Chapter 9 - Fire at 2:17We found Evan's backpack three blocks from the mansion.
His phone was inside.
His medical bandages were inside.
But Evan was gone.
Elias had mobilized every man he trusted.
Unfortunately, we were learning that trust had become a luxury.
I sat in the passenger seat as he drove through Boston.
“Why would they take Evan?”
“Because he saw something.”
“What?”
“I don't know.”
“You keep saying that.”
“I know.”
Rain hit the windshield.
Then Elias's phone rang.
He answered.
Nobody spoke.
A voice finally said:
“Pier 17.”
The call ended.
Elias accelerated.
We arrived at the harbor twenty minutes later.
The warehouse stood abandoned.
Burned trucks lined the road.
Elias entered first.
I followed.
Inside, old machinery hung from chains.
Then we heard coughing.
A man emerged from the darkness.
Victor Hale.
He held Evan by the shoulder.
My brother's face was bruised.
“Let him go.”
Victor smiled.
“Still protecting your family, Adeline?”
Elias raised his weapon.
“Release him.”
Victor's smile vanished.
“Your brother saw the exchange.”
“What exchange?”
“The night Daniel disappeared.”
Evan looked at me.
“I saw Daniel.”
My heart broke open.
“Where?”
“He was alive.”
Victor tightened his grip.
“Your brother followed them.”
“Who?”
“Black Harbor.”
Victor looked at Elias.
“And you.”
Elias frowned.
“I wasn't there.”
“You were.”
Victor pulled out a photograph.
It showed Elias standing outside the warehouse three years earlier.
Daniel stood beside him.
Gabriel stood behind them.
And a woman in a red coat watched from the car.
Clara.
Victor tossed the photograph toward me.
“Your brother wasn't the only person there.”
I stared.
“Who else?”
Victor smiled.
“You.”
I looked confused.
“I wasn't.”
“You were six streets away.”
“I was at home.”
“That's what you were told.”
Elias stepped forward.
“Enough.”
Victor pressed a gun against Evan's head.
“Your brother witnessed the handoff.”
“What handoff?”
“The ledger.”
My heart pounded.
“Where is it?”
Victor smiled.
“Inside your brother.”
Evan looked frightened.
“What does that mean?”
Victor moved closer.
“Daniel had nowhere safe to hide it.”
He tapped Evan's backpack.
“So he gave it to the only person nobody would search.”
My blood ran cold.
“What did Daniel give him?”
“A memory.”
I stared.
“Your brother saw everything.”
Victor continued.
“And three years ago, Daniel told him to remember one face.”
“Which face?”
Victor turned toward Elias.
Elias went pale.
“No.”
Victor whispered:
“Yours.”
The warehouse lights suddenly exploded.
Gunfire erupted.
Elias tackled me.
Men poured through the windows.
Victor dragged Evan toward the rear exit.
I screamed.
“EVAN!”
Elias shot twice.
One attacker fell.
Another ran.
Victor disappeared.
Then I heard a vehicle roar outside.
Elias rushed toward the door.
I followed.
A black sedan sped away.
Its rear plate was visible.
Boston police.
Elias stopped.
His face darkened.
“That's one of Captain Reeves's cars.”
I stared at him.
“Your own police contact took my brother.”
“No.”
He looked at the burning warehouse.
“Someone inside the police department is Black Harbor.”
Then his phone rang.
A text appeared.
One sentence.
You have until 2:17.
Elias stared.
“What happens at 2:17?”
May you like
A second message arrived.
A city block burns.
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