Chapter 17 - The Man Who Gave the Order
“Then kill me,” Marisol said.
Nico yelled, “No!”
Dominic walked closer. “I can see why my cousin likes you. You have a habit of making bad decisions sound noble.”
“Like you did when you killed my father?”
“Your father was a driver. He was supposed to follow the route.”
“He saved Giata.”
“He ruined a clean job.” Dominic turned his ring. “Lena had the evidence. Reyes saw Rourke under the car, and I told him a hose was leaking. He believed me. When the brakes failed, he saved Giata. Then he started naming names at the hospital. I couldn't allow that.”
Marisol's phone lay faceup beneath Nico's chair. Its red recording dot kept blinking.
“Why keep Giata locked away for three years?” she asked.
“Because she remembered my voice. Mercer made sure she was too tired to trust her own head. Elias made sure no one questioned her care. Families are useful that way.”
Marisol felt her anger settle into something sharper than fear. “He knows now.”
Dominic pulled his gun. “Then he's going to learn what knowing costs.”
A crash sounded outside. Price's officers had reached the loading dock. Dominic seized Nico and dragged him toward the river exit, firing at the doorway. Marisol threw the chair into his knees. Nico pulled free. They dropped behind a steel crate as bullets tore into its side.
Elias burst through the smoke with Price behind him.
“Dominic!” he shouted. “It's over.”
His cousin laughed. “You think you can arrest your way out of being you?”
“No,” Elias said. “I think I can stop being worse.”
Dominic backed toward a speedboat tied below the loading platform. Price's officers advanced, but he slammed a steel fire door between them and escaped down the river steps.
Marisol ran to Nico. He was breathing hard, a fresh graze along his arm, but alive. She hugged him so tightly he groaned.
“Sorry,” she whispered.
“Don't be. I've wanted a hug all week.”
Price checked her phone. Nia had the recording. The federal prosecutor had it too. For the first time, Dominic's own words were in evidence.
Then an alarm shrieked from Elias's phone. The theater's fire system had activated. The livestream showed people rising in panic and smoke spreading across the stage.
May you like
Dominic's voice came through a message sent from an unknown number.
“You saved the maid,” it said. “Let's see if you can save the girl behind the glass.”
