Chapter 75: "Return of the Ghost" ## POV: Dante

\# CHAPTER 75 – "Return of the Ghost"

\## POV: Dante

The body we found in Marco's burned warehouse ain't Marco.

Should have figured that out sooner. Should have known that bastard was too smart to die in his own explosion. But I wanted him dead so bad I didn't look close enough at the corpse.

Now I'm staring at DNA results that Carlos got from a contact in the police lab. Results that make my blood run cold.

"You sure about this?" I ask him for the third time.

"Dead sure. Body we pulled from the wreckage belongs to Vincent Torres. Small-time dealer from the east side. Been missing for two weeks."

"Marco used a double."

"Marco used a dead man. Burned the place down around the corpse to make us think he died in the explosion."

"Son of a bitch."

I crush the paper in my fist. Throw it across the room. All this time we been celebrating. All this time we thought the war was over. All this time Marco's been out there planning his next move.

"Where's Raphael?" I ask.

"Your brother? Haven't seen him since yesterday. Why?"

"Because he's gonna tell me everything he knows about Marco's operation. Even if I have to beat it out of him."

"Boss maybe you should—"

"Should what? Go easy on the guy who's been feeding information to our enemies? The guy who got half our people killed?"

"Should think about this before you do something permanent."

But I'm already moving. Already heading for Raphael's apartment. Kid's got some explaining to do.

The apartment's in a building I own. Used to be a safe house before I gave it to Raphael as a reward for good service. Back when I thought he was loyal. Back when I was stupid enough to trust family.

I don't knock. Just kick the door in.

Raphael's sitting at his kitchen table eating cereal like nothing's wrong. Doesn't even look surprised to see me.

"Hey brother. Heard you been looking for me."

"Yeah. I been looking."

"What about?"

I pull out my gun. Point it at his head. "About Marco. About how he ain't as dead as we thought."

"Don't know what you're talking about."

"DNA results came back. Body in the warehouse ain't Marco. Which means Marco's still breathing. Which means you been lying to me for months."

Raphael puts down his spoon. Looks at me with eyes I don't recognize. Cold eyes. Calculating eyes.

"Marco promised me things you never could."

"Like what?"

"Respect. Real power. A chance to be more than just your little brother."

"I gave you everything. Position in the organization. Money. Protection."

"You gave me scraps from your table. Marco offered me a seat at the head of my own table."

I move closer. Gun steady. "Where is he?"

"Safe. Somewhere you'll never find him."

"Wanna bet?"

"Go ahead. Shoot me. See how much information you get from a corpse."

"Maybe I won't kill you. Maybe I'll just hurt you real bad. Make you wish you were dead."

"You won't."

"Why not?"

"Because you still think of me as family. And family means something to you. Even when it shouldn't."

He's right. Even knowing what he's done I can't bring myself to pull the trigger. Can't kill the kid I helped raise.

But I can hurt him.

I hit him with the butt of the gun. Hard enough to split his scalp. Hard enough to knock him out of the chair.

"That was for getting Tommy killed."

I hit him again. This time in the ribs. Hear something crack.

"That was for betraying Eve."

Third hit catches him in the jaw. Blood sprays across the kitchen floor.

"And that was for lying to my face for eight months."

Raphael spits out a tooth. Grins through the blood.

"Feel better?"

"Getting there. Now tell me where Marco is."

"Or what? You'll beat me some more? Go ahead. I can take whatever you got."

"Can you take what Eve's got? Because she's on her way up here. And she ain't gonna be as gentle as me."

That wipes the grin off his face. Everyone in the organization knows Eve don't play games when it comes to betrayal.

"She wouldn't hurt family."

"You stopped being family when you started working for Marco."

I hear footsteps on the stairs. Eve's voice giving orders to the guys with her. Raphael hears it too.

"Last chance," I tell him. "Where's Marco?"

"Underground."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Old Riverside Prison. Been closed for fifteen years. Marco bought it through shell companies. Been building something underneath."

"Building what?"

"Command center. Training facility. Barracks for maybe two hundred men."

"Two hundred?"

"Military contractors. Private security. Mercenaries from overseas. Real professional killers."

My stomach drops. Two hundred trained soldiers against maybe fifty guys in our organization. That ain't a fight. That's a massacre.

"How long's he been building this army?"

"Two years. Maybe longer. Been planning this war since before you knew there was a war to fight."

Eve comes through the broken door. Takes one look at Raphael bleeding on the floor and nods approval.

"Good. Saved me the trouble of getting him to talk."

"He already talked. Marco's alive. Got an army. Underground bunker at the old prison."

"How big an army?"

"Two hundred men. Professional killers."

Eve's face goes hard. Colder than I ever seen it. "Then we better get moving."

"Moving where?"

"To finish this. Before Marco comes for our son."

She's right. Long as Marco's breathing our family ain't safe. Our people ain't safe. Everything we built is just waiting to get torn down.

"What's the plan?" I ask.

"Simple. We hit the bunker before he expects it. Take out his command structure. Turn his advantage against him."

"How we gonna do that with fifty guys against two hundred?"

"Same way we always do things. Smart. Fast. And with more balls than brains."

I like the sound of that. But there's one problem.

"We don't know the layout. Don't know his defenses. Don't know anything except that he's got more people than us."

"Then we get intelligence. We scout the place. We find his weaknesses."

"That could take weeks. Marco ain't gonna wait weeks to make his move."

"Then we make ours first."

Eve walks over to Raphael. Kneels down next to him. Voice gets soft. Friendly. Which is scarier than if she was yelling.

"You're gonna help us."

"Like hell."

"You're gonna draw us a map of that bunker. Every room. Every entrance. Every place Marco might be hiding."

"I ain't drawing you nothing."

"Yes you are. Because if you don't I'm gonna do things to you that'll make what Dante did look like a love tap."

"You're bluffing."

"Am I? Ask around. Find out what happened to the last person who betrayed our family."

Raphael looks at me. Looking for support. Looking for some sign that I'll protect him.

"She ain't bluffing," I tell him. "And I ain't stopping her."

"You're my brother."

"You were my brother. Now you're just someone who used to be family."

That breaks something in him. I can see it in his eyes. The realization that he burned his bridges. That there ain't no going back.

"Fine. I'll draw your map. But it won't matter."

"Why not?"

"Because Marco knows you're coming. Been expecting this since the moment you found out he was alive."

"How could he know?"

"Because he knows you. Knows how you think. Knows you won't let this slide."

"So it's a trap."

"It's an invitation. Marco wants you to come. Wants to finish this face to face."

"Then that's what we'll do."

Eve stands up. Brushes dust off her pants. "Get the map. Get our people together. Get ready for war."

"What about the baby?"

"What about him?"

"If this goes wrong... if we don't come back..."

"We'll come back. We got too much to live for not to come back."

I hope she's right. But looking at Raphael's bloody face I can't help thinking about how many things can go wrong. How many ways this could end with all of us dead.

"One more thing," I tell Raphael. "Marco ever mention why he wants the baby so bad?"

"Power. Said kids with Romano genetics are worth more than gold. Said he could use the baby's abilities to see the future. To know which moves to make before his enemies even thought of them."

"And you were gonna let him take your nephew."

"Wasn't personal. Was just business."

"Everything's personal when it comes to family. You should have remembered that."

We leave him tied to a chair while he draws the map. Guards on the door to make sure he don't go nowhere. Don't think he's got anywhere to go anyway. Marco probably considers him expendable now that his cover's blown.

"How you feeling about this?" I ask Eve as we head back to our place.

"About what?"

"Fighting your way through two hundred professional soldiers to get to Marco. Risking everything on one last battle."

"I feel like it's about time. Been running from this fight for too long. Time to end it."

"What if we lose?"

"Then at least we go down swinging. And our son grows up knowing his parents didn't back down from a fight."

We get back to the safe house. Little Michael's sleeping in his crib. Peaceful. Quiet. Got no idea his parents are about to walk into hell to keep him safe.

"Look at him," Eve says soft. "So innocent. So perfect."

"He's gonna stay that way. We're gonna make sure of it."

"You really think we can win this?"

"I think we got something Marco don't understand."

"What's that?"

"We're fighting for something bigger than ourselves. Fighting for family. For love. For the right to build something better than what came before."

"And Marco's fighting for what?"

"Power. Control. The same old bullshit that's been destroying families for generations."

"Think that's enough? Think love beats firepower?"

"Guess we're about to find out."

I kiss her forehead. Hold my son for maybe the last time. Try to memorize everything about this moment. Just in case.

"Whatever happens," I tell her, "I'm glad we did this together."

"Did what?"

"Everything. The good. The bad. The crazy. All of it."

"Even if it kills us?"

"Especially if it kills us. Because at least we'll die as us. Not as whatever Marco wanted to turn us into."

The baby stirs in his sleep. Makes a small sound. Like he's dreaming about something good.

Hope he keeps dreaming. Hope when this is over he'll have good dreams to look forward to.

Hope we survive long enough to give him reasons to smile.

But first we got a ghost to kill.

And an army to get through.