Chapter 4 - The Escape and the Alliance
Dominic didn't panic. Years of running an empire had forged him into something harder than steel.
"Matteo, take Viktor and clear the back exit toward the tugboats. Make sure the federal agents find him waiting with his hands tied and a federal indictment taped to his chest."
"And Marco?" Matteo asked, casting a disgusted glance at the trembling younger brother still weeping on the floor.
Dominic looked down at Marco with cold detachment. "Pack a bag. You’re catching a private flight to a monastery in Verona by sunrise. You will live on bread and water, and you will never set foot in North America again. If you try to come back, Matteo won't wait for my permission."
As Matteo dragged Viktor away, Dominic turned to me. Sirens began to wail in the distance, cutting through the howling wind off the Hudson. Red and blue lights flashed against the corrugated iron walls of the warehouse, painting the concrete in frantic strokes.
"You have a remarkable talent, Elena," Dominic said above the rising noise of sirens. "And you just saved my life, my company, and what's left of my family's reputation."
"I saved my own skin," I corrected, pulling my damp jacket tighter around myself. "If the Feds raided that boardroom and found a dead interpreter, a tied-up mafia boss, and a cleaning lady holding a bloody sponge, my chances of making rent next month would have plummeted significantly."
Dominic actually laughed—a short, genuine sound that softened the hard lines of his face.
"How much is the rent?"
"Two thousand two hundred dollars."
"Come with me," Dominic said, offering his arm to guide me toward the secure exit before the federal perimeter locked down. "I have an opening for a Chief Intelligence Officer. The starting salary is considerably higher than fifteen dollars an hour, full medical benefits, and health insurance that covers chronic knee pain."
I looked at the flashing police lights, then down at my cheap yellow sponge, which I was still holding in my left hand. I dropped the sponge into a nearby trash barrel.
"Does the job include a company car?" I asked.
May you like
"Armored Mercedes," Dominic replied.
"Deal."
