Chapter 3 - The Wolves at the Gate
The silence inside the study became heavy enough to crush the air from Mia’s lungs.
She took an involuntary step backward until her back touched the cold stone of the fireplace mantel.
Outside, the storm intensified, driving sheets of rain against the heavy leaded windows of the estate.
Nico did not lower his firearm; instead, he racked the slide with a clean, practiced motion and re-holstered it beneath his jacket.
“How many men in the vehicle, Miller?” Nico demanded, his voice entirely devoid of panic.
“Three men in tactical windbreakers, sir, but there’s a second vehicle idling half a mile down the county road.”
Reed stepped forward, his military instincts overriding his age and stiff joints.
“Did they present a warrant?”
The guard nodded, pulling a radio from his tactical belt.
“The man in charge showed a Department of Defense Special Operations identification badge and a sealed federal pickup order.”
Mia’s fingers dug into the fabric of her black uniform dress.
“I haven't committed any crime, I’ve never even had a parking ticket in my life.”
Nico turned to look at her, his jaw set in a hard, uncompromising line.
“This has nothing to do with civil law, Mia.”
Reed looked through the gap in the heavy curtains, his gaze fixed toward the southern tree line where the security lights reflected off the wet asphalt.
“They’re not here to arrest you, they’re here to erase you.”
The stark brutality of Reed’s words hung in the warm air of the library like poison.
Nico picked up his desk telephone, punching a direct extension to the estate's main gatehouse.
“Miller, do not open that gate under any circumstances.”
The guard spoke through the open doorway.
“Mr. Romano, the man at the gate claims if we refuse compliance, he will breach the barrier under federal authority.”
Nico leaned against the edge of his mahogany desk, his dark eyes blazing with dangerous resolve.
“Tell him he is standing on private Romano property.”
He paused, letting the weight of his family’s terrifying influence settle over the phone line.
“Tell him that until I see a warrant signed by a federal circuit judge in open court, any breach of my perimeter will be treated as an armed assault.”
The guard nodded sharply and hurried back down the hallway toward the security office.
Nico hung up the telephone and looked directly at Mia.
“You are not leaving this estate.”
Mia’s voice trembled, but she refused to let her tears fall.
“Why are you protecting me, you don't even know me?”
Nico walked over until he stood directly in front of her, his dark eyes looking down into hers.
“You are carrying my brother’s bloodline.”
He reached out, his thumb gently catching the silver dog tags still hanging around her neck.
“And as long as you are breathing, Jake is not dead to this family.”
Reed adjusted his coat, his eyes darting toward the hidden door set into the walnut paneling behind the desk.
“Nico, Cross won't wait for legal paperwork, he never does.”
Nico froze, his head snapping toward the old veteran.
“You know who is in that SUV?”
Reed looked down at his own shoes, shame washing over his weathered features.
“Major Vance Cross, the commander of Vanguard Nine.”
Nico’s face twisted into an expression of cold fury.
“The man who filed the false casualty report on my brother.”
“Yes,” Reed whispered.
Mia felt a cold tremor ripple across her skin.
“If he knows my name, that means Jake told him.”
Nico shook his head immediately, rejecting the thought without hesitation.
“Jake would have let them tear him apart before giving them your name.”
Reed pointed toward Mia’s apron pocket.
“Your smartphone, Mia.”
Mia pulled out the battered device, looking at the glowing screen.
“What about it?”
“When you applied for this catering position through the hospitality agency, did you use your real name and Social Security number?”
Mia nodded, confusion etched across her forehead.
“Of course, it was a background check for working at a high-profile private estate.”
Reed sighed, a sound full of grim resignation.
“Cross has had an automated surveillance flag on Jake’s biometric identifiers and personal circles for over a year.”
“I never met Cross, I never even heard of him,” Mia protested.
“You used Jake’s social security number as the emergency contact on your clinic pregnancy intake form, didn't you?”
Mia went dead still.
Two months ago, sitting in the crowded free clinic in Queens, the nurse had asked for the father’s information.
Mia had memorized Jake’s military identification number from his old papers in the closet, writing it down in the hope of tracking him down.
The realization hit her like an icy tidal wave.
“I led them right to me.”
Nico reached out and placed a large, firm hand on her trembling shoulder.
“Stop that, you didn't lead anyone anywhere, you were trying to find the father of your baby.”
He turned to Reed.
“Take her through the wine cellar passage to the subterranean safe room beneath the carriage house.”
Reed nodded briskly.
“What are you going to do?”
Nico adjusted his suit jacket, his eyes turning cold and impassive.
“I am going to greet Major Cross at my front door.”
Mia reached out, catching Nico’s wrist before he could turn away.
“Please, don't let them take Jake’s tags.”
Nico looked down at her small hand gripping his expensive suit sleeve, his expression softening by an almost imperceptible fraction.
“Nobody takes anything from a Romano, especially not from family.”
He pulled a small bronze key from his pocket and pressed it into Mia’s palm.
“When you get to the carriage house, there is a locked trunk marked with Jake’s initials in the floorboards.”
Mia looked down at the key, her voice barely a whisper.
“What’s inside it?”
May you like
Nico met her gaze with an unblinking intensity.
“The truth about why my brother had to die.”
