Chapter 5 - The Hunt Begins
By 2:00 AM, a torrential rainstorm had engulfed New York City.
Dominic was sitting in the back of his armored black SUV, driving through the slick streets of Lower Manhattan, frantically dialing Evelyn’s cell phone.
Straight to voicemail.
"Find her," Dominic ordered his chief security officer, Marcus, sitting in the front passenger seat. "Track her phone signal. Check her apartment on West Eighty-Ninth."
"Sir," Marcus said, looking at his tablet. "Her phone signal was cut off near the Meatpacking District ten minutes ago. But we found something else."
"What?"
"Her apartment was ransacked an hour ago," Marcus reported gravely. "And a black van registered to Moretti Enterprises was spotted leaving her block."
Dominic’s heart seized with terror.
"Moretti took her," Dominic whispered, his voice shaking with pure, unadulterated fury.
"Should we call Grant for backup?" Marcus asked.
"No," Dominic said sharply. "Grant is too loud, and I don't trust him right now. Get six of our best men. We're going to Moretti's meatpacking warehouse."
Meanwhile, inside the damp, concrete basement of an abandoned slaughterhouse near the Hudson River, Evelyn was tied to a wooden chair beneath a harsh overhead light.
Her emerald gown was torn at the hem, and her dark hair was disheveled, but her gray eyes were calm, cold, and completely focused.
Julian Moretti stood in front of her, holding an iron pipe, flanked by three armed guards.
"You thought you were clever at dinner, didn't you, little secretary?" Moretti sneered, slapping the pipe against his palm. "You humiliated me in front of the entire city."
"You humiliated yourself, Julian," Evelyn said, her voice steady despite the bruised lip she had sustained during her kidnapping. "Your accounting was sloppy."
Moretti stepped forward, grabbing her by her jaw, forcing her to look at him. "You're going to sign a confession stating that Dominic Vale ordered the raid on Pier 14. You're going to give me his master passwords for the offshore accounts."
Evelyn spat a mixture of blood and spit right into Moretti’s face.
"Go to hell," she said softly.
May you like
Moretti wiped his face, his eyes filling with violent rage. He raised the iron pipe. "I'm going to break every bone in your hands, girl. Let's see how fast you type after that."
Before the pipe could swing down, the steel reinforced door of the warehouse blew inward with a deafening BOOM!
