Page 73 of His Assistant

For the first time all night, his mask slips. There is resentment underneath. Old. Bitter. Familiar. Then it’s gone.

“Understood,” he says.

“Good.”

I leave him there with Chiara, Luca, and two guards I trust. Rafe follows me into the hall. The second the door closes behind us, his expression changes.

His mouth tightens. “Dom.”

“Do not tell me what I should have done.”

“I was going to say that was the right move.”

I keep walking. Rafe falls into step beside me. We reach the dining room table, where maps and phones have already taken over the polished wood. I stop at the head of it and force myself to think.

I have built a life around control. Every route planned. Every debt tracked. Every enemy watched. Every person I care about kept behind walls thick enough to survive the worst this city can send at us. Tonight, the walls cracked open from the inside.

“I’ve just gotten confirmation that the car drove to Brooklyn.”

“That barely helps,” I mutter.

I look toward the security room door.

“We need him to lead us to her,” I say quietly. “I’m going to tell him to go home. He’ll rush to Calderone’s side.”

“You don’t think he’ll run?” Rafe asks seriously.

“He has nowhere to go but to Calderone,” I say. “It’s the only shot we’ve got.”

He nods once. “I’ll put a tracker on his car.”

I walk back into the security room.

Tomasso turns from the monitors. “Anything?”

“Yes,” I say. “The car went toward Brooklyn.”

His face gives me almost nothing. “Brooklyn is a big place.”

“That’s what I said,” I answer, staring at him coldly.

Rafe comes in behind me and drops a map on the table.

“Withers Street,” he says. “Calderone used to run a club there. I bet that’s where he took her.”

Tomasso steps closer. His face gives away nothing. “What do you want me to do?”

I watch him carefully.

“I think we’ve got it covered. Why don’t you head out? I’ll call you if there are any developments.”

“I’m not leaving you now,” he protests.

“You’ve been a great help,” I tell him. The words feel like poison coming out of my mouth. “We’ll take it from here.”

Rafe catches my eye across the room, then glances once toward Tomasso. A message comes through on my phone a second later.

Tracker is live.