Chapter 7 - Operation Doppelgänger
Thirty minutes later, the master bedroom upstairs looked like a high-end theatrical dressing room.
Franco had retrieved Natalie’s wardrobe from her apartment downtown—items Gabriel had kept locked in storage after her death. Among them was the exact beige trench coat, black cashmere scarf, and wide-brimmed hat she had worn the last time she was seen entering the Moretti shipping yard.
I stood before the full-length mirror, staring at my own reflection. With the blonde hair styled in loose waves and the heavy winter coat wrapped around me, the illusion was terrifyingly complete. If someone saw me from twenty paces away in the dim light of the industrial district, they wouldn't see Lauren Cooper, the antique restorer from Seattle.
They would see a dead woman walking.
"This is insane," I muttered, adjusting the collar of the coat. "If Dante Moretti thinks his brother failed to kill Natalie, he's going to aim for a headshot the second he sees me."
"He won't get the chance," Gabriel said from the doorway. He was dressed in a tactical turtleneck and a dark, reinforced overcoat, checking the suppressor on his rifle. "You won't be walking into the warehouse. You’ll be the distraction."
I turned around, narrowing my eyes. "Explain."
"Vincenzo is taking a private helicopter back to Dante’s primary compound," Franco explained, stepping into the room with a secure radio earpiece in his hand. "We intercept his chopper over the marshes. While Dante’s security forces scatter to find out what happened to his brother, Gabriel and a four-man tactical unit breach the 4th Street warehouse through the loading docks."
"And where do I fit in?" I asked.
"You ride in the lead decoy vehicle with me," Gabriel said, walking over and placing a heavy, bulletproof ceramic vest over my shoulders. "When Dante looks out his office window and sees Natalie’s car pulling up to his gates, his tactical advantage evaporates. Fear makes men make mistakes. And Dante Moretti is going to be terrified."
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I looked down at the vest, then up into Gabriel’s fierce, unyielding eyes. For the first time, I understood why my sister had fallen for him. He wasn't just a criminal kingpin; he was a force of nature wrapped in bespoke tailoring.
"Let's go," I said, the ghost of my sister’s courage finally settling into my bones. "Let's go find out who killed my twin."
