21. Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-One

Dominic

The address that The Cobra had given me belonged to a run-down warehouse at the edge of town.

It didn't look like any of the structures here would survive even a single gust of wind. I parked my SUV and then glanced at my phone. Vince had called me over and over again for the twenty minutes that I had been driving.

I knew he was going to want me to wait. But there was no way.

He was calling again, and I picked up the phone. "Yeah," I said shortly.

"Are you fucking nuts?" Vince demanded. "You're going to get yourself killed."

"Probably," I agreed, turning off the car.

"Dom, you need to wait for us," Vince said to me sternly, but I could hear a note of desperation in his voice.

"No can do," I told him. "Gianna is in danger, and I need to try and save her."

"The Cobra is a brutal killer," Vince said to me. "I already told you that I didn't want us to get involved with him. You can't just walk into his trap willingly. No one ever comes back out."

I sighed. "I know that, Vince," I told him. "But I love Gianna. I have to try and save her life if I can."

"We're still hours away," Vince told me.

"I know," I agreed. I felt a strange peace settle over me. "Look, I don't know if I've ever told you this, but you were a good dad to me. I appreciate you taking me in more than you probably know. I'm sorry if I haven't been there for you when you needed me in the past."

"Dom," Vince said. His voice sounded choked with emotion. "Dom, please just wait for us to get there. We can still help her if you wait."

"I just wanted to let you know that I love you like a father," I told him, and I meant it. "You were there for me when no one else was. I've gotten to have an amazing life due to you. I want you to know that."

"Dom, listen…" Vince started to say, but I hung up the phone.

I wasn't any good at goodbyes. I had said what I wanted to say, and it was time to move on to taking care of business.

Vince was right. They probably wouldn't get into Atlantic City until it was too late to save me. But they might still be able to help Gianna. At minimum, they would know more about The Cobra and his operation and maybe they could choose to take revenge for me.

I dropped my phone into the center console. The Cobra would take it from me anyway, I was sure, and Vince could use my phone to track the entrance to the warehouse.

I also put my gun into the console. They would take it from me along with my phone, and I didn't want to have it searched. I was hoping to keep the knife I had hidden in the secret pocket of my jacket just in case I got an opening to use it.

I got out of the car and pocketed the keys, even though I knew I probably wouldn't need them again. I probably wouldn't need much of anything after I walked through that door.

It was strange to contemplate the end of my life happening here so abruptly. I might still be able to pull a rabbit out of a hat, but I doubted it. I had always known that living this way would expose me to danger.

I had never lied to myself that I would probably die young and at the hands of other bad people.

The thing that I hadn't expected was that I would regret dying so much. I hadn't had a lot to live for before I met Gianna. I had had a business and a few casual friends. That was it.

I had considered it my life's purpose to remove bad people for my adoptive father and to try and make money.

Now that I knew that I loved Gianna, and had found out that I was a father, it felt bittersweet to be facing my death. I was going to miss out on so much.

I hated that it was necessary to give up so easily, but I didn't think there was anything I could do to both rescue Gianna and save myself.

Quite frankly, I was lucky that The Cobra had decided to let me surrender myself to him in exchange for Gianna. I would have to be clever about how I made a deal with him.

I needed to try and stall for time if he wasn't going to let Gianna go right away. Vince would likely also need to help Gianna go into hiding. I had some hours that I needed to try and kill, and there was only one way to waste the time of a hitman.

I knew all too well how to make things hard on the people whose job it was to remove "problems" from business deals.

I approached the seedy building and knocked firmly on the metal door. I heard the echoes of my pounding on the surface resonate inside the building. I tapped my foot as I waited, impatiently glancing around.

I would give The Cobra this much, it was remote out here. No one would know that anyone was here. You could scream for days and no one would hear you.

I heard the sound of footsteps on the other side of the door and swung my gaze back toward it just in time to see it opening up.

"Come in, come in," a voice said on the other side of the door. It was familiar to me, but I couldn't figure out where I had heard it before. Surely I didn't know The Cobra from some other business deal that I had been involved with?

I stepped out of the sun and into the dim interior of the building. I blinked a little as my eyes adjusted to the change. When I could see again, I actually gasped out loud.

Of all the things that I had expected to see when I entered this rickety old factory, William Bianchi wasn't one of them.

"Hello, Dom," Will said to me affably, as if we were meeting for a pint.

I blinked. This had to be a dream. What was Will doing here? A terrible thought occurred to me. I swallowed hard, my throat feeling constricted suddenly. "You're The Cobra," I said to him.

Will nodded and spread his hands out. "In the flesh," he agreed. "You're not very good at spying on people, by the way," he added conversationally. "I knew the moment you left Chicago that you were coming here. I wish you'd left my sister home, though. She was supposed to be helping disadvantaged teens or some shit with our mother."

I tried to collect my racing thoughts. I wasn't sure what this meant for Gianna. I knew it meant nothing good for me, but was Will really crazy enough to kill his own sister for disobeying him?

We hadn't actually threatened any particular business deal of Will's with our presence, but he had to have known that I was in town hunting him down to kill him. He had been willing to scare Gianna enough that she had tried to cause his driver to crash his car outside the casino. I would need to tread very carefully here.

"What's the deal you want to offer me?" I said flatly.

"Oh, what's your rush?" William said cheerfully. "Give me your gun and phone and then come with me. I know this place doesn't look like much, but we still have some creature comforts to enjoy here."

"No gun. No phone," I told him, holding my arms out. He patted me down and tutted at me.

"So trusting. That's not like you," he commented.

I looked at Will's face. He had a huge shiner, and it looked like his nose was broken as well.

"Who gave you a love tap?" I asked gleefully, hoping that it was Gianna.

Will scowls at me and just gestures for me to follow him. I glance back at the door to the outside world. I wish that there was someone else outside backing me up, but Gianna and I are alone.

I have never been afraid in my life, but right now, I admit that I'm scared. The fact that Will is The Cobra is terrifying in ways that no other piece of information could be.

I feel off-kilter and disconnected from reality, like I'm having a nightmare.

I follow behind Will warily, glancing around me as we move through a hallway that is lined with small rooms. He finally turns into a doorway to his left, and I follow him.

I freeze when I see Gianna curled up on the floor with her eyes closed. Was she already dead? My heart leaps up and lodges in my throat, making it hard to breathe.

As I stare in horror, imagining a thousand awful things, her eyelids flutter and she wakes up. I nearly passed out with relief. It was quickly erased, however, by the look on her face when she saw me. I saw the hope flare in her eyes for a moment, and then fear and horror replaced it. She knew like I knew. There was no way out of this for me.

"Sit down," Will said, taking advantage of my distraction and pressing a gun to my temple. "We have things to talk about."

I did as I was told, moving carefully to sit in a folding chair in the middle of the room. There was a small, folding camp table next to it.

I saw that he had placed a bottle of whiskey on the plastic surface and two plastic cups. I looked over at Gianna and saw that her mouth was set in a grim line. She struggled into a seated position, her eyes darting from her brother to me and back again.

"You've been a problem for me over and over again since we first met one another," Will said to me. He put away the gun so that he could pour us both glasses of whiskey. "You've killed so many quality business partners of mine. It's been tough to get started in this industry with someone like you constantly underfoot."

I glared at him. "I get asked to kill people who do the worst kinds of business most of the time," I said to him. "I would have expected that you wouldn't want to get into bed with those who sell tainted drugs and human slaves to others."

Will chuckled. "I like money, you know?" he said. He actually sounded happy. He took a drink from his glass. "I don't care what kind of business I'm in as long as it's profitable. That's the main difference between us, you know? You think you can earn money in our line of work while having a moral compass. Well, you're wrong."

I met Will's gaze and realized that he was a little insane.

How had I missed this side of him over all the years that we had been friends? I felt incredibly stupid for being so na?ve. I glanced over at Gianna and saw distaste pass over her features as well.

She probably felt ten times as betrayed as I did. I couldn't even imagine what she had gone through when she realized that her brother was The Cobra.

"Moral compass or not, I don't think that being involved with the lowest of all low dealings is a great way to carve out a place for a new mob family in Chicago's busy hierarchy," I say drily.

I can't think of a single successful mob family that deals in the kind of scummy things that Will seems to be wrapped up in. Surely, he's been around the business long enough to know better. There's just too much chance of being caught, too much heat.

"The thing that you're not thinking about," Will said, nudging the glass of whiskey that he put down in front of me, "is that everyone in the mob business likes to crow proudly about who they are and what kinds of shitty things they do. There's this whole badge of honor for doing dirty business just practically in the open. None of you mafioso types are aware of the true underbelly of the crime world because you think you're too good for it. Well, the reality is that there is a lot of money changing hands in the streets, and all of you stuck-up pricks are missing out on it due to your fancy ways."

"You'll still get caught," I state flatly, ignoring the drink. For all I know, it's laced with something.

William shrugged. "Maybe, but I doubt it. People have to know who you are to get caught. There are very few people who know who The Cobra is. Look how hard it was for you two to find me, and look how pitifully surprised you were that William Bianchi is the dreaded Cobra. Hiding in plain sight is very easy when you launder money the right way and have quality business associates in places where the kind of money that I'm making can be kept safe from the feds."

I ponder his words for a moment. He's probably onto something now that I'm thinking about it.

I do know of a few very seedy business people in Chicago who have been linked with all kinds of very nefarious business dealings for years, but who have never gotten caught. The secret to maintaining the kind of business that he's talking about is having the right connections and the right middle men in the way.

Having a fall guy always helps keep you yourself from getting caught. Having a series of fall guys keeps you even safer. It's actually a very simple plan if you think about it.

"So, what if we make a deal from here," I say to Will. I know he won't go for it, but I have to at least try. "I promise not to work on any contracts except the ones that you order. You pick and choose who the Reaper hunts down from this day forward."

William looks at me for a moment, then bursts out laughing. "Oh, Dom, how cute. You know I can't say yes to something that stupid. You'll never stop hunting me now that you know who I really am. And apparently, you love my sister now, which is pretty gross, I must say. You know I can't let you wander around doing whatever you want." He shakes his head like my words are the most ridiculous thing he's ever heard.

I look over at Gianna and feel hopeless. I see a tear slip down her cheek. The sight makes me want to rage and pummel her brother. I want to say so much to her. I want to ask about the baby. I want to tell her that I will try and save her.

I want to do so many things, and none of them are possible right now. I don't know if I will get a chance, either. I can't decide if what I'm feeling is rage, sadness, or heartbreak.

"Oh, puppy love," Will says sarcastically. "So…disgusting."

"No, Guy was disgusting," Gianna says. It's the first sign of her old fire, and it gives me a small amount of hope.

"Hey, don't say I didn't try to take care of you," Will says, holding up his hands in mock surrender.

She sticks her tongue out like she is going to gag and the expression is so cute it almost makes me laugh even though I feel entirely hopeless about our situation.

"Guy was loathsome," I agree.. "I'm not sorry I beat him up and sent him home to the UK. If that's the quality of your business partners, your newfound little crime ring doesn't look too good."

Will laughs, but there's a dangerous glint in his eye now. He sets down his glass and walks toward me menacingly.

He stops in front of me and looks at me for a moment with his head tilted to the side. Quick as lightning, he slaps me across the face. I feel the sting of the slap at the same time as the rush of all-consuming rage coursing through my veins.

I restrain myself with difficulty from attacking him. I need to think about Gianna's safety, but damn it, I want to murder him in this moment.

"Keep your critique of my business to yourself," Will hisses. He turns his back on me with deliberate provocation. He knows that under normal circumstances, he wouldn't dare do something like that.

I watch him leave, pondering all the ways I could kill him from a distance. I think about the knife hiding in my clothing, but he's so close to Gianna.

He glances over his shoulder at me with a big smile. Without looking away from me, he bends over and yanks Gianna to her feet roughly.

She cries out, and my heart pinches tight in my chest. All of my thoughts about the ways that I can kill him go out the window. He's gripping Gianna by the hair, and he gives the silky strands a sharp yank.

She gasps and closes her eyes. I see her twisting her body away to protect her middle, and I know why. My blood runs cold at the thought of something awful happening to our child.

"Tell him how futile it will be to fight against me, sister dear," Will says nastily.

Gianna swallows and looks over at me, her eyes pleading. She doesn't know that I found the pregnancy tests, and I can tell that she's trying to telegraph something to me. I swallow hard and say, "I know, Gianna. I found out."

Her eyes go wide and fill with tears. She nods a few times before her brother yanks her hair again.

"Is there a secret that you two want to share with me?" Will shouts. He gives her hair another sharp jerk, then grabs her face in a vicious grip. "Tell me the truth, Gianna. Tell me the secret."

She shakes her head no, tears slipping down her cheeks. She can't speak because he's holding her face so tightly.

"Fine," he snarls, chucking her to the floor.

He walks over to me in a few quick steps. He pulls a knife from his pocket and grabs my head. I feel the sting of the blade against my Adam's apple almost before I register that he has the knife.

"Stop!" Gianna cries out. "He's the father of my baby!"