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Chapter 246
The air at Pier 18 tasted like copper and burnt rubber. The sun was just beginning to climb, casting long, sickly orange shadows over the wreckage. Tommy Becker stood amid the debris, wiping grime from his face with a blood-stained sleeve. His breathing was ragged, but his eyes held a satisfied, if weary, fire.“That’s it,” Tommy yelled, kicking a discarded rifle into a puddle. “Clear the last section! Anyone moving, shoot them. Anyone breathing, drag them out here.”Bobby, Tommy’s twin, emerged from the mouth of the cannery building, his movements slower, more methodical. He looked less like a warrior and more like a butcher surveying his work.“We swept the basement, Tommy. The foreman’s office, the utility tunnels. We got a Hundred and Twelve of theirs. We lost sixry good men.”“Sixty is a good trade for what they brought,” Tommy spat. “But where is Kim? And where is Lena?”Bobby shook his head. “Kim’s gone. The basement was a mess. Someone hit him hard. Found his pistol, but no bo
Chapter 245
“No, Max,” Lena whispered. “But he was terrified of them. He said they were coming tonight.”Max walked over to the window, his back to them. He stood there for a long moment, the silence broken only by the distant wail of a siren.“I underestimated him,” Max finally said, his voice heavy. “I thought Kim was focused on revenge. I thought he was trying to break me. He was trying to dismantle me, piece by piece, and sell the parts.”He turned back to Nathan, his expression now one of grudging respect.“You disobeyed every order. You risked the entire operation. But you brought back the intelligence that saved Sarai and possibly the family. And most importantly Lena. You have my gratitude, Nathan. And my apology.”“I did what I had to do, Max,” Nathan said simply.“I know,” Max sighed. “But understand this: your actions have consequences. The Beckers are now fully engaged. The police are mobilized. We have a war on our hands, and we have an unknown enemy, ‘The Architect,’ who knows where
Chapter 244
The safe house was a small, unassuming apartment above a closed laundromat on the edge of the city. It was clean, quiet, and insulated from the noise of the world. Elias and Cruz had secured the perimeter.Trisha immediately set to work. She had Nathan stripped to the waist, cleaning the deep graze on his shoulder. Lena sat on the edge of the bed, wrapped in a thick blanket, watching every move.“It needs stitches, Nathan,” Trisha stated, her voice flat and professional. “But we don’t have time for a clinic. I’ll use medical glue and butterfly strips. It’ll hold.”“Just make it fast,” Nathan winced as Trisha swabbed the wound with antiseptic.Lena reached out and gently stroked Nathan’s uninjured arm. “You shouldn’t have come. He was waiting for you.”“I had to, Lena,” Nathan replied, meeting her gaze. “He had you.”“He knew that would work,” Lena whispered, pulling the blanket tighter. “He kept saying it. ‘The Errand boy will break protocol for the girl.’ He knew you would risk every
Chapter 243
“I don’t know. But the message confirms everything. Kim didn’t want to destroy Max with the video; he wanted to distract Max with the video while he recovered Sarai to use as a bargaining chip for a much bigger player. He used Lena to draw you out, to force Max to reveal his position on Sarai. He was testing Max’s defenses.”“So, the whole thing—the Beckers, Lena, me—it was all a diversion for a larger operation?” Nathan asked, the exhaustion momentarily forgotten in the face of the revelation.“Yes. And if this message is right, Sarai is in danger right now. She’s not safe at the mansion. They’re planning to move her tonight.” Trisha pocketed the phone. “We have to get out of here and call Max. He needs to know his security detail on Sarai is compromised.”***Trisha helped Lena sling Nathan’s good arm over her shoulder. They moved quickly, Trisha leading the way back toward the utility tunnels.“Stay close, Lena. Don’t look at anything but the floor,” Trisha instructed.“Where are w
Chapter 242
The silence that followed the gunshot was thick and heavy.Trisha was the first to move. She kicked the weapon out of the hand of the nearest guard she had just dropped, then spun toward the grappling figures on the floor.“Nathan! Report!” she barked into the darkness.A groan answered her.“He’s hit!” Kim’s voice, strained and furious, sliced through the air.Trisha flicked on the small tactical light mounted on her pistol. The beam cut through the gloom, illuminating the scene.Nathan was sprawled on the floor, clutching his left shoulder. Blood was already soaking through his jacket. Kim was beneath him, his face contorted in pain, his arm pinned awkwardly under Nathan’s weight.The shot had not come from Kim’s silver pistol, which lay several feet away. It had come from a small, backup derringer Kim had managed to pull from an ankle holster in the struggle. The bullet had grazed Nathan’s shoulder, tearing through flesh but missing the bone.The two guards Trisha had shot were dow
Chapter 241
“You see, Nathan? Lena is a distraction. Sarai is the key to Max’s destruction. You bring me Sarai, and I promise you, I will leave Max alone. I will take my daughter, and I will disappear. You get your friend back, and Max gets to keep his empire. A fair trade, wouldn’t you say?”Nathan felt the blood drain from his face. Kim wasn't just after Max's power; he was after Max's reputation. Giving up Sarai meant betraying Max, betraying the trust they had placed in him. Not giving up Sarai meant Lena died.“You can’t do that,” Nathan whispered, his voice cracking. “Sarai is under Max’s protection. You know what that means. Max will never agree to that exchange.”“But you will, won’t you, Nathan?” Kim challenged, his eyes gleaming. “Because Max isn’t here. You are. And you have to choose. The girl you love, or the man you serve. The life of Lena, or the life of Max’s empire.”“I’ll give you anything else!” Nathan pleaded, dropping his weapon to the floor with a clatter. “Money! My life! I
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