But I can't live on an assumption. I have to have confirmation of these facts before I'm ready to settle on naming Cal my direct enemy. My chest grows tight as I think about it.
Domingo was like a brother to me. Killing him was the last thing I wanted to do, but we all knew he wasn't a good man, and he crossed lines. And Cal… Cal may as well have been my son too. I watched that kid learn to ride a bike, learn to throw a football. If this really is him, and I have to end him too… Christ. I don’t know if I can take that.
I pull out my phone and scroll through contacts I haven't touched since I disappeared. Most of them are dead or in prison by now. But one name stands out, someone I trusted as much as you can trust anyone in that world.
Jason Rider is still a Ferraro enforcer as far as I know. We worked together for years, had each other's backs in situations that should've killed us both. If anyone knows what's happening with the Maddox family, it's him. Though, I'm taking a risk even contacting him. I didn't part ways with the Ferraros as peacefully as I'd have liked, and there's a chance he won't want to hear from me.
But I walk to the kitchen and grab the landline and dial before I can talk myself out of it. The phone rings four times, and I'm about to hang up when he answers.
"It's Rider," he grunts, and he sounds suspicious. He obviously doesn't know this number, and for good reason. I've kept myself off the grid and out of contact for reasons of self-preservation. Reaching out now is only because this is too important to ignore.
"Jason. It's Dane."
There's a moment of silence so quiet and so long, I believe for a split second he's tracing the call or hanging up. Then he more quietly says, "Holy shit. Dane Barrett? I thought you were dead."
"Not yet," I grunt, well aware of how close I am to that fate if I don't watch my back. Keeping my voice low, mindful of Sloane sleeping in the next room, I continue. "I need information."
"Five years of nothing, and now you need information. That's rich." He sounds more relaxed now, but there's a hint of animosity in his tone. To him, I just up and left. As far as I know, he knows nothing of the arrangement I made with the Ferraro Don. "What kind of information?"
"Cal Maddox. What's his current situation?"
There's another pause and Jason sounds skeptical when he speaks again. "Why do you want to know about Cal Maddox?"
"Because I think he's coming after me."
"Shit." The word is heavy with understanding. "Yeah, that tracks. Kid's been making waves for the past year, trying to claim his father's position. Problem is, Domingo's brother held the territory after he died, and the family wasn't ready to hand it over to some twenty-something with daddy issues."
"Domingo's been dead for five years."
"I know…" He sighs with understanding I don't have. "But the family still won't give him full control. They're making him prove himself first."
"Prove himself how?"
"Public statement. Big gesture. Something that shows he's got the stones to lead." Jason's tone turns grim. "Word is, he's been obsessed with finding the guy who killed his father. Thinks bringing in Domingo's killer will be enough to convince the family he's ready."
I lean back in the chair, processing the information. Cal Maddox, desperate to prove himself, is using me as his ticket to power. It makes sense. Taking down the man who killed his father would be a statement nobody could ignore. And dragging Sloane into it, blaming her for failing to save his father in the ER, adds another layer of revenge to the equation.
"How close is he?" I ask.
"To finding you? No idea. But if he's already made contact, you're running out of time." Jason hesitates. "You need help? I can send people, throw some resources your way."
"No. The second the Ferraros get involved, this becomes a war. I need to handle it quietly." I'm thinking of the peaceful little life I've got going now. I don't want my past creeping in on this town and ruining that. I might not like the people very much, but life is quiet and the only things I have to kill are animals for food.
"You're one guy, Dane. Cal's got a crew, money, connections. You can't take him on alone."
"I'm not alone." The words are out before I can stop them. I glance toward the bedroom, thinking about Sloane asleep in my bed. "And I've stayed alive this long by being smarter than the people hunting me."
"Yeah, well, good luck with that. Kid's young, but he's not stupid. And he's got nothing to lose." Jason sighs. "You need anything else?"
"Just keep your ear to the ground. If you hear Cal's making moves, let me know."
"Will do. And Dane? Watch your back. This kid's been planning this for a long time. He's not going to stop until one of you is dead."
"I know." I hang up before he can say anything else, and I sit at the table, staring at the box with its gruesome contents, and let the pieces fall into place.
Cal Maddox has been planning this for months, maybe years. Surveilling Sloane, tracking her movements, learning everything about her life. Drugging her, bringing her here, using her as bait to draw me out. The packages are a countdown, building toward something. A confrontation, maybe, or a reckoning.
And I have no way of knowing how many more are coming before he makes his big public statement. And since I have no plan to return to New York, it means he's hoping the public place will be a small town on the ridge of a mountain in Upstate New York.
