Chapter 4 - The Predator in the Fog
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The warmth of his son’s tiny hand was shattered by the sharp squeal of wet rubber outside the shop.
Anias’s instincts took over before his mind could process the sudden shift.
He scooped Leland into his arm in one fluid motion, spinning around to shield the boy with his massive back.
Nancy gasped, reaching instinctively for her son, but Anias held her firmly by the wrist, pulling her behind the thick oak counter.
“Stay down,” Anias commanded, his gentle fatherly voice instantly replaced by the icy steel of an underworld general.
Through the fogged lower glass of the shopfront, two headlights pierced the gloom of the Boston drizzle.
A black Cadillac Escalade with tinted windows was idling directly across the narrow street.
Its exhaust rose into the damp air in thick white plumes.
The front passenger window rolled down two inches, revealing the dark silhouette of a man holding a digital camera with a long telephoto lens.
They were taking photographs of the interior.
Anias recognized the make of the vehicle immediately; it belonged to Mateo’s private crew of enforcers.
They had not come for a routine collection from the hardware store next door.
Mateo had tracked Anias’s Lincoln, or worse, Mateo had known Nancy’s location all along and had kept her as a hidden lever.
“Anias, what is happening?” Nancy pleaded in a panicked whisper, pressing herself against the shelf of thread spools.
“They found you,” Anias replied grimly, keeping Leland pressed against his chest.
Leland did not cry; he merely held tightly to the lapels of his father’s black wool coat, his wide eyes taking in the strange excitement.
“Mama, we playing hide and seek?” the boy asked in a muffled voice.
Anias looked down at the boy, his expression softening for a fraction of a second as he smoothed Leland’s dark curls.
“Yes, little lion,” Anias said gently.
“We are playing a game, and Papa is going to win.”
The bell chimed violently as Carmine slipped back inside, his face pale and his coat wet from the rain.
Carmine shut the door, threw the heavy brass deadbolt, and drew a suppressed Glock from his shoulder holster.
“Boss, we have a tail,” Carmine reported in a hurried whisper.
“Three men in the Escalade, two more parked in an alley fifty yards down.”
“They’re Mateo’s men from the North End docks.”
Anias felt a cold, calculated fury settle over his bones.
Mateo had dared to bring guns near his son.
Mateo had dared to threaten the woman he had never stopped loving.
“Is the back alley clear?” Anias asked, his voice steady as granite.
“The rear exit leads into the delivery passage behind the bakery,” Carmine replied, nodding toward the back room.
“My driver has the armored Lincoln idling with the rear doors unlocked.”
Anias turned to Nancy, grabbing her coat from the peg beside the counter.
“Put this on,” he ordered, wrapping the woolen garment around her shoulders.
“We are leaving right now.”
Nancy pulled back, shaking her head in terror.
“I can’t go with you, Anias!” she cried softly.
“Your world is blood and madness!”
“I spent five years building a peaceful life for Leland in this little shop!”
Anias stepped close, his gray eyes locking onto hers with undeniable conviction.
“Your peace died the second they realized my blood runs in this boy’s veins,” Anias said, his voice raw with urgency.
“If you stay here, Mateo will bury you both to protect his position in the family.”
“If you come with me, I will burn down the entire city before I let anyone lay a finger on either of you.”
Nancy looked at the window, where the headlights of the idling SUV cut through the rain.
May you like
She looked at Leland, whose small arms were wrapped securely around Anias’s neck.
She had no choice, and deep down, she knew Anias was the only monster powerful enough to protect them from the rest of the dark.
