Chapter 7 - THE TRAITOR
Marcus lowered his weapon.
“I’ll go.”
I stared at him.
“You don’t even know who sent it.”
“I know enough.”
Adrian turned.
“What does that mean?”
Marcus looked tired.
Older suddenly.
“I knew Elena was investigating someone.”
My hand tightened around the gun.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“And you said nothing?”
“She made me promise.”
I wanted to punch him.
“Why?”
“Because she didn’t trust you to stay calm.”
Again.
That same wound.
Marcus continued.
“She thought Vincent had someone inside your security operation.”
“Who?”
“I never found out.”
Adrian laughed bitterly.
“Convenient.”
Marcus ignored him.
“Elena gave me a list of names. Three days later she died.”
“Where is the list?”
“Destroyed.”
“By you?”
“By Elena.”
I stared at him.
“She burned it after telling me she’d been wrong.”
“About what?”
Marcus looked toward the window.
“She said the person stealing from you wasn’t trying to build an empire.”
“Then why steal?”
“She said they were trying to leave.”
The words landed strangely.
Leave?
Nobody left my world easily.
Not then.
Not the way I ran things.
Grace looked at me.
I understood what she was thinking.
How many enemies had I created simply by making people afraid to walk away?
Adrian’s phone rang.
His wife.
He answered.
A male voice spoke.
“Warehouse Nine. Marcus alone.”
The line died.
Marcus reached for his coat.
I blocked him.
“You’re not going alone.”
“If they see you—”
“They won’t.”
Warehouse Nine belonged to one of my shipping companies.
We arrived before dawn.
Marcus walked inside alone.
I watched through a scope from a rooftop across the street.
A woman stepped from the shadows.
Not Vince.
Detective Crowe.
My heart kicked.
Except Crowe wasn’t alone.
Adrian’s wife, Claire, walked beside him.
Untied.
Calm.
Marcus stopped.
Across the comm unit hidden in his collar, I heard him say,
“What the hell?”
Claire smiled.
“Thank you for coming.”
Marcus looked around.
“Where’s Adrian?”
“Exactly where I want him.”
My blood went cold.
Crowe stepped forward.
“Elena almost exposed all of us.”
Claire continued.
“But she made one mistake.”
Marcus stared at her.
“What?”
“She trusted family.”
Then Claire lifted a pistol and fired.
Marcus dropped.
I was already moving.
I shot the light above Claire.
Darkness swallowed the warehouse.
Adrian rushed behind me.
“Claire!”
I grabbed him.
“Stay down!”
He fought me.
“That’s my wife!”
“That’s the woman who just shot Marcus!”
Crowe fired toward us.
We took cover.
Marcus groaned.
Alive.
Good.
Claire shouted through the darkness.
“Julian! You want to know who ordered Elena’s death?”
I froze.
“Come out!”
“I’ll tell you!”
Adrian whispered, “Don’t.”
Claire laughed.
“It wasn’t Vince.”
I raised my weapon.
“Then who?”
May you like
Her answer broke something in me.
“Elena did.”
