Chapter 4: The Brother Who Lied
Caruso did not move.
For one terrible second, Emily thought the whole room had stopped breathing.
Then the motorcycle engine outside roared again.
Michael reached for the light switch.
Razor caught his wrist.
“Leave it off.””
The ranch house fell into darkness.
Emily stood near the table, staring at Caruso.
He looked back at her.
“Emily…”
“Tell me.””
His mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
“Tell me why your name is in my father's files.””
Caruso lowered his eyes.
Razor stepped between them.
“Not now.””
“Yes. Now.””
Emily grabbed the photograph from the table.
“You were there.””
Caruso looked at it.
“I was there.””
“On the night before he died?””
“Yes.””
“With Victor?””
Caruso’s voice cracked.
“Yes.””
Emily felt the room tilt.
“You lied to me.””
“I didn't know how to tell you.””
“That isn't an answer.””
“No.””
Caruso looked toward the window.
“It isn't.””
Another engine started outside.
Michael whispered, “There are at least four.””
Razor checked his weapon.
“We have maybe a minute.””
Emily stared at Caruso.
“Did you betray my father?””
Caruso shut his eyes.
“No.””
“Then what were you doing with Victor?””
“He asked me to come.””
“Why?””
“Because Daniel asked me to.””
That made no sense.
“My dad sent you to meet Victor?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Caruso swallowed.
“Because Daniel wanted to know who Victor was working with.””
Emily's heart pounded.
“So you were spying on him?””
“Yes.””
“Then why is your name in the file?””
“Because Victor knew I was there.””
Silence.
Emily studied his face.
He looked older than he had at the diner.
Not physically.
Just tired.
Like he'd spent two years carrying something too heavy.
“What happened that night?””
Caruso looked at the floor.
“I'll tell you.””
A gunshot cracked outside.
Glass shattered.
Michael ducked.
Razor pushed Emily behind the table.
“Get down!””
Another shot punched through the wall.
Dust exploded across the room.
Caruso pulled Emily behind a cabinet.
“Stay low!””
She pressed herself against the floor.
Her father's jacket smelled like smoke.
For a second, she was twelve again, wrapped in the same leather while fireworks exploded in the neighborhood.
Only this time, the explosions were real.
Razor fired toward the window.
A man shouted outside.
Michael crawled toward the back room.
“There’s another exit.””
“Where?””
“Kitchen.””
They moved fast.
Razor stayed behind, firing only when necessary.
Emily followed Caruso.
They reached the kitchen.
Michael opened a trapdoor beneath an old rug.
A narrow stairway descended into darkness.
“Down.””
Emily stared.
“No.””
Michael looked at her.
“Your father used this place.””
That was enough.
She climbed down.
The passage smelled like damp earth.
Razor followed.
Caruso came last.
Above them, boots thundered through the house.
“They're inside,” Michael whispered.
They hurried through the narrow tunnel until it opened beneath an old barn.
Michael pushed aside a wooden panel.
They emerged into the night.
Three motorcycles were parked behind the barn.
One rider spotted them.
“Hey!””
Razor fired once into the dirt.
The rider stopped.
“Move!””
They ran.
Michael pointed toward the trees.
“There's a truck.””
An old green pickup waited behind a line of eucalyptus trees.
Razor shoved open the driver's door.
Michael climbed into the back.
Caruso pushed Emily into the passenger seat.
The engine coughed twice.
Then started.
They sped away.
For several minutes, nobody spoke.
Emily looked at Caruso.
“Now.””
He stared through the windshield.
“Your father called me at eleven fourteen that night.””
Emily remembered the date.
The night before the crash.
“What did he say?””
“He said Victor had found out about the ledger.””
“Did he say Samuel was involved?””
Caruso nodded.
“He suspected him.””
“Did he trust him?””
“No.””
Emily looked down.
“And you?””
Caruso's silence was unbearable.
Finally he said, “Daniel trusted me more than he should have.””
Her heart sank.
“What does that mean?””
“I made a mistake.””
“What mistake?””
“I told Victor where Daniel planned to meet Samuel.””
Emily turned toward him.
“You gave Victor the location.””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because I thought I could get there first.””
“You thought?””
“I thought I could protect him.””
Emily laughed bitterly.
“You all keep saying that.””
Caruso flinched.
“Daniel was supposed to leave before Victor arrived.””
“But he didn't.””
“No.””
“Why?””
“Because Samuel betrayed him.””
Emily's anger sharpened.
“What did Samuel do?””
“He gave Victor the second location.””
Razor spoke from the driver's seat.
“So both of them knew where Daniel would be.””
Caruso nodded.
“And somehow, Victor got there before everyone.””
Emily stared through the windshield.
“So my father was trapped.””
“Yes.””
“Who shot him?””
Caruso's jaw tightened.
“I don't know.””
“You were there.””
“I heard the gunshots.””
“You didn't see?””
“No.””
“Then what did you see?””
Caruso closed his eyes.
“When I arrived, Daniel was already down.””
Emily's voice dropped.
“Was he alive?””
“Yes.””
Her breath caught.
“What did he say?””
Caruso looked at her.
“He asked me for you.””
Emily's eyes filled.
“What exactly did he say?””
Caruso swallowed.
“He said, ‘Tell Emily the jacket isn't about me.’”
Emily froze.
“What?””
“He repeated it twice.””
“What does that mean?””
“I don't know.””
She touched the leather.
“There has to be something else.””
Razor looked at the mirror.
“Check the collar.””
Emily ran her fingers over it.
Nothing.
Sleeve.
Nothing.
Pocket.
Nothing.
Then she felt a tiny ridge beneath the shoulder seam.
She tore the lining open.
A small plastic film packet fell into her lap.
Inside was a photograph.
Daniel stood in front of a storage facility.
Beside him was a metal door marked *B-19*.
On the back was a handwritten sentence.
*Don't trust the man who arrives first.*
Emily looked at Caruso.
“You arrived first.””
Caruso's face fell.
“I know.””
Razor glanced at him.
“Caruso.””
“I don't know what Daniel meant.””
Emily stared at the photograph.
“Maybe he didn't mean you.””
Caruso looked at her.
“Then who?””
She turned the photograph over again.
Something was written beneath the first sentence.
A second line.
It had been hidden under a strip of tape.
Emily peeled it away.
Her father's handwriting appeared.
*The first man was already inside.*
Michael leaned forward.
“What?””
Emily handed him the picture.
Michael read it.
His expression became grim.
“B-19.””
Razor nodded.
“The Bakersfield unit.””
Michael looked at Emily.
“Your father put something there.””
“What's in it?””
“Something Victor wants very badly.””
“More proof?””
“No.””
Michael shook his head.
“Something worse.””
The truck slowed.
Emily looked at him.
“What's worse than proof?””
Michael stared at the road.
“A list of names is dangerous.””
“A list of payments is worse.””
“What could be worse than that?””
Michael answered quietly.
“A recording of what those people planned to do.””
Emily felt cold.
“Do?””
“They weren't just hiding crimes.””
He looked back at her.
“They were planning something.””
“What?””
Michael hesitated.
“Your father discovered a land deal worth millions. They planned to force several families off their properties.””
Emily frowned.
“How?””
“Fraud. Threats. Fire.””
Caruso whispered, “Daniel found the contracts.””
“They were going to burn houses?””
Michael nodded.
“Not just once.””
Emily felt sick.
“How many?””
“We don't know.””
Razor stared ahead.
“Ghost couldn't let it happen.””
“So he became a target.””
“Yes.””
The truck turned onto the highway.
Fresno was far behind them now.
Emily stared at the dark horizon.
“My father died trying to stop them.””
“Yes.””
“And you all let him.””
No one challenged her.
After several miles, Razor pulled into an abandoned gas station.
Everyone climbed out.
Emily stood beside the truck.
She looked at Caruso.
“I need one more answer.””
“Ask.””
“Why did you keep looking for me?””
Caruso's eyes filled.
“Because Daniel asked me.””
“That isn't enough.””
He walked closer.
“When your father died, I wanted to find you.””
“Then why didn't you?””
“I did.””
Emily froze.
“What?””
“I found your mother.””
The words hit her like a slap.
Emily's face went white.
“My mother?””
Caruso nodded.
“Three months after Daniel died.””
“Where is she?””
Caruso looked away.
“I don't know.””
“Don't lie.””
“I’m not.””
“Where did you find her?””
“At a hospital in Nevada.””
Emily could barely breathe.
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because she told me she didn't want you found.””
Emily stared.
“My mother knew where I was?””
Caruso's voice softened.
“She knew you were alive.””
Emily backed away.
“All these years…”
Razor stepped toward her.
“Emily—”
“Don't.””
She held up her hand.
Her eyes filled with tears.
“My father hid me from the club.””
Her voice shook.
“My mother disappeared.””
“And now I find out you knew where she was.””
Caruso couldn't speak.
Emily wiped her face.
“Did my dad know?””
Caruso hesitated.
“Yes.””
That hurt most of all.
He looked at her.
“He knew your mother was alive.””
Emily turned away.
“Why didn't he tell me?””
“Because he believed she was being watched.””
“By Victor?””
“I don't know.””
Emily stared at the dark road.
For years she'd imagined her mother gone forever.
Now there was a possibility she was alive.
And somehow that frightened her more than the idea of her being dead.
Razor noticed headlights approaching in the distance.
“Everybody back in.””
Emily didn't move.
“Who's coming?””
Razor watched the road.
“Two vehicles.””
Caruso grabbed his weapon.
Michael climbed into the truck.
Emily finally moved.
As Razor started the engine, her phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
A message appeared.
*You want your mother?*
Emily's blood ran cold.
Another message arrived.
*Bring the key to B-19 before midnight.*
Then a final message.
A photograph.
Emily opened it.
Her mother was sitting at a café table.
Alive.
Older.
Looking directly at the camera.
Underneath the picture were five words.
*Your father lied about everything.*
Emily stared at the screen.
Razor looked at her.
“What did you get?””
She handed him the phone.
His expression changed.
“That's your mother.””
Emily nodded.
Caruso leaned forward.
“Victor has her.””
Emily shook her head.
“No.””
Razor looked at her.
“What?””
She stared at the photograph again.
At the woman she hadn't seen in nearly a decade.
“There’s no Victor.””
“What?””
Emily pointed to the reflection in the café window.
A man stood behind her mother.
Not Victor.
Not Samuel.
Not Bishop.
Someone else.
Someone wearing a black leather vest.
And on the back of the vest was the same faded patch Emily had been wearing all night.
*NOMAD FIRST NINE.*
Michael's face went white.
He whispered one name.
“Daniel.””
Emily looked at him.
“What?””
Michael shook his head.
“That man in the reflection…”
May you like
He stared at the photograph.
“He's supposed to be dead.””
