Chapter 4 - The Hunt in the Shadows
The tires screamed against the wet asphalt as I whipped the steering wheel hard to the right, ducking down a narrow, cobblestone alleyway that ran parallel to Chestnut Street.
"Hold on, girls!" I shouted, keeping my eyes glued to the mirrors.
Piper grabbed the armrest, while Chloe instinctively threw her body over Maya, shielding her just as she had under the bakery awning. Despite the terror in the car, seeing that instinctual maternal bond between two six-year-olds twisted a knife in my heart. How long had they been protecting each other? What kind of hell had they survived?
Behind us, the black Escalade rounded the corner with brutal speed, its massive grille looming in my rearview mirror. Whoever was driving that vehicle wasn't an amateur; they took the tight alley corner with practiced precision, surging forward to close the gap.
"Daddy, who are they?" Piper cried out, panic finally breaking through her shock. "Why are they chasing us?"
"Nobody is going to touch you," I said, my voice dead and steady. "I promise you, Piper. Close your eyes. All of you, heads down!"
The alley ended at a sharp intersection leading toward the loading docks of the Brooks Grand Hotel. The iron security gate of the private executive garage was already rolling upward, a yellow warning light flashing in the rain.
I floored the accelerator. The SUV’s engine roared, rocketing across the street. The Cadillac accelerated behind us, trying to ram our rear bumper before we could clear the threshold.
"Come on," I gritted through my teeth.
We shot through the entrance with inches to spare. The undercarriage scraped the concrete incline with a violent metallic screech.
"Marcus, drop the gate! Now!" I roared into the Bluetooth system.
The heavy, steel-reinforced security shutter came crashing down like a guillotine. Through the rearview mirror, I saw the Cadillac slam on its brakes, its bumper stopping mere inches from the steel slats. The screech of its anti-lock brakes echoed through the alley outside before the heavy door locked into the concrete foundation with a thud that vibrated through the floorboards.
We were inside.
I pulled into the private executive bay, cutting the engine. The garage was bathed in the harsh, sterile glow of fluorescent lights. Two armed private security guards from the hotel, led by my head of property security, Frank Morales, were already sprinting toward my vehicle, their hands on their holsters.
"Mr. Brooks!" Frank shouted, reaching my door. "Are you hit? What the hell was that?"
I stepped out of the car, my shirt soaked, my chest heaving. The silence of the underground concrete cavern was deafening after the storm.
"Lock this facility down completely," I ordered, my voice trembling with an authority born of pure survival instinct. "Nobody comes down here. Seal the elevators, monitor the alley cameras, and get the license plate of that Escalade. If anyone tries to force that gate, you shoot to stop them."
Frank’s eyes widened as he looked past me into the vehicle.
Inside the back seat, Piper was sitting between Chloe and Maya. All three girls were staring out the window, three identical pairs of eyes, three identical faces pale with terror.
Frank stumbled back half a step, crossing himself instinctively. "Sweet Mother of God... Mr. Brooks... is that...?"
"Don't ask questions right now, Frank," I interrupted, my voice cracking. "Just secure the perimeter. I'm taking them upstairs to the penthouse."
I opened the rear door. Chloe and Maya shrank back, overwhelmed by the harsh lights and the armed guards.
"It's okay," I said softly, reaching out my hands. "You're safe now. This is my home. No one can hurt you here."
Chloe looked at my face, then looked at the silver watch on my wrist, and finally nodded. She took my hand.
I carried Maya in my left arm and Chloe in my right, while Piper walked close to my leg, clutching the hem of my damp trousers. We entered the private executive elevator, which required my retinal scan and keycard to operate, ascending directly to the top-floor penthouse suite.
As the elevator rose silently, forty floors above the city, the silence inside the car was thick with unspoken questions. Maya’s head rested against my collarbone; her skin was finally beginning to warm, but she was trembling from exhaustion.
"Daddy?" Piper asked quietly, staring up at me as the elevator numbers climbed. "Are they my sisters? The ones who went to heaven with Mommy?"
I looked down at the three of them.
May you like
"They didn't go to heaven, Piper," I whispered, the rage and heartbreak finally congealing into a cold, unbreakable resolve. "They've been right here on earth. And whoever took them from us is going to pay for every single second they stole."
***
