again, and that only makes me more savage in the delivery of my justice.
“Come with me,” I say to Dom. “We’re going to find Lynch.” To Antonio, I yell, “Cover us!”
Dom and I slip through the carnage, down a row of crates, and then finally to the set of offices at the end of the warehouse. It’s quieter back here, but I don’t let that fool me. If Lynch is back here, he’s protected.
Dom tries the first door, but it’s locked. He launches his stocky form against it until the lock breaks, and the door swings open. A shot rings out from inside, and Dom crumples in the doorway, hissing in pain, before angling his gun and shooting at the person inside.
I press my back to the wall next to the frame and grab Dom’s arm, tugging him out of danger.
“There’s two in there,” he murmurs, squeezing his eyes shut in pain. They shot him in the leg. “I think one’s Lynch.”
My heart picks up. This could be it.
“Can you get up?” I ask quickly, knowing that any second now, one of the assailants will come out to finish the job.
Dom shakes his head. “I’ll shuffle into the door and cover you though.”
“You’ll be a sitting duck,” I argue.
He takes a breath, nostrils flaring. His mud-brown eyes meet mine. “Better me than you.” He starts to drag himself into the doorway before I can say anything else, and I know I have to act quick, or my capo will be dead.
I dart into the room just as one of the men inside takes a shot at Dom. He roars with pain, and the sound is like nails on a chalkboard.
I take quick stock of the situation. There are two men, just like Dom said. One is standing at the back wall, gun drawn. He’s the one who shot Dom. The other I immediately recognize as Kevin Lynch, despite half of his face being obscured by the desk he is crouched behind. Fucking coward.
I duck and charge the standing gunman, who fires at me but misses. I slam him into the wall behind the desk and start to wrestle the gun from his hand. He’s smaller than me, but his movements are quick, and he manages to slide out of my grasp before I can get the gun.
I turn and aim, but notice Kevin raise his arm in the periphery of my vision. Shit. I swing around and shoot, hoping to hit him in the arm. No such luck. Blood spurts from the wound in his throat.
I hear another gunshot, and when I look over, the other gunman has fallen to the floor, dead. Dom groans and lets his hand fall to the side. His face is ashen. I need to get him help, but if I leave Lynch, he will die before I get a chance to question him. I have to think quickly.
Lynch is sputtering, facedown on the floor. I flip him onto his back and press the heel of my foot against his neck.
“Tell me if it’s true,” I demand. My voice comes out wild and desperate. I’m running out of time, and we both know it.
Lynch coughs, black blood staining his lips. I can only see the whites of his eyes. “Is what true?” he croaks.
I repeat what Silvano told me. Lynch coughs again but then smiles. “It’s true.”
I am so angry that the only thing I can think to do is put a bullet in his brain, even though he would have been dead in minutes anyway. Lynch goes limp.
I race over to Dom. “Where are you shot?” I say.
Dom doesn’t open his eyes. “My chest and my leg,” he answers faintly.
The wound in his leg seems to be bleeding more, so I start to apply pressure there.
“It’s okay, boss,” Dom says. “Now that the shooting has stopped, it’s quite peaceful.”
The shooting has stopped. I hadn’t even noticed. I hear footfalls approaching and whip my gun up, hands shaking from the adrenaline searing through my veins, but I’m relieved to see my own men jogging toward me and not Lynch’s.
I turn my attention back to Dom. His skin is pale and waxy. “Dom. Open your fucking eyes.”
He does, though his eyelids seem heavy. He has always been a good soldier.
“We’ve been through far too much together,” I hiss. “You don’t get to throw in the fucking towel now. Do you hear me?”