The coffee was still hot.
Dom had poured it five minutes ago and barely touched it.
He stood at the kitchen counter, phone in hand, staring at Marcus’s contact like it might bite him.
Lucy was already in her coat, backpack slung over one shoulder, keys in hand.
She paused at the door, watching him.
“You’re really doing it.”
Dom sighed.
“No point waiting.” Then he hit dial.
She hesitated, the same pause she’d been making since Friday night.
Then she nodded once and slipped out.
The door clicked shut behind her.
Marcus picked up on the second ring.
“Dom. Didn’t expect to hear from you so soon.”
“Tell Dante I’m paying off the principal. Full amount. Today.”
A beat of silence.
Marcus wasn’t used to debtors calling with good news.
“Full amount. One-fifty.”
“In one transfer. I want the debt cleared.”
“I’ll let him know, but he’ll want to meet in person, though.”
“Figured. When and where.”
“The Loop. His office. I’ll text you the address.” Another pause, longer this time.
“For what it’s worth, I didn’t think you’d make it this far. Most people don’t.”
“Is that a compliment?”
“It’s an observation. Don’t read too much into it.”
The line went dead.
Dom pocketed the phone, drank the rest of his coffee in one long swallow, and pulled on his jacket.
On the stairs, he took them two at a time without thinking.
The knee held smooth and silent.
He was still getting used to that.
Dante’s building was all glass and steel, the kind of place that screamed legitimate business while housing everything but that.
Dom gave his name to the security desk.
A silent, broad-shouldered man escorted him to a private elevator—no metal detectors.
No pat-downs.
Dante wasn’t worried about weapons.
The office at the top had floor-to-ceiling windows and a view of Lake Michigan that probably cost more than Dom’s entire debt.
Dante sat behind a desk that was too large for practical use, in a tailored suit, with salt-and-pepper hair and a smile that stopped just short of his eyes.
“Dominic.” He gestured to the chair across from him.
“Please. Sit.”
Dom sat.
“Marcus tells me you’ve had quite the weekend. Raid an unstable gate. Killing A hundred Kobolds and a mutant Kobold Pyromancer. Even doing dances on TikTok.” Dante leaned back.
“And now you’re here, offering to clear your debt in full. Seems you’ve been very lucky. The desperate man begging me for money is nowhere to be seen.”
“I had a good run.”
“You had an exceptional run. I noticed you no longer have that limp in your walk.” Dante folded his hands on the desk.
“I’ve had my eye on you for a while, Dom. Years of grinding vanguard gates for dirt cheap. Never missing a vig payment. Never complaining. You’re a very disciplined and very stubborn man.”
“Thank you.”
“I appreciate the commitment. I appreciate it enough to accept your payment and wish you well.” He paused.
“And there it is.”
“Don’t sound so suspicious. This isn’t a trap. It’s an opportunity.” Dante turned his tablet around.
The screen showed a dossier, a location, a timeframe, a list of hazards.
“I need a package retrieved from a location that’s too dangerous for my usual people. You’ve proven you can handle yourself in hostile territory. You’re fast. You’re smart. And apparently you’re lucky.”
“What’s the package?”
“It’s…Sensitive. That’s all you need to know right now.”
“What’s the pay?”
“Quite generous. But the real payment is this: do this job, and we part ways clean. No bad blood. No future entanglements. You walk away with your debt cleared and my personal assurance that no one in my organization will ever bother you or your family again.” Dante’s eyes were steady.
“That’s worth more than money, Dom. You know it is.”
Dom did.
A clean break from Dante wasn’t just about the debt.
It was about safety.
It was about Lucy.
“One job.”
“One job.”
“And if I say no?”
“Then you walk out of here debt-free, and we both go about our business. No hard feelings…” Dante shrugged.
“But I don’t think you’ll say no. You’re not the type to leave a door open behind you. You like things finished.”
Dom studied him for a long moment.
The offer was too clean.
Dante didn’t do favors.
But the alternative, walking away with the debt cleared but Dante’s eyes still on him, was worse.
“There’s a catch, isn’t there?”
“The catch is that the job is dangerous enough that three other teams have failed at it. The catch is that you’ll be working with a…competent support hunter.” Dante leaned forward.
“But you won’t die. You’re better than the people I’ve sent before. And the support hunter I’m assigning you, Emma, is better than she thinks she is. She needs the right partner.”
“You don’t sound very sure.”
“She’s a Level 338 Fairy Summoner. Powerful class. Timid personality. She’s been in my organization for years, but she’s never had someone who could push her properly. I think you might be that someone.” Dante’s smile flickered.
“She’s just a bit… fragile. But you’ll find she’s worth the patience.”
“When do I meet her?”
“Tomorrow. I’ll send you the location.” Dante stood and extended his hand.
“It’s been a pleasure, Dom. I’m sure you’ll do well on the job.”
Dom shook his hand.
The grip was cool and dry.
“Of course.”
He walked out of the building into cold winter sunlight.
The debt was gone.
One hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and the noose that had been around his neck for four years was finally cut.
He should have felt lighter.
Instead, he felt like he’d traded one leash for another.
The job.
The support hunter.
Emma.
A Fairy Summoner who was “fragile” and “worth the patience.” Dante’s words had been careful, but Dom had read between them.
She wasn’t an employee.
Another person trapped in Dante’s web, being offered up as a tool for Dom to use.
And the job itself, while seemingly clean, was obviously a ploy to get him or Lucy into more debt if it failed.
Which Dante was also banking on.
Successful or not, he wins anyway.
His phone buzzed.
Joe.
“Two things,” Joe said without preamble.
“First, Cross called. Said your body was a ‘demolition site’ and that I should have sent you to him years ago.”
“Looks like he’s not as cold-hearted as he wants to seem.”
“I know. He’s like that. Second thing, Morgan agreed to meet you. Tomorrow afternoon. Willow & Root. Old Town. Don’t be late.” A pause.
“She wasn’t easy to convince. I had to call in another favor. You’re burning through my social capital, kid.”
“I’ll make it up to you. Promise.”
“You’d better. And Dom?” Joe’s voice shifted.
“She’s not what you’re expecting.”
“What does that mean?”
“You’ll see.”
Joe hung up.
Dom stood on the sidewalk, phone in his hand, the wind off the lake cutting through his jacket.
The debt was cleared.
The job was looming.
Morgan was waiting.
He pulled his hood up.
The ears settled into place—time to go home and tell Lucy the news.
Lucy was already back from class when he got home, her textbooks spread across the kitchen table.
She looked up when he came in, her eyes going straight to his face, scanning for damage out of habit.
“It’s done,” he said.
“Debt’s cleared.”
She exhaled, a long, slow breath she’d probably been holding since he left.
“Just like that?”
“Just like that, but… He offered me a job.”
“Dom—”
“It’s the only one. One job, then we’re square. Nothing hanging over us anymore.” He sat down across from her.
“He’s assigning me a support hunter. A Fairy Summoner named Emma. I meet her tomorrow. So at least I have a teammate.”
Lucy’s eyes narrowed.
“Hmm. It looks a lot suspicious. What’s the catch?”
“I don’t know yet. I’ll find out tomorrow.”
“And anything from Joe?”
“I’ll be meeting Morgan tomorrow afternoon. Joe set it up.” He paused.
“He also said she’s not what I’m expecting.”
“What does that even mean?”
“No idea.”
Lucy closed her textbook.
“You’re really doing this. All of it.”
“I really am.” He met her eyes.
“The debt is gone. My knee is fixed. Mom has a shot at living again. I’m not stopping now.”
She didn’t argue.
She just reached across the table and squeezed his hand.