a moment. "Once."

As a child, he had almost spoken behind Matteo. Matteo had pinned him against the wall and forced him to keep talking until his voice completely gave out.

After that, he learned to avoid anything that required him to speak.

If someone deliberately called his name from behind, he did not turn around.

If someone suddenly handed him a phone, he would rather hang up than speak.

At the Vieri estate, the bell on his door had been broken for years because everyone knew he would not answer through the door anyway.

"Then how can you still talk—"

"A doctor taught me vocal exercises."

He looked out the window. "I practice at night. I can't let myself lose my voice completely."

I did not push any further.

Daniel gave us a ledger. Anthony had accepted two payments from Marietta.

After the second payment went through, he realized someone was tracing the drug lot numbers and started making plans to get Daniel out of town.

Roman's people had reached Anthony before we could. But when we arrived, they still hadn't gotten to Daniel.

We had beaten Roman and saved Daniel's life.