Chapter 3 - The Crest of the Enemy
Mateo stared at the bloody letters on the rusted iron box.
His jaw tightened so hard Tessa thought his teeth might shatter.
"Don't touch it," he ordered, pulling out his phone.
He snapped a picture of the box before using his handkerchief to carefully lift it.
"We cannot stay here," he said, turning toward the door.
Tessa couldn't move, her eyes fixed on the spot where the box had been.
"Who is Giancarlo?" she asked, her voice trembling.
Mateo grabbed her elbow and pulled her out into the hallway.
"A ghost," he replied grimly.
"Ghosts don't break into apartments and write their names in blood."
"This one does."
They hurried down the fire escape, avoiding the main stairwell entirely.
The cold rain soaked through Tessa's thin uniform blouse.
Mateo shrugged off his ruined suit jacket and draped it over her shoulders.
It smelled like expensive cologne and gunpowder.
They climbed back into the waiting SUV.
"The safehouse," Mateo told the driver.
The vehicle sped into the night, leaving Tessa's shattered life behind.
Tessa stared at the iron lockbox sitting between them on the leather seat.
"Open it," she said.
Mateo looked at her as if she had lost her mind.
"It could be wired."
"It's from my great-grandmother's house," Tessa countered.
"She kept it buried in the garden, and I took it when she died."
Mateo hesitated before pulling a switchblade from his pocket.
He carefully pried the rusted lock until it snapped with a sharp crack.
Inside lay a heavy gold locket on a faded velvet pillow.
Tessa reached for it, her fingers brushing the intricate engraving on the front.
It was a crest featuring a wolf with a crown of thorns.
Mateo violently grabbed her wrist, stopping her from opening it.
His gun was suddenly pressed hard against her ribs.
"Where did you get that?" he demanded, his voice dropping to a lethal whisper.
Tessa gasped, the metal barrel bruising her skin.
"I told you, it belonged to Elisabetta."
"Lie to me again and I will throw you out of this moving car."
Tessa glared at him, anger briefly overriding her fear.
"I am not lying."
Mateo stared into her eyes, searching for any hint of deception.
He slowly lowered the weapon, though his hand remained tense.
"Do you know what that crest is, Tessa?"
She shook her head, rubbing her bruised wrist.
"It is the mark of the Romano family."
Tessa frowned, the name meaning nothing to her.
"And?"
"They are the syndicate that slaughtered my grandfather and started a sixty-year blood feud with my family."
Tessa felt the blood drain from her face.
"My great-grandmother was a Romano?"
Mateo looked out the window into the dark, rainy streets.
"If she was, then my father married his sworn enemy."
Tessa carefully popped the latch on the gold locket.
Inside was a tiny, faded portrait of a man holding a baby.
The man had dark hair and eyes that looked exactly like Tessa's.
Carved into the gold beneath the picture was an inscription.
For Giancarlo, my eternal love.
Mateo saw the inscription and cursed violently in Italian.
Before he could speak, Tessa's cell phone began to vibrate in her pocket.
She pulled it out, staring at the cracked screen in confusion.
"Who is it?" Mateo asked.
Tessa looked up at him, her blood running completely cold.
"It's my mother," she whispered.
Mateo snatched the phone from her hand.
"Your mother died ten years ago in a car crash."
Tessa nodded, tears finally spilling over her lashes.
"I know."
She pressed the answer button and put the phone on speaker.
A raspy, heavily accented voice filled the quiet cabin of the SUV.
"Hello, little bird," the voice said.
May you like
Tessa couldn't breathe.
"If you want to see the old man live out the night, bring the locket to the docks."
