Chapter 5 - The Line of Blood
The red laser dot hovered steady against Radek’s temple, no larger than a grain of rice. In the damp chill of the boathouse, the silence stretched so tautly that the dripping of lake water through the rotting roof sounded like falling glass.
Radek didn't see the dot. He was too focused on me, his pistol barrel still tilted dangerously close to Lily’s small shoulder.
"Last warning, Steel," Radek snarled, his thumb clicking the safety off with a sharp, metallic snap. "Drop the drive or the girl takes the first bullet."
I didn't drop it. Instead, I let a slow, chilling smile touch the corners of my mouth—the exact expression that had made rival bosses across the Midwest clear out of rooms before I even sat down.
"You think Arthur Sterling is going to pay you after this, Radek?" I asked softly, taking half a step forward. "Men like Sterling don't leave witnesses who know where the bodies are buried. The moment you pull that trigger, you become his biggest liability."
Radek’s eyes flickered for a single, fatal microsecond of hesitation. His gaze darted toward the shadows near the doorway as if expecting a double-cross from his employers.
That was all the opening Marco needed.
Through the high window, a muffled thud echoed inside the boathouse—not a gunshot, but the precise, suppressed crack of a high-powered round shattering the glass and striking the concrete floor two inches from Radek’s boot.
Radek stumbled back with a curse, his aim jolting upward.
I moved faster than a man my size had any right to. In three strides I crossed the concrete, slammed my palm upward against the slide of his pistol to redirect it toward the ceiling, and drove my elbow directly into his sternum.
The enforcer let out a violent gasp as the wind was knocked out of him, crashing backward over the wooden crate. Before he could recover, I pinned him to the floor with my knee, grabbing his collar and slamming his head against the concrete until his eyes rolled back and he went completely limp.
The boathouse fell dead silent again, save for the heavy panting of my own breath and the howling of the lake wind outside.
I stood up, adjusting my jacket, and immediately turned toward the children.
Lily hadn't flinched during the scuffle. She was still holding Owen tightly, her blue eyes fixed on me with an intensity that defied her five years of age. When I knelt down in front of them, she reached out and touched the cut forming on my cheek where Radek’s gun had grazed me.
"Is the bad man sleeping?" Owen whispered, peeking his head out from behind his sister's coat.
"He's sleeping," I said, my voice softening as I scooped them both up into my arms in one fluid, protective motion. "And he's not going to wake up for a very, very long time."
Marco kicked open the side door of the boathouse a moment later, his submachine gun raised, followed by two members of our security detail. He took one look at Radek unconscious on the floor, then at me holding the twins.
"Sweep team reports a second vehicle fleeing northbound toward downtown," Marco said quickly, holstering his weapon. "Sterling must have been watching from a distance. He knows the exchange failed."
"Let him run," I said, carrying the children out into the cold night air toward the waiting SUV. "He thinks he’s running away from a bad business deal. He doesn't understand that he just declared war on the wrong family."
I strapped Lily and Owen safely into the back seats of the armored vehicle, pulling a heavy wool blanket over their shoulders. Lily looked up at me as I closed the door, her fingers clutching my sleeve.
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"Are we going back to your house now?" she asked.
"Home," I corrected her gently, closing the door and turning to Marco. "Get Marcus on the secure line. Tell him to prep the corporate servers. By sunrise, we aren't just going to freeze Arthur Sterling's assets. We're going to dismantle his entire legal empire, piece by piece, until he has nowhere left to hide."
