Blood On The Ledger

Chapter 13: Crossing The Line

The boundary had been crossed before sunrise. Nobody knew who did it. But by the time the sun rose over Morrows Estate, everyone knew that someone had. A body lay on the wrong side of the fence. And this time, there was no uncertainty about which side he belonged to. His name was Peter Cole. He worked for Enzo Marino. He had been missing for less than an hour. Now he was dead on Morrows land. Luca was the first to see him. He had been driving along the southern road when he noticed the vehicle abandoned near the fence. The driver’s door was open. The engine was still running. Luca stopped. Nico got out behind him. “What’s wrong?” Luca didn’t answer. He was staring at the ground. There were footprints. One set leading away from the Marinos side. Another set coming back. And blood. A lot of it. Nico followed his gaze. “Peter.” Luca’s stomach dropped. He knew that jacket. Peter had been with them for six years. He had a wife. A little girl. He had called Luca only twenty minutes earlier. He’d said he was checking something near the southern road. Now he was lying dead beyond the boundary. On Dante’s side. Nico’s hand went toward his weapon. Luca grabbed his wrist. “No.” Nico stared at him. “He’s on their land.” “I know.” “They crossed the line.” “We don’t know that.” Nico pointed at the body. “Look at him!” “I said we don’t know.” Luca pulled out his phone. “Call Enzo.” Enzo arrived ten minutes later. He stepped out of his vehicle and stopped when he saw Peter. For several seconds, he didn’t move. Then he walked toward the fence. The body was less than fifteen feet away. But on the other side. Morrows territory. Dante’s territory. Enzo stared at Peter’s face. His anger came slowly. That was always worse. “Who found him?” Luca raised his hand. “I did.” “When?” “Minutes before I called you.” Enzo crouched near the fence. He didn’t touch the body. There was a bullet wound beneath Peter’s ribs. His phone was missing. His weapon was gone. But his watch was still on his wrist. His wallet was still in his pocket. Nothing had been stolen. He had been killed for one reason. To be found. Enzo stood. “Where’s the nearest Morrows patrol?” “Three roads north.” “Then how did nobody see this?” Luca shook his head. “They must have brought him here during the night.” Enzo looked across the fence. “Who?” Luca hesitated. “Someone who wanted us to find him.” Enzo’s jaw tightened. “Again.” Dante received the call at six thirty. He was standing at the breakfast table when Victor walked in. “Boss.” Dante looked up. “What’s happened?” “There’s a body at the boundary.” Dante’s eyes hardened. “Whose?” “Peter Cole.” Dante knew the name. One of Enzo’s men. He put down his cup. “Where?” “On our side.” Silence. Victor waited. Dante picked up his coat. “Get everyone off the southern road.” Victor frowned. “Everyone?” “Everyone.” “Why?” Dante looked at him. “Because whoever put Peter there wants us to react.” Victor understood. But before he could respond, a gunshot exploded outside. Then another. Victor reached for his weapon. Dante didn’t move. “Where?” A guard rushed into the room. “Southern road!” Dante’s expression changed. “How many?” “We don’t know.” Dante was already walking. “Nobody fires unless they see a target.” He stepped outside. The road was chaos. Men were running toward cover. Smoke rose from a vehicle parked near the boundary. Dante looked toward the fence. He saw Enzo. The young man was standing on the opposite side with his men. Their eyes met. For one second, neither understood what had happened. Then another shot rang out. This time, the bullet struck the concrete post between them. Dante looked at the impact. Then at Enzo. “Hold your men!” Enzo heard him. “Nobody shoots!” Both sides froze. The silence afterward was almost unbearable. Then Nico shouted. “They’re firing at us!” One of Dante’s men shouted back. “We aren’t firing!” Another shot came from somewhere behind the trees. A man on Enzo’s side dropped. Enzo ran toward him. “Get down!” Luca dragged the wounded man behind the vehicle. Dante looked toward the trees. “Marcus!” “Yes!” “Find the shooter.” Marcus and two men disappeared into the brush. Dante stayed where he was. Enzo looked across the fence. “This isn’t us.” Dante nodded. “I know.” Then Marcus shouted from the trees. “We’ve got something!” Dante turned. Marcus emerged holding a rifle. Not a Morrows weapon. Not a Marinos weapon. Something else. He threw it onto the ground. Dante looked at it. Enzo stared too. Luca stepped closer. “That’s not ours.” Dante shook his head. “Neither is it ours.” Everyone became silent. Someone had fired on both sides. Someone had used a weapon neither gang recognized. And someone had done it while Peter Cole’s body lay between them. The gunfire stopped. But the damage had been done. Two Marinos men were wounded. One Morrows guard had a graze along his arm. Peter was dead. And now both sides had witnessed bullets flying across the boundary. The old rule had been stretched almost to breaking. Enzo walked toward the fence. Dante did the same. They stopped several feet apart. Neither crossed. Enzo’s voice was low. “They want us to blame each other.” Dante looked at Peter’s body. “They’re running out of patience.” Enzo frowned. “What?” Dante looked at him. “First they gave us bodies.” He pointed toward the warehouse. “Then evidence.” He looked toward the burned vehicle. “Then messages.” His eyes returned to Peter. “Now they’re putting dead men on the wrong side.” Enzo’s expression hardened. “They’re forcing us to cross.” “Yes.” “And if we don’t?” Dante’s gaze shifted toward the distant trees. “They’ll keep pushing.” Enzo stared at him. “Until what?” Dante didn’t answer. Because both men already knew. Until someone broke. They carried Peter back to Marinos Villa before noon. His wife was waiting. She saw the men carrying the body and immediately began crying. Enzo stood several feet away. She looked at him. “You said you would bring him home.” Enzo swallowed. “I did.” “Alive.” He had no answer. She walked toward the body. When she touched Peter’s face, she collapsed. Luca looked away. Enzo didn’t. He forced himself to watch. Because this was what their world created. Not just dead men. Empty homes. Children waiting for fathers who would never return. Wives who would never hear footsteps at the door again. He looked at Peter’s little girl standing behind her mother. She couldn’t have been more than six. She was holding a stuffed rabbit. Enzo’s chest tightened. The girl looked at him. “Is Daddy sleeping?” Nobody answered. Enzo crouched in front of her. “No.” The word hurt coming out. “Your daddy isn’t sleeping.” The little girl’s face crumpled. Enzo looked at Luca. “Take care of them.” Luca nodded. Then Enzo stood. His expression had changed. The anger was still there. But something else had joined it. Responsibility. That evening, Dante sat in silence. Thomas’s death had been hard. Peter’s death was different. Because now he understood the plan. The person behind the killings wasn’t simply trying to create hatred. They were trying to destroy restraint. They wanted Dante to become the man everyone believed he was. They wanted Enzo to become the reckless king everyone expected him to be. They were betting that eventually one of them would stop thinking. Dante picked up his phone. “Victor.” “Yes?” “Find every person who has crossed the southern road in the last month.” Victor paused. “Everyone?” “Everyone.” “Even our own men?” “Especially our own men.” Dante ended the call. Then he noticed something on his desk. A photograph. He hadn’t put it there. Dante picked it up. It showed Peter standing near the boundary. Alive. The photograph had been taken earlier that morning. Before his death. Dante’s eyes narrowed. Someone had been watching Peter. And someone had been close enough to photograph him. On the back were four words. HE CROSSED FOR YOU. Dante stared at them. He immediately called Victor. “Lock the estate down.” “What happened?” “Someone has been inside.” At the same time, Enzo received a message. One sentence. YOUR MAN CROSSED FIRST. He stared at the screen. Then another message appeared. ASK DANTE WHY. Enzo’s fingers tightened around the phone. He looked toward the window. Across the darkness, Morrows Estate was still. For years, the fence had kept two men from becoming enemies. Now someone was using the fence to turn them into exactly that. Enzo put the phone down. “Luca.” Luca entered. “Yes?” “Nobody crosses the boundary.” Luca looked surprised. “Even after Peter?” “Especially after Peter.” “And if Dante crosses?” Enzo’s eyes hardened. “Then we stop him.” He paused. “But nobody fires unless I give the order.” Luca nodded. Enzo turned back toward the window. He didn’t know it yet, but that decision would cost him. Because the next person to cross the boundary wouldn’t be one of their soldiers. It would be someone neither Dante nor Enzo expected. And when that person crossed— the rules would no longer be enough to keep the war from starting.