His Secretary Was Ninth on the Kill List—Then the Mafia Boss Saw His Own Name at the Bottom

Nell stepped onto the altar, her face pale but completely composed. She knelt beside Sister Teresa, helping the elderly nun to her feet and guiding her away from the pool of spilled fuel toward the rectory exit.

"Is this true, Nell?" Edgar demanded without lowering his weapon from Danner's throat. "Did Mercer breach your network?"

"He intercepted one transmission," Nell replied, her voice taut. "He knows about the holding facility at the abandoned freight depot on 9th Street. That’s where the other five witnesses were scheduled to rendezvous before moving out of the state."

Danner let out a wet, rattling laugh. "Five birds in one cage, Yarborough. Mercer sent his heavy demolition team with military thermite. By midnight, there won't be enough DNA left in that depot to fill a thimble. And once you're burned out of the picture, the syndicate belongs to him."

Edgar brought the butt of his pistol down across Danner’s jaw, knocking the traitorous captain cold against the marble floor. He stripped Danner’s tactical vest, confiscated his satellite phone and extra magazines, and turned to Nell.

"We have twenty minutes until 11:40," Edgar said. "Your time slot."

"The time slots don't matter anymore," Nell said, securing Sister Teresa with the church's groundskeeper, who had rushed into the nave carrying an old hunting rifle. "Mercer has abandoned the precise timeline because Daniel, Evelyn, and Marcus slipped through his fingers. He’s going for total scorched earth. If he eliminates the remaining witnesses at the freight depot, our testimony won't be enough to convict him before he liquidates your assets."

"Then we don't go to the depot alone," Edgar said, picking up Danner’s satellite phone. He dialed a private, unlisted twelve-digit number that only three living men possessed.

The phone rang twice before a raspy, gravelly voice answered. "Speak."

"Uncle Silvio," Edgar said, his tone commanding. "It’s Edgar."

There was a brief pause on the line. "Edgar? Word on the street is that Mercer took over your operation thirty minutes ago. He claims you had a massive coronary during the blackout."

"I am standing in St. Jude’s Cathedral, completely intact," Edgar said coldly. "Mercer staged a mutiny. He’s attempting to slaughter five witnesses at the 9th Street freight depot to cover up an arson he committed a decade ago. I need twenty of the Old Guard at the depot in ten minutes. Full tactical loadout."

Silvio chuckled softly, a dry, menacing sound. "Your father always said you were too soft on the corporate suits, Edgar. But I see the Yarborough blood is still hot. My boys are already moving. We’ll meet you at the depot."

Edgar hung up and looked at Nell. She was staring at him, her arms folded across her chest.

"You called Silvio’s syndicate?" she asked, her brow furrowed. "I thought you spent the last six years trying to distance your business from your family's violent past."

"I did," Edgar said, stepping down from the altar and offering her a hand over the pooled gasoline. "I wanted to be a legitimate businessman. I wanted clean accounts, transparent contracts, and an empire that didn't rely on fear. But Mercer didn't betray a businessman tonight, Nell. He betrayed a Yarborough. And he put your name on a slaughter list."

He paused, his gaze boring into hers with an intensity she had never seen in their six years of working together. "I will burn down every building in this city before I let him lay a finger on you."

A faint flush rose to Nell’s cheeks, but she held his gaze without flinching. "Then let’s make sure we don't arrive too late."

They exited through the church rectory into the cold drizzle that had begun to coat the city streets. Edgar slid into the driver’s seat of Danner’s unmarked SUV, revving the turbocharged V8 engine until the chassis shook. Nell strapped herself into the passenger seat, loading fresh magazines into her sidearm with practiced ease.

As they rocketed toward the industrial waterfront, Edgar glanced at the digital clock on the dashboard.