719 The Shadows of Vengeance: Bloodlines, Betrayal, and the Final Reckoning at the Docks

I didn't hesitate. I vaulted over the stone railing of the balcony, ignoring the height, and dropped straight down into the wet gravel of the courtyard below, rolling over my shoulder to absorb the impact.

Pain flared sharply through my left knee, but adrenaline burned it away instantly.

I scrambled to my feet and threw open the courtyard gates leading to the perimeter drive. The red tail lights of Nicholas’s personal sports car were already burning a hole through the fog, spinning tires throwing up gravel as he tore down the private access road toward the main security gate.

"Vince!" I screamed into the comms unit clipped to my collar, pressing the button until my knuckle turned white. "Vince, intercept Nicholas at the North Gate! Do not let him leave the property alive!"

"Boss, I read you! Security grid is locking down—" Vince's voice crackled through the static, cut short by the sharp, echoing pop of a heavy-caliber round.

A second later, a deafening explosion ripped through the night air near the front perimeter wall. A massive fireball billowed into the sky, painting the heavy clouds in a violent orange glow. Nicholas had rigged the secondary gate controls to blow, clearing his path straight out onto the Long Island highway while taking out our primary security checkpoint in the process.

I stood frozen in the middle of the driveway, the heat of the burning gate washing over my face.

He was gone. The man who had sold my wife to a cartel execution squad, who had poisoned my daughters' minds and turned my own blood against me, had slipped through my fingers.