Chapter 9 - The Reckoning
The underground loading bay of St. Jude’s Hospital was dark, vast, and filled with parked delivery trucks and industrial laundry carts.
At the far end of the bay, a black SUV was idling near the exit ramp, its rear door wide open.
Ryan Cole was sprinting toward the SUV, holding the screaming, kicking Lily under his arm like a football. Two O'Malley enforcers walked behind him, their automatic weapons raised to cover the rear.
"Get in the car! Move!" Ryan screamed, sweating profusely inside his mask.
"Put her down, Ryan."
The voice didn't sound human. It sounded like an ancient judgment echoing off the concrete walls of the loading bay.
Ryan froze, spinning around.
Walking out from behind a massive laundry truck was Gabriel Romano.
He wasn't taking cover. He wasn't ducking behind concrete pillars. He walked straight down the center lane of the loading bay, his dark coat billowing behind him, his gray eyes burning with pure, unadulterated murder.
"Kill him!" Ryan shrieked, scrambling into the backseat of the SUV with Lily.
The two O'Malley enforcers raised their automatic rifles and opened fire.
STAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!
Muzzle flashes illuminated the dark loading bay. Bullets shattered the windshields of nearby delivery trucks and chipped concrete from the pillars.
Gabriel moved with lethal, horrifying speed.
He ducked behind a steel forklift, returned fire with three precise, clinical shots—BANG! BANG! BANG!—dropping both enforcers onto the concrete before they could even finish their burst.
Ryan screamed in terror as his guards collapsed. He scrambled across the backseat, trying to slam the SUV door shut, but Gabriel was already there.
Gabriel grabbed the heavy steel vehicle door with his bare hands and ripped it open with terrifying force.
He reached inside, seized Ryan Cole by his throat, and yanked the younger man out of the SUV, slamming him face-first onto the cold concrete floor.
Ryan choked, spitting blood, staring up in absolute horror as Gabriel stood over him, raising his pistol directly toward Ryan’s forehead.
"Please!" Ryan wept, wetting his pants on the floor. "Don't kill me! She's my daughter! Please!"
"She was never your daughter," Gabriel whispered, his voice cold as arctic ice, his finger tightening on the trigger. "You were just the mistake that brought her into my world."
"Gabriel! No!"
A tiny, terrified voice echoed through the backseat of the SUV.
Gabriel froze.
He looked into the car. Lily was sitting on the leather seat, clutching Mr. Fluffles against her chest, her big brown eyes filled with tears as she looked at him.
"Mr. Gabriel..." Lily whimpered, reaching her tiny hands out toward him. "Don't be scary. Take me home."
The terrifying killer vanished instantly.
Gabriel looked down at his raised gun, then looked at the little girl who loved him. He realized that if he pulled that trigger in front of her, he would become the very monster he had fought ten years to escape.
Gabriel slowly lowered his weapon and engaged the safety.
He reached out his foot and kicked Ryan Cole in the ribs with enough force to knock the breath out of him permanently.
"Frank!" Gabriel called out into the dark loading bay.
Frank and ten armed federal officers—whom Gabriel had tipped off hours earlier regarding O'Malley's movements—flooded the loading bay with flashlights and sirens.
"Take this trash away," Gabriel said coldly, gesturing to Ryan Cole. "And tell the U.S. Attorney to arrest Carmine O'Malley at his home in Queens."
Gabriel turned his back on the groaning Ryan Cole.
He reached into the SUV, picked Lily up into his broad arms, and pulled her tight against his chest.
May you like
Lily buried her face in the crook of his neck, her tiny arms wrapping around his collar as she let out a long, shuddering sob. "You came for me."
"I will always come for you, Lily," Gabriel whispered, tears finally escaping his eyes as he kissed her dark curls. "Always."
