The Mafia Boss’s Last Wish Before His Execution: Meeting the Dog — What Happened Was Unbelievable

Chapter 2

Raphael stood motionless in the middle of it all. Inside his head, a question rang with no answer, because Duke had never been a vicious dog, had never growled at strangers without cause. This was the dog Marisol had once joked was so gentle that if a burglar broke into the house, Duke would only wag his tail and invite him in.

And yet from deep inside his chest came a low, heavy sound Raphael had heard only once before in his life.

On the night he didn’t allow himself to think about.

Beside the dog, the young correctional officer assigned to escort Duke was gripping the leather leash so tightly his knuckles had turned white. Beads of sweat had gathered on his forehead, though the November morning was cold enough to cut skin. His eyes kept darting toward Whitlock before quickly looking away again. Warden Boyd, standing a few steps away with her hands clasped behind her back in the habit of an old soldier, slowly shifted her gaze from the dog to the young officer, then let it rest on his leash-gripping hand one beat longer than usual. Her sharp, cold eyes narrowed slightly.

Something in this scene had begun to brush against the instinct sharpened through thirty years behind bars, telling her that this morning wouldn’t unfold the way anyone in the yard had expected.