Chapter 2 - The Fire in the Alley
The heavy glass door of the pawn shop pushed open, bringing with it the sharp, damp smell of late autumn rain in Chicago.
My primary vehicle—an armored, obsidian-black Cadillac Escalade—was idling by the curb, two of my men standing guard with their hands tucked inside their heavy wool coats.
Across the four-lane avenue, the two black SUVs sat motionless, their dark windows reflecting the grey sky.
"Boss, let us clear the street first," Frankie warned, sliding his hand toward his holster as we stepped onto the sidewalk.
"No," I said coldly. "We don't wait. We move."
I tucked Lila’s head into the nook of my neck, covering her back with my left hand, using my body as a human shield. She didn't cry. She didn't fight. She just held on tightly, her fingers clutching the lapel of my jacket.
Before we reached the rear door of the Escalade, the back door of the lead SUV across the street slammed open.
A tall man in a long leather coat stepped out into the rain. The dark, thick coils of a viper tattoo rose up his neck, terminating just beneath his left ear. Dominic Valetti.
"Jonathan!" Dominic’s voice boomed across the empty street, carrying a cruel, mocking edge. "I heard rumors you were wandering around the South Side without your army! I didn't believe it until I saw it with my own eyes!"
Frankie and Marco instantly positioned themselves between me and Dominic, their weapons clearing their holsters in a fraction of a second.
"Step back, Valetti!" Frankie bellowed. "You're in Reed territory!"
Dominic laughed, a dry, raspy sound like gravel being crushed underfoot. He didn't pull a gun. He just stood there in the rain, leaning against his vehicle, his hand resting casually in his coat pocket.
"Reed territory?" Dominic sneered, his yellowed eyes locking onto the small child in my arms. "Not anymore, Reed. Your old territory belongs to whoever holds Clara's legacy. You thought you buried the Valettis twelve years ago, didn't you? You thought you could hide your little mistress in the slums while you played King of Chicago?"
My teeth ground together so hard my jaw burned. "If you breathe her name again, Dominic, I'll skin you alive in front of your crew."
"You don't have the cards anymore, Jonathan!" Dominic spat, taking two steps forward into the street. "Clara had the master ledgers! She had the offshore routing numbers for the entire Tri-State syndicate! She stole forty million dollars from my father before she ran! And that little brat in your arms knows where the key is!"
Lila buried her face deeper into my coat, trembling against my chest.
"Daddy..." she whispered softly.
The word hit me like a physical blow. Daddy.
I had been called Don, Boss, Reed, and Monster by every criminal from New York to London. But that tiny, whispered word from a terrified six-year-old girl rearranged every priority in my universe.
"Get her in the car, Marco," I ordered softly, passing Lila to my lieutenant.
Marco took her gently, sliding into the reinforced back seat of the Escalade and shutting the heavy bulletproof door.
The moment the door latched, the air around me changed. The quiet, calculating businessman vanished. The apex predator that had built an empire on blood and iron stepped into the rain.
I walked directly into the middle of the street, stopping ten feet from Dominic.
"You bothered a helpless woman," I said, my voice barely louder than a whisper, yet carrying so much weight that Dominic's hand twitched over his weapon. "You chased her while she was dying. You threatened a child."
"She had our money!" Dominic snarled, though he took a defensive step backward as I approached.
"Your father lost that money in a war he started," I said, unbuttoning my coat slowly. "And now, Dominic... you're going to pay for every single day my daughter went hungry."
Before Dominic could pull his weapon, I closed the distance between us.
My right hand slammed into his throat, crushing his windpipe and driving him backward onto the hood of his SUV. His gun went flying into the wet gutter. His men inside the vehicle lunged for the doors, but Frankie and my security team opened fire, heavy 9mm rounds shattering the SUV’s windshield and forcing the crew to stay down.
I leaned over Dominic, my fingers buried in his throat, my eyes boring into his terrified face.
"Listen to me very carefully, snake," I growled, bringing my face inches from his. "I am going to tear down every brick of the Valetti family. I am going to hunt every man who ever looked at my daughter. And when I am done, nobody will ever remember your name."
May you like
I smashed his head back against the steel hood, knocking him unconscious, then turned around and walked back to my car without looking behind me once.
"Burn their vehicles," I told Frankie as I climbed into the back seat beside Lila. "And bring Martha to the estate. Nobody touches my family again."
