Nothing gets past me

Nothing gets past me


The leather chair was soft against my back. My mind was calm, seemingly at peace. But I wasn’t at peace. 

Julia was in the hospital now. Getting the medical attention she needed. The doctors said she would be fine. The bullet had gone clean through her shoulder. No major damage. 

I didn’t want to think about her injuries right now. About how close I had come to losing her. About what I would have done to the world if they had killed her. So I focused on the silence in the room instead.

That’s when Draco appeared in front of my desk. 

“I think I’ll leave for today,” he said. His voice was careful.

“Leaving already?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Draco nodded. “I’ve got some things I need to take care of at home. I hired people to fix the wiring and the leaks. All that domestic stuff. They’re coming today and I want to supervise them. Make sure they don’t steal anything.”

I gave a slow nod. “Alright. Go ahead.”

Relief flashed across his face for just a second. “Thanks, boss.”

He gave me a smile and walked toward out. The door clicked shut behind him with a soft sound.

And then I was alone.

I leaned forward and grabbed my phone from the desk. Scrolled through the contacts until I found the name I was looking for. A name I hadn’t called in a while.

Rex.

The phone rang three times before he answered. When he did, there was surprise in his voice. Maybe even shock.

“Dante?” he said. Like he couldn’t believe it was really me calling.

“Yeah,” I said. “Come to the office.”

There was a long pause. I could hear him breathing on the other end of the line. 

“The office?” he asked finally. “Right now?”

“Yes, Rex. Right now.”

There was another pause, a longer one. “Is everything okay?”

I smiled even though he couldn’t see it. “Everything’s fine. Just come.”

He was quiet for a few more seconds. Then he muttered, “Alright. I’ll be there in twenty minutes, boss.”

The line went dead.

Twenty-three minutes later, Rex walked through my office door. His hair was messier than usual. Like he had been running his hands through it and his eyes were restless. They darted around the room before finally landing on me.

The moment he saw me sitting there, he almost exploded.

“Boss, what the hell has been going on?” His voice was shaking with anger. But underneath the anger, I could hear something like worry. “Where have you been all this time? Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been?”

I didn’t answer right away. Just looked at him. 

Then I leaned back in my chair and motioned at the seat across from my desk. “Sit down.”

He didn’t hesitate. Dropped into the chair but his eyes stayed fixed on my face like he was trying to read my mind.

I took another sip of whiskey. Let the silence stretch between us like a wire about to snap.

“I know you’ve been suspicious of me for a long time,” I began slowly. 

His frown deepened. “Suspicious? About what?”

I couldn’t help but smirk. He was still playing the game. Still pretending to be innocent. Still acting like he was just a regular guy who worked at my bar.

“Let’s not play dumb anymore, Rex,” I said. “I think it’s time for some honesty between us.”

His face went pale. “Honesty about what?”

“About who I really am,” I said simply. “I’m in the mafia.”

His jaw dropped open. Perhaps he was truly shocked that I was saying this or that he was just too good at acting. 

“I own one of the biggest organizations in the mafia,” I continued. “My family is one of the most powerful. We control territory. We move money. We move drugs, move weapons. We’re criminals.”

Rex was staring at me like he couldn’t fathom anything. “Mafia?” he whispered. The word came out like he was afraid to say it too loud.

“For a while now, we’ve been at war with another family. The Mandalas. That’s why I disappeared. That’s why everyone at the bar has been on edge. The people who died, the properties that got destroyed, the violence in the streets - it was all because of that war.”

He shook his head slowly. “I… I never expected this. Never imagined…”

“No,” I agreed. “You didn’t.”

I stood up from my chair to walk around his chair in a slow circle. My footsteps were the only sound in the room. Each step echoed off the walls.

I could feel his nervousness growing. Could see the tension in his shoulders. Could hear his breathing getting faster.

“But that’s not all,” I said softly when I was behind his chair.

Rex’s head turned slightly. Trying to follow my movement. “What else?”

I stopped directly behind him. Leaned down so my mouth was close to his ear. Close enough that he could feel my breath on his skin.

“I know you’re a cop,” I whispered.

He froze completely. 

His whole body went rigid. His breathing stopped.

“I know you’ve been working for that captain,” I continued. My voice was soft but every word hit like a hammer. “I know you came here to find evidence against me. To build a case. To bring me down.”

Rex’s eyes went wide. The color drained from his face completely. 

“And I know,” I said, reaching down to pluck something tiny from behind his ear, “you’re wearing a wire.”

I held up the small microphone between my fingers. Let him see it clearly. Then I tossed it onto his lap like it was garbage.

“You really thought you could fool me?” I asked.

His hands were shaking as he picked up the wire, then he looked back up at me, his eyes were full of terror.

“Dante,” he said in a voice cracked by fear. “Are you… are you going to kill me?”

I let out a laugh. “Kill you? Oh, Rex. You really don’t understand, do you?”

I walked back around to stand in front of him. Looked down at him sitting in that chair. He looked small, terrified and completely at my mercy.

“You’re a fine little puppet,” I said. “Why would I waste something so valuable?”

He swallowed hard. “What do you mean?”

“The last thing I would ever do is kill you,” I said. My smile was getting wider. Sharper. More dangerous. “No, Rex. I have much better plans for you.”

His chest was rising and falling fast now. 

“I’ll use you,” I continued. “For my pleasure. For my business. For whatever I want, whenever I want it. You’ll be my pet cop. My inside man. My perfect little spy.”

Rex shut his eyes tight. Like he was trying to make this all disappear. When he opened them again, they were wet with unshed tears.

“But kill you?” I leaned forward and put my hands on the arms of his chair. Trapping him between my arms and leaning forward so that my face was inches from his. “That would be too merciful. Too quick. Too easy.”

“I’ve always known, Rex,” I whispered. “From the very first day you walked into my bar. From the very first lie you told me. From the very first time you pretended to be just a normal guy.”

The silence that followed was heavy. Rex’s tagged breathing moved in the silence like smooth air.

“Nothing gets past me,” I said finally. “Not the police. Not other families. And definitely not you.”