Then Dave nods and points at the map.“We go in from the east side.Two teams.Tommy leads Alpha through the main entrance.You lead Beta through the service access on the north wall.”
I add, “Joe’s team covers the waterfront.If Giovanni tries to escape by boat, they’ll intercept.”
I study the layout, my mind cataloging angles and contingencies.The tactical part of me, the Marine who’s led extractions in places far more hostile than an abandoned plant in Quincy, is fully engaged now.Clear.Focused.
But there’s something else there, too.Something that wasn’t there before.
Hope.
“One more thing,” I say, looking up at my brothers.“When we find Serena, I go in first.Alone.”
Tommy frowns.“That’s not protocol.”
“I don’t care about protocol.”I hold his gaze, letting him see the certainty in my eyes.“She’s been held by her father.Probably by Cesare too.She’s going to be scared, possibly hurt, definitely traumatized.The first face she sees needs to be someone who loves her.Not a tactical team.”
Dave considers this for a long moment.Then he nods.“All right.You go in first.But we’re right behind you.”
“Understood.”
Trust is something you choose.Every day.Every moment.
I’m choosing Serena.
I’m choosing to believe that I’m worthy of her love, even with all my broken pieces.
When we load into the vehicles, I rehearse what I’ll say to her once this is over.The words I’ve been too afraid to speak.The truth I’ve been hiding behind walls and whiskey and the conviction that I’m cursed.
The convoy rolls out toward Quincy.
Toward my wife.
Toward the moment I finally choose love over fear.
29
Serena
The explosion shatters the silence.
I jolt awake from the restless half-sleep I’ve fallen into, my chains rattling against the bed frame as I instinctively try to move.For a disorienting moment, I don’t know where I am.Then the cold seeps back into my bones, the ache in my wrists reminds me of the metal cuffs, and reality crashes over me like a wave of ice water.
The warehouse.My father’s prison.However many hours I’ve been trapped in this darkness.
Another explosion.Closer this time.The floor beneath me trembles.
Gunfire erupts somewhere above, the staccato rhythm of automatic weapons punctuated by shouts and the thunder of boots on concrete.My heart slams against my ribs as I strain to make sense of the chaos.
Someone’s attacking the compound.
Shelby.
His name rises in my mind like a prayer.I don’t let myself hope.Hope is dangerous in places like this.Hope gets you killed when reality doesn’t match your desperate wishes.
But something fierce and defiant sparks in my chest anyway.
The door to my cell bursts open.
I flinch against the sudden flood of light, my eyes watering after so long in darkness.Two of my father’s men rush in, their faces tight with panic.One of them fumbles with the chains binding me to the bed while the other keeps his weapon trained on the doorway.
