a P

y voice deliberately casual. We were in his armored Es

ak. A man who can't control his own appetites can't be trusted to control anything else. Loyalty, hon

ked on it. He actually believed it; in his

"You never have to wo

screen, his expression flickering. "An emergency. A

dismissive gesture. "I'll b

another black Escalade that had pulled up silent

a lower-level soldier who had been with the family for decades. He'

only a flicker of understanding. He knew. Of course he knew. Everyone knew.

w blocks away, in a dark, industrial stretch under th

ight flashed on for a moment, just long enough for me to

oftly. We watched the silhouette of the car. We watched as it began to

man whose life depended on control and projecting an image of untouchable power. This-this w

eady been shattered. This was jus

hroat. He didn't turn around. He just

, his voice rough with an emotio

service was the final confirmation. It was a crack in t

I needed to bring