Chapter 9 - The Gathering of Shadows
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Night fell over Canaryville like a velvet shroud.
Inside the row house, the only light came from the blue flicker of a burner phone screen on the kitchen table.
Gabriel sat in the armchair, cleaning an old Colt .45 he had pulled from the floorboard stash.
His hands moved with hypnotic precision, sliding the oil-soaked cloth over the steel components.
A low, rhythmic tap sounded against the rear kitchen window.
Three short taps, followed by two long ones.
Gabriel's hand moved instantly, the Colt cocking with a sharp, lethal metallic snap.
"It's Leo," I whispered, peering through the curtain gap.
I unbolted the reinforced back door, letting a blast of freezing rain into the narrow hallway.
A towering figure slipped inside, drenched in rainwater and smelling of gunpowder.
Leo Rossi stood six feet four inches tall, with a shaved head and a jagged scar running from his left eyebrow down to his collarbone.
He carried a heavy canvas duffel bag in each hand.
The moment Leo's eyes landed on Gabriel sitting in the armchair, the giant dropped the bags onto the floor.
His knees buckled slightly, his face twisting in raw, disbelieving awe.
"Boss," Leo choked out, falling to one knee before Gabriel’s chair.
"I thought... they told us you were gone."
Gabriel set the pistol on the table, leaned forward, and placed a heavy hand on Leo’s broad shoulder.
"Get up, brother," Gabriel said softly.
"A Falcone soldier only kneels before God."
Leo stood up, wiping his wet eyes with the back of a scarred hand.
"Carmine executed Capo Donahue yesterday," Leo reported, his voice vibrating with rage.
"Donahue refused to hand over the port authority shipping manifests."
"Carmine had him shot in his own driveway in front of his family."
Gabriel’s jaw locked so hard the muscles in his cheek twitched.
"Donahue was a good man," Gabriel said, his voice dropping into a deadly whisper.
"He served my father for twenty years."
"What else?"
"Carmine has called a general summit of the Five Families for Friday night," Leo continued, unzipping one of the duffel bags to reveal rows of tactical assault rifles and Kevlar vests.
"He’s holding it at the Grand Venetian Ballroom."
"He’s going to announce the consolidation of all Chicago territories under his personal banner."
"He’s calling it the New Dawn."
"The New Dawn," Gabriel repeated, a dark, terrible smirk curling his lips.
"How poetic."
"He invited every don in the Midwest to witness his coronation."
Gabriel turned to look at me, standing near the kitchen counter.
"Which means every traitor who sided with him will be in the same room at the same time."
"Boss, there will be two hundred armed men in that ballroom," Leo warned.
"Carmine hired private security contractors from Detroit to ring the perimeter."
"They have snipers on the adjacent roofs."
"Then we won't walk through the front door," Gabriel said, standing up to his full height.
The strength in his body was undeniable now, radiating an aura of lethal authority that filled the small room.
"We’ll use the service entrances."
He looked directly into my eyes, his dark gaze piercing through my defenses.
"Matilda knows every service corridor in the Grand Venetian."
"She worked catering there before she came to my estate."
I swallowed hard, looking at the arsenal of weapons spread across my grandmother's floor.
"I know the kitchen tunnels," I said, my voice steady despite the trembling in my knees.
"I know how to shut down the main power grid from the basement boiler room."
Gabriel walked over to me, stopping until our chests were nearly touching.
He reached down, his fingers tracing the contour of my jawline, lifting my chin so I had to look into the burning fire of his eyes.
"You don't have to do this, Matilda," he murmured, his thumb brushing against my lower lip.
"You can take half the cash in that box, get on a bus to California, and never look back."
"No," I answered, feeling an unyielding fire ignite inside my own chest.
"Carmine called me a useless maid."
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"He tried to burn you alive."
"I want to be there when you put him in the ground."
