Chapter 6 - The Riverbank Reckoning
The suppressed gunshot sounded like a heavy staple gun echoing across the dark water.
The bullet didn't hit Elena; it shattered the concrete railing an inch to the left of her head, sending a spray of sharp stone chips flying into the air.
Elena screamed, stumbling backward, and fired twice in quick succession.
Pft-pft!
One round clipped the sleeve of my tactical jacket, burning hot against my shoulder; the other ricocheted off the iron doorframe behind us.
Before she could line up her sights for a third shot, Marco moved with terrifying, blinding speed. He didn't shoot to kill—he fired a single burst into the outboard motor housing of the getaway boat tied to the dock.
Clang-rat-tat-tat!
Sparks flew as bullets chewed through the engine block. A plume of thick black smoke erupted from the motor, followed by a sharp hiss of escaping fuel and steam.
Elena’s escape route died in a cloud of burnt oil.
She realized it instantly. Her eyes darted toward the disabled boat, then back toward the open river, before finally locking onto Marco and me standing side-by-side at the end of the dock.
“You think arresting me will save your company?” Elena snarled, her voice rising hysterically over the storm. “Julian Vance already has the proxy votes! By morning, the board will ratify the acquisition! Vance Enterprises belongs to the Sovereign Group!”
“Vance Enterprises isn't what I care about anymore, Elena,” I said, walking toward her with slow, deliberate steps, my pistol held straight and steady.
She raised her 9mm, her hands shaking slightly as the cold rain drenched her dark hair. “Stay back! I swear to God I’ll put a bullet through your heart!”
“Put it down,” Marco commanded from my left, his submachine gun locked dead on the center of her chest. “You’re out of ammo, Elena. I counted your shots. You spent your last round on the second ricochet.”
She froze. She pulled the trigger anyway—click.
Empty chamber.
With a cry of absolute rage, Elena hurled the pistol away, watching it splash uselessly into the dark, churning waters of the Chicago River. She lunged forward, her hands clawing toward my face like a trapped animal, but Marco moved faster than a striking viper.
He intercepted her mid-air, sweeping her legs out from under her and slamming her hard onto the wet concrete of the dock. He twisted her arms behind her back with brutal, efficient force, slapping heavy steel tactical cuffs around her wrists with a sharp clack.
“Got her, boss,” Marco panted, pressing her face against the cold stone.
I stood over her, looking down at the woman who had lived under my roof, eaten at my table, and plotted the destruction of my family.
“Where is Sarah?” I asked, my voice like crushed ice.
Elena laughed, spitting a mixture of rain and blood onto the concrete. “Sarah? Oh, your precious sister-in-law was smart. The moment she realized Julian was planning to eliminate her too once the merger went through, she packed her bags and tried to cut a separate deal with the federal prosecutors downtown. She’s probably sitting in an FBI holding cell right now, pissing her pants.”
May you like
I looked at Marco.
“Call the federal task force,” I ordered, turning my back on Elena as Marco hauled her roughly to her feet. “Tell Agent Miller we have the primary operative for the Sovereign Group in custody. And tell him we’re bringing her in ourselves.”
