Chapter 9 - Into the Rain
The freezing autumn rain hit my skin like a thousand tiny needles, instantly soaking my thin hospital gown and plastering my hair against my face.
I stumbled out into a narrow, recessed concrete loading bay tucked behind the hospital’s main incinerator building. Shadows stretched long and menacing under the flickering amber glow of a single security light overhead.
I was outside, but I was trapped in an open concrete pit with towering brick walls on three sides and a heavy chain-link gate blocking the driveway ahead.
And as I reached the edge of the driveway, the twin headlights of an unmarked black SUV cut through the falling rain, turning sharply into the alleyway and blocking my only path forward.
The vehicle idled ten feet away, its engine rumbling low and menacingly against the wet pavement.
The passenger-side door swung open, and Marcus Vance stepped out into the downpour, holding a black umbrella in one hand and keeping his other hand dangerously close to his holster.
May you like
"End of the road, Joanna," Vance called out calmly over the hiss of the rain, his eyes locked on me with cold satisfaction. "You can't outrun the trust. Hand over the boy."
I backed away until my spine pressed hard against the cold brick wall. I had nowhere left to run.
