Chapter 33
1237 Words
Nathan stared at the photograph for a full ten seconds.
Ava.
Alex.
Walking hand in hand outside the school.
His thumb pressed so hard against the edge of the photo that it bent.
No one in the warehouse dared speak.
Marco finally broke the silence.
“We checked every camera within a five-block radius. Whoever left it knew exactly where our blind spots were.”
Nathan’s voice was terrifyingly calm.
“They weren’t sending a threat.”
Marco frowned.
“They were sending proof.”
He placed the photograph on the table.
“They’re telling me they’ve already had eyes on my son.”
Silence swallowed the room.
Nathan looked at every man gathered around him.
“I want every guard reassigned. Every route changed. Every driver replaced.”
“Nathan...”
“I said every one.”
His tone left no room for argument.
“If Rossi knows our routines, then someone gave them our routines.”
The realization settled over the room like smoke.
There was a leak.
Inside the Walker organization.
...
Back at the penthouse, Ava stood in Alex’s bedroom folding tiny T-shirts into a suitcase.
Nathan stopped in the doorway.
“What are you doing?”
She didn’t look up.
“Packing.”
“For what?”
She zipped the bag.
“We’re leaving.”
“No.”
Her head snapped toward him.
“No?”
“I’m sending security with you.”
She laughed bitterly.
“You still don’t get it.”
He stepped closer.
“I’m trying to keep you alive.”
“And I’m trying to keep Alex from growing up thinking his father chose bullets over birthdays.”
The words hit harder than any punch.
Nathan looked toward the hallway.
Alex’s laughter floated from the living room where Victoria was helping him finish homework.
“I have never chosen this life over him.”
“Haven’t you?”
She immediately regretted saying it.
His face changed.
Not angry.
Hurt.
Ava walked over and touched his arm.
“I’m sorry.”
Nathan shook his head slowly.
“No.”
His voice was almost a whisper.
“You’re right to ask.”
...
An hour later…
Nathan walked into Richard Walker’s office without knocking.
Richard didn’t even glance up from the financial reports on his desk.
“I assumed you’d come.”
Nathan dropped the photograph in front of him.
Richard adjusted his glasses.
His expression hardened.
“Where did you get this?”
“A warehouse my men control.”
Richard looked closer.
The color drained from his face.
“They photographed Alex.”
Nathan said nothing.
Richard stood.
“Was this Rossi?”
“Who else?”
Richard walked toward the window.
For the first time in years, Nathan saw uncertainty in his father’s posture.
“This changes things.”
“It changes nothing.”
Richard turned sharply.
“It changes everything.”
Nathan laughed once.
Cold.
“Bullshit.”
Richard’s jaw tightened.
“I told you this relationship would make you vulnerable.”
Nathan’s fist slammed onto the desk.
“They photographed your grandson.”
The office fell silent.
“You think this is about Ava?”
Nathan’s breathing became uneven.
“They’re coming for our family.”
Richard looked down at the picture again.
For all his ruthlessness…
For all his obsession with power…
Alex was still his grandson.
“They crossed a line,” Richard admitted quietly.
“They buried it.”
...
Across the city…
A black Bentley rolled through Manhattan traffic.
Inside, Lorenzo Rossi admired another photograph.
This one wasn’t of Ava.
Or Alex.
It was Nathan leaving the warehouse less than an hour earlier.
His consigliere smiled.
“He took the bait.”
Lorenzo nodded.
“I expected he would.”
“What now?”
Lorenzo looked out the window.
“Nothing.”
The man blinked.
“Nothing?”
“We wait.”
He folded the photograph carefully.
“When a lion is protecting his cubs…”
He smiled.
“…he stops watching the hunters.”
...
That evening, the Walker penthouse was unusually crowded.
Marco.
Victoria.
Nathan.
Ava.
Three senior captains.
Every entrance to the building was guarded.
Alex sat cross-legged on the living room rug building a Lego spaceship, blissfully unaware of the war unfolding around him.
Nathan watched him from across the room.
Victoria followed his gaze.
“He’s frightened.”
Nathan frowned.
“He isn’t showing it.”
“Children don’t always.”
She lowered her voice.
“They pretend to be brave because they think that’s what we need.”
Nathan looked away.
He wasn’t sure which hurt more.
...
Dinner was quiet.
Too quiet.
Alex finally broke the silence.
“Can I ask something?”
Everyone looked at him.
“Why do I have bodyguards now?”
No one answered immediately.
The boy looked at Nathan.
“Did I do something wrong?”
Nathan pushed back his chair.
He crossed the room and knelt beside him.
“You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Then why can’t I go to Liam’s birthday party?”
Nathan searched for the right words.
Because men like Rossi would trade your life for mine.
Because someone photographed you.
Because evil exists.
Instead he smiled gently.
“Sometimes Dad’s job means we have to be extra careful.”
Alex nodded slowly.
“Like superheroes?”
Nathan almost laughed.
“Something like that.”
Alex grinned.
“Then can Uncle Marco come too?”
Marco looked horrified.
The room erupted in laughter.
Even Nathan smiled.
For one precious minute…
They almost forgot.
...
At two-thirty in the morning…
Nathan woke instantly.
Someone had entered the penthouse.
He reached beneath the mattress for his pistol.
A soft knock came in the bedroom door.
Three taps.
Marco’s signal.
Nathan opened it.
Marco’s face was pale.
“We caught him.”
Nathan’s eyes narrowed.
“The leak.”
Marco nodded.
“He was trying to transmit tomorrow’s school route.”
Nathan’s expression became unreadable.
“Where is he?”
“In the basement garage.”
Nathan stepped into the hallway.
Ava’s sleepy voice stopped him.
“Nathan…”
He turned.
She stood in the bedroom doorway wearing one of his shirts.
She looked from his face to the pistol in his hand.
“Don’t.”
He walked back toward her.
His hand cupped her cheek.
“I have to.”
“No.”
Her voice cracked.
“If Alex wakes up…”
Nathan kissed her forehead.
“He won’t.”
“And if you become someone you can’t come back from?”
For the first time that night…
Nathan hesitated.
Not because of the traitor.
Not because of Rossi.
Because the woman he loved had looked at him, not with fear, but with hope.
Hope that somewhere beneath the mafia king…
The man she’d fallen in love with was still there.
Nathan closed his eyes.
Then handed the pistol to Marco.
“Keep him alive.”
Marco blinked.
“You want him questioned?”
Nathan nodded once.
“I want answers.”
As Marco disappeared down the hallway, Ava wrapped her arms around Nathan from behind.
He covered her hands with his own.
Without saying a word, they both understood something had changed.
For the first time in years…
Nathan Walker had chosen mercy over vengeance.
And somewhere in the darkness across New York…
Lorenzo Rossi smiled.
Because he had been counting on exactly that.
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