Chapter 54 Juan

Rafe stood by the window of my living room, peeking through the blinds like he expected someone to be watching. He was jumpy tonight, not scared, just wired. The way a man gets when he knows something big is coming.

He turned toward me. “It’s confirmed. Salvatore went on the run.”

I leaned back in the chair, letting that settle. “He wasn’t supposed to.”

“Yeah, well… he did. And that means Sara and the kid are home alone.” A slow, satisfied breath left my chest. Perfect. But not simple. “Getting into that house isn’t easy,” Rafe continued. “Hale’s there. Two others outside. They’re rotating shifts. They’re not letting her step outside without a shadow.”

“I know,” I said. “Salvatore’s predictable. He protects what he cares about.”

Rafe smirked. “You sound jealous.”

I didn’t bother responding. He knew better.

Instead, I stood and walked toward the table where the map of the city was spread out. I tapped the spot where Sara’s uncle’s garage sat — a small family business, nothing fancy, but important to her. Important enough that she’d run if she thought something was wrong.

“She won’t leave the house for nothing,” I said. “Not with security breathing down her neck. But if something happens to her uncle’s place…”

Rafe’s eyes lit with understanding. “She’ll go.”

“She’ll have to,” I said. “Family is her weakness. Always has been.”

He nodded slowly. “We hit the garage. Make it look like an accident. A break‑in. Something messy enough to get her attention.”

“But not enough to raise alarms,” I added. “We don’t want Salvatore’s men swarming the place before she gets there.”

Rafe crossed his arms. “And Letta? You want her involved?”

I laughed under my breath. “Letta is useful, but she’s a loose cannon. Emotional. Unstable. She’ll ruin the timing. She’s not part of this phase.”

Rafe smirked. “She’s still at your place?”

“She’s exactly where I need her,” I said. “And she’ll stay there until I decide otherwise.”

He didn’t ask what that meant. He didn’t need to.

He pointed at the map again. “So we hit the garage tonight?”

“Yes,” I said. “Quiet. Controlled. Enough damage to get Sara out of the house. Once she’s moving, she’s vulnerable.”

Rafe nodded. “I’ll get the crew ready.” He started toward the door, but I stopped him with a single word.

“Rafe.” He turned back. “No mistakes,” I said. “This is the first domino. If it falls wrong, everything else collapses.”

He gave a sharp nod. “We’ll handle it.”

When he left, the house fell silent again. I stood alone in the dim light, staring at the map, at the little circle around the garage. Salvatore thought he could protect her by keeping her hidden. But he didn’t understand something important: You can’t protect someone who runs toward danger. And Sara always ran toward family. All I had to do was give her a reason. And tonight, she’d get one.

Rafe returned with men, too many for what we needed done, but he always planned for more. “Not this many,” I said. “We need to go over your team.”

He turned back, arms crossed. “Alright. What do you want to change?”

I walked to the table where the layout of Sara’s uncle’s garage was spread out. The place was small, old, and sentimental, exactly why it mattered. Exactly why it would work. “You’re taking three men,” I said. “Not four. Not five. Three.”

Rafe frowned. “Why three?”

“Because four looks organized,” I said. “Three looks sloppy. Like idiots trying to steal tools or scrap metal. That’s the story we want.”

He nodded slowly. “Alright. I’ll take Luis, Mateo, and Vic.”

“Good,” I said. “Luis knows how to make a mess without making it look intentional. Mateo can handle the back entrance. Vic keeps watch.”

Rafe smirked. “You’ve already assigned their jobs.”

“I always do.”

He stepped closer to the table. “And what exactly do you want done?”

“Damage,” I said. “Enough to shut the place down for the night. Enough to get her uncle calling her. Enough to get her out of the house.”

“But not enough to bring the cops,” Rafe said, finishing my thought.

“Exactly.”

He studied me for a moment. “You really think she’ll go?”

“She will,” I said. “Sara runs toward family. She always has. She’ll go before she calls Salvatore. And Hale can’t stop her from going to her own uncle’s business.”

Rafe nodded, absorbing every detail. “And once she’s out of the house…”

“We watch,” I said. “We wait. We see how her security reacts. We learn their patterns. This isn’t the grab. This is the test.”

“Rafe.” He paused. “No improvising,” I said. “No showing off. No noise. You go in, you break what needs breaking, you leave. Nothing more.”

He nodded once. “Understood.”

“And Rafe?”

“Yeah?”

“If this goes wrong,” I said quietly, “we lose our advantage. And I don’t like losing.”

He gave a sharp, confident nod. “We won’t.”

He left, shutting the door behind him. I stood alone in the dim room, staring at the map, at the little circle around the garage, the first crack in Salvatore’s perfect little world. Tonight, the game finally started. And Sara Vega would be the first piece to move.