Chapter 3 - The gunman smiled.“Found them.”
She knew that ring.
She had seen it in an old photograph.
Her father had worn it during the final year of his life.
She remembered asking him about it when she was fifteen.
He had told her it was nothing.
A souvenir.
A stupid thing.
He had lied.
“Victor,” Sloan whispered.
He didn't stop moving.
“Not now.”
“That ring.”
Victor glanced back.
“What about it?”
“I've seen it before.”
“Where?”
“My father had one.”
Victor stopped.
For a fraction of a second, his expression hardened.
Then he continued.
“That explains everything.”
“What does?”
“Later.”
They reached the kitchen's rear exit.
Victor pushed it open.
Cold rain hit Sloan's face.
They stepped into the alley.
Three black SUVs waited at the curb.
Sloan immediately stepped back.
Victor did not.
One of the vehicles opened.
A broad-shouldered man got out.
“Boss.”
“Elias.”
The man looked at Sloan.
His eyes narrowed.
“Who is she?”
Victor answered without looking away from Sloan.
“She stays with me.”
Elias looked confused.
“Boss, the restaurant was compromised before we arrived.”
“I know.”
“The men inside weren't after you.”
“I know.”
Elias glanced at Sloan again.
Then his face changed.
He had recognized something.
Victor saw it.
“What?”
Elias hesitated.
“Nothing.”
“Say it.”
Elias looked at Sloan.
“She looks like Daniel.”
Sloan's stomach dropped.
“You knew my father?”
Elias didn't answer.
Victor opened the SUV door.
“Get in.”
“I want answers.”
“You'll get them.”
“Now.”
Victor looked at her.
“You have spent eleven years believing your father died.”
“Yes.”
“He didn't.”
Sloan stared at him.
The rain soaked her hair.
Her voice came out barely above a whisper.
“What did you just say?”
Victor got into the vehicle.
“Get in.”
She remained frozen.
Elias touched her shoulder.
“You don't want to be standing here when the other team arrives.”
“The other team?”
Elias looked toward the end of the alley.
Headlights appeared.
Two cars.
Fast.
“Get in.”
Sloan climbed inside.
Victor shut the door.
The SUV accelerated.
She watched the restaurant disappear through the rear window.
Aurelio's had been her entire world for eight months.
Her job.
Her routine.
Her safe place.
Now men with guns were chasing her out of it.
Victor sat across from her.
“You knew my father?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Did he work for you?”
“No.”
“Did he work against you?”
Victor didn't answer.
“That means yes.”
“He worked for someone.”
“Who?”
Victor's jaw tightened.
“Your father was an investigator.”
Sloan stared at him.
“He worked for the city?”
“Officially.”
“Unofficially?”
Victor looked at Elias.
Elias answered.
“He was building a case against several families.”
“What families?”
“The Rainer family included.”
Sloan laughed once.
It wasn't amusement.
“You're telling me my father was investigating you?”
“Yes.”
“Then why are you protecting me?”
Victor looked directly into her eyes.
“Because eleven years ago, your father saved my life.”
Sloan said nothing.
The SUV turned sharply.
A vehicle behind them followed.
Then another.
Elias checked his side mirror.
“We've got company.”
Victor reached beneath his seat.
“Take the next bridge.”
Elias frowned.
“That road is closed.”
“Then make it not closed.”
The SUV accelerated.
Sloan gripped the seat.
“What happened to my father?”
Victor's expression became unreadable.
“He discovered something.”
“What?”
“A ledger.”
“About you?”
“About everyone.”
The vehicle behind them opened fire.
Bullets struck the rear glass.
Sloan ducked.
Elias cursed.
Victor pulled a handgun.
“Keep your head down.”
The SUV crossed the bridge.
Then suddenly another car emerged from a side street.
It slammed into their front quarter.
The SUV spun.
Sloan screamed.
Metal screamed against pavement.
The world became headlights, rain, shattered glass.
Then darkness.
When Sloan opened her eyes, she was upside down.
The seatbelt held her in place.
Victor was beside her.
Blood ran down his forehead.
“Victor?”
He looked at her.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
He reached for the door.
It wouldn't move.
Then Sloan heard voices outside.
“Check the wreck.”
“Make sure the girl is dead.”
Sloan looked at Victor.
“The girl?”
Victor's face went cold.
“Don't move.”
A flashlight swept across the broken windshield.
Then someone spoke.
“Boss?”
Victor's eyes narrowed.
He recognized the voice.
It belonged to Elias.
But Elias had been trapped in the front seat.
Sloan slowly looked at Victor.
“If Elias is here...”
Victor finished the thought.
“Then the man in the other SUV is using his voice.”
Someone began pulling the wreckage apart.
Victor leaned closer.
“You're about to learn why your father disappeared.”
Sloan stared at him.
“What did he do?”
Victor whispered:
“He found out who really controls this city.”
The door tore open.
May you like
A gun pointed inside.
And the man holding it wore Daniel Mercer's silver raven ring.
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