Chapter 3 - THE SECRET INSIDE THE CASE
Lily waited until the strangers were gone.
Then she slapped Damian.
The sound cracked through the empty cafe.
Ray’s mouth fell open.
Two of Damian’s men reached instinctively beneath their jackets.
Damian lifted one hand.
They stopped.
He slowly turned his face back toward Lily.
“That was unexpected.”
“You brought this to my door.”
“I came here to prevent it.”
“You knew they might follow me?”
“No.”
“But you knew there was danger.”
“Yes.”
“And you let me drive away alone.”
Damian absorbed that without defending himself.
Lily pointed toward the door.
“Get out.”
“Lily—”
“Out.”
Ray suddenly found the coffeemaker extremely interesting.
Damian looked at Lily for a long moment.
Then he nodded.
“You’re right.”
That surprised her more than anger would have.
“I should have protected you the moment you returned the case.”
“I don’t want protection.”
“Unfortunately, Romano’s men now know your name.”
“That sounds like your problem.”
“It became yours the moment they came here.”
Lily hated that he was right.
Damian removed his jacket and placed it over a chair.
Then he unlocked the cafe door and motioned to one of his men.
“Bring the case.”
Lily stared.
“You brought it back?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because you deserve to know why people are threatening you.”
The silver briefcase landed on a table.
Damian entered six numbers.
Click.
The locks opened.
Lily unconsciously held her breath.
There were no stacks of cash.
No diamonds.
No gun.
Inside were folders, a hard drive, and an old photograph.
Lily frowned.
“That’s it?”
Damian almost smiled.
“You sound disappointed.”
“I drove forty miles expecting something more dramatic.”
“That hard drive contains financial records linking several senior members of the Romano organization to an operation stealing from both of us.”
“Both?”
“My family and theirs.”
Lily pointed toward herself.
“And why would anyone think a waitress knows what’s on it?”
“Because criminals often assume everyone else behaves like criminals.”
She looked at him.
“Including you?”
“Yes.”
The answer came without hesitation.
Lily folded her arms.
“So Ray was right.”
Damian’s expression did not change.
“About?”
“You’re mafia.”
Ray made a small choking noise from behind the counter.
Damian glanced at him.
Then back at Lily.
“My family built things outside the law before I was born.”
“That is an impressive way of avoiding the word yes.”
“Yes.”
Lily’s stomach tightened.
She looked at the man she had joked with in the SUV.
Suddenly his expensive suit looked different.
So did the guards.
So did the fear in the strangers’ eyes.
“Have you killed people?”
Ray dropped a spoon.
Damian’s face hardened.
“I’ve ordered things I’m not proud of.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
“No.”
A pause.
“I have never killed anyone.”
Lily searched his face.
She had no reason to believe him.
But something about the answer felt deliberately precise rather than evasive.
“What are you trying to do with those records?”
“End something.”
“Meaning?”
“My father spent thirty years building a criminal network alongside the legitimate company. When he died, I inherited both.”
“And you kept both.”
“For a while.”
Lily’s disappointment surprised even her.
Damian saw it.
“I was twenty-six. I thought power meant preserving everything my father built.”
“And now?”
“Now I know some inheritances are diseases.”
The cafe became quiet.
Damian pointed toward the hard drive.
“For eighteen months I’ve been dismantling the illegal side without announcing it. Closing routes. Moving employees into legitimate operations. Paying people to leave instead of forcing them to stay.”
“And Romano?”
“Victor Romano profits from the old system. If I leave, he loses access to my ports and warehouses.”
“So he wants to stop you.”
“Yes.”
Lily glanced at the photograph.
It showed two young men standing beside a shipping container.
One was clearly a younger Damian.
The other man looked familiar.
She leaned closer.
“Who is that?”
Damian went still.
Lily picked up the photograph.
The second man had lighter hair and a crooked smile.
“Your brother?”
Damian’s voice changed.
“My younger brother, Julian.”
“Where is he?”
“Dead.”
Lily gently returned the photograph.
“I’m sorry.”
“His death is why I started dismantling everything.”
“What happened?”
Damian stared at the picture.
“Officially? Car accident.”
“And unofficially?”
“I believe someone inside my organization arranged it.”
Lily looked at the hard drive.
“And the evidence is there?”
“Possibly.”
Suddenly the danger made sense.
This was not simply money.
It was betrayal.
Murder.
And someone was terrified Damian would discover the truth.
Lily exhaled.
“Okay.”
Damian looked at her.
“Okay?”
“I believe you about why the case matters.”
“That’s more generous than I expected.”
“It doesn’t mean I trust you.”
“Fair.”
“And I still want my normal life back.”
Damian glanced around the tiny cafe.
“Your normal life includes a car that dies at traffic lights?”
“My dysfunctional life is still mine.”
That earned the smallest smile.
Then the lights went out.
Ray cursed.
A second later, glass shattered.
Damian moved before Lily understood what was happening.
He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her behind the counter.
A gunshot tore through the front window.
Ray dropped beside them.
Damian’s men returned fire from outside.
Lily’s ears rang.
“What the hell!”
Damian covered her with his body.
Another shot.
Then another.
A car engine screamed from the parking lot.
Silence followed.
Damian lifted his head.
“Stay down.”
His hand was pressed against Lily’s shoulder.
Warm liquid touched her blouse.
She looked down.
Blood.
“Damian.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re bleeding.”
The bullet had grazed his upper arm.
Lily stared at him.
He had thrown himself between her and the window without hesitation.
One of his men entered.
“They’re gone.”
Damian stood slowly.
His face had become terrifyingly calm.
“Find them.”
Lily grabbed his sleeve.
“No.”
He looked down at her hand.
“No more war.”
“They shot at you.”
“And if you answer every bullet with another bullet, when does it stop?”
Damian stared at her.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Finally, he looked toward his men.
“Find them.”
Lily’s jaw tightened.
Damian continued.
“Alive.”
His men exchanged surprised looks.
“Bring me names. No retaliation.”
Lily released his sleeve.
Damian looked at the broken window.
Then at her.
“Apparently,” he murmured, “you’re already becoming inconvenient.”
May you like
She grabbed a clean towel and pressed it against his arm.
“You have no idea.”
