Chapter 5 - THE BOY IN THE CROSSHAIRS
Dominic doubled security.
Nobody entered Blackthorne House without being searched.
Nobody left without permission.
Mara hated it.
“You’re keeping me prisoner.”
“I’m keeping you alive.”
“There’s a difference?”
“Yes. Prisoners don’t get breakfast choices.”
“This isn’t funny.”
“You keep saying that.”
They stood in the kitchen while guards moved through the hallways.
Mara lowered her voice.
“Kane knows I’m here.”
“He wants you scared.”
“He’s succeeding.”
“Good.”
She stared at him.
Dominic continued.
“Fear keeps people alive. Panic gets them killed.”
“You rehearse these lines?”
“No.”
Caleb entered carrying a toy dinosaur.
“Why are there more guards?”
Dominic’s face changed.
“Precaution.”
“Because of the dead man?”
Mara closed her eyes.
Dominic looked toward the nanny.
She turned pale.
“I’m sorry, sir.”
Caleb looked between them.
“What dead man?”
Dominic crouched.
“Something happened outside. It’s handled.”
“Bad guys?”
“Maybe.”
“Are they coming here?”
Mara expected Dominic to lie.
He didn’t.
“I won’t let them hurt you.”
Caleb thought about that.
Then he held up the dinosaur.
“Rex can help.”
Dominic took it seriously.
“Good. I need strong men.”
Caleb smiled.
Later that afternoon, Mara found Dominic alone in the security room.
Screens covered an entire wall.
“This is insane.”
“It’s security.”
“It’s surveillance.”
“It can be both.”
She pointed at a feed showing Caleb in the garden.
“Does he ever get to be a kid?”
Dominic went still.
“That’s none of your business.”
“You brought me into your office, remember?”
“For your past.”
“His present is worse.”
Dominic turned.
“You think I don’t know that?”
“I think you believe money and guards are the same as safety.”
His voice dropped.
“Careful.”
Mara stepped closer.
“Your son hides behind curtains because everyone watches him. He eats dinner with bodyguards. He asks permission to walk outside.”
Dominic’s jaw flexed.
“You’re talking about things you don’t understand.”
“I understand scared children.”
That landed.
Dominic looked away.
His wife’s death still lived in the room whenever Caleb was mentioned.
“What happened to his mother?” Mara asked quietly.
“Car accident.”
“That’s what people say.”
Dominic looked at her sharply.
She knew instantly.
It had not been an accident.
Before either could speak, an alarm screamed.
One of the screens turned red.
A guard shouted, “Movement, north garden!”
Dominic looked at Caleb’s camera.
The feed was empty.
His chair slammed backward.
“Where is my son?”
They ran.
Mara reached the garden first.
“Caleb!”
No answer.
Dominic drew his gun.
“CALeb!”
A small voice came from behind the hedge.
“Dad?”
They found him crouched beside a fountain.
He was alive.
But a red laser dot was trembling on his chest.
Mara saw it.
Dominic saw it.
“DOWN!”
They hit the ground.
A rifle cracked from the hills.
The bullet struck the stone fountain.
Guards opened fire toward the trees.
Dominic covered Caleb.
Mara looked toward the rooftop.
Something moved.
A figure.
Then her phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
She answered without thinking.
A familiar male voice whispered:
“Hello, little sister.”
Mara stopped breathing.
“Daniel?”
May you like
“Don’t trust Dominic Mercer.”
Then the line went dead.
