Chapter 15 - Evan’s Last Lie
I elbowed him hard.
He grunted but held on.
“Stop,” he whispered. “I’m getting you out.”
“Let go of me.”
A gunshot flashed across the darkness.
Metal rang above us.
Evan pulled me behind a support column.
“I never meant for you to get hurt.”
“You helped forge my signature.”
“I know.”
“You helped them trap me.”
“I know.”
“You deleted the recording.”
“To remove something Marcus couldn’t hear.”
I froze.
“What?”
He reached into his jacket and pressed a small USB drive into my hand.
“The full file.”
“You said the cloud copy was full.”
“It wasn’t. I deleted one section before the backup synced.”
“Why?”
“Because Richard says something that can put Marcus away for the rest of his life.”
“Then why hide it?”
“Because it also puts me away.”
At least that was honest.
Emergency lights flickered red.
I could see Evan’s face now.
Blood from a cut near his hairline ran down his temple.
He looked terrified.
“I got greedy,” he said. “Richard offered me equity after the merger. Enough money to never work again. I told myself you’d still be CEO. I told myself nobody was really stealing from you.”
I wanted to hit him.
Instead I asked, “Why did Marcus kidnap you?”
“Because I stopped giving him information.”
“Why?”
His laugh was broken. “Because I finally realized these people kill problems.”
A shadow moved behind him.
I saw the gun first.
“Evan!”
He turned.
Marcus fired.
The shot hit Evan in the side.
He fell against me.
I screamed.
Marcus staggered closer, one arm hanging useless from Caroline’s bullet.
“Give me the drive.”
I shoved the USB into my dress and dragged Evan backward.
Marcus raised the gun again.
Then Nathan slammed into him from the side.
They crashed into a stack of pallets.
The pistol skidded across concrete.
Richard appeared from the darkness and aimed at Marcus.
“Don’t move.”
Marcus laughed from the floor.
“You still can’t do it.”
Richard’s hand shook.
Tactical officers burst through both doors.
“Drop the weapon!”
Richard looked at the officers.
Then at Marcus.
Then at Nathan.
For one terrible second, I thought he was going to shoot his brother anyway.
Instead, he lowered the gun.
May you like
Marcus smiled.
And pulled a second pistol from his ankle.
