Chapter 6 - Betrayal and Alliance
The silence between us was deafening, broken only by the roar of the rain cascading off the concrete bridge above.
"You think you've won, Vance?" I asked softly, taking a single, deliberate step forward, ignoring the rifles locked onto my chest. "You think taking out a former mob enforcer fixes your problem?"
"It fixes the immediate problem," Vance replied coldly. "The bag, Gavin. Or I shoot you in the knee first."
Before I could move, Leo stepped sideways, putting himself slightly between Vance's men and me. "Vance, you're making a mistake. The Moretti family still controls half the docks in Galveston. You wipe Gavin out, and my people make sure your name is leaked to every cartel from here to Juarez."
Vance didn't even turn his head. "The Moretti family is a dying dinosaur, Leo. You think I didn't talk to your uncle in Chicago before I arranged this? He sold you out hours ago."
Leo froze. The realization hit him like a physical blow. The Chicago syndicate had traded us to save their own operations from federal indictments. We were alone.
"Hand it over," Vance repeated, cocking the hammer of his weapon.
"Take it," I said, swinging the leather bag forward.
But instead of handing it to him, I slammed the heavy bag directly into the face of the tactical guard to my right.
The gun discharged into the air.
Leo moved instantly, tackling Vance to the wet pavement. Shots erupted under the overpass, deafening explosions echoing off the concrete walls. I grabbed the dropped rifle from the disarmed guard, using his body as a shield as bullets zipped through the air.
I fired three quick bursts, taking down two of the hired shooters before kicking the third into the rushing river current.
Leo was on top of Vance, slamming his fists into the prosecutor’s face. Vance shrieked, firing his silenced pistol wildly into the dark. One bullet grazed Leo’s shoulder, forcing him back.
Vance scrambled to his feet, bleeding from his nose, and sprinted toward a black sedan parked at the edge of the industrial lot. He dove inside, the engine roaring to life as the car sped away, tires screaming against the wet asphalt.
"Leo!" I yelled, dropping to my knees beside him. "Are you hit?"
"Just a scratch," Leo grunted, holding his blood-stained shoulder. "Go after him! He’s going for the kid!"
I looked at the black sedan disappearing into the storm. Vance knew he was running out of time. If he couldn't destroy the evidence, he would destroy the only witness left who knew how to unravel his network: Chloe.
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I grabbed the leather bag from the ground, ran to the fallen guard's motorcycle parked near the tunnel entrance, and hotwired the ignition. The engine roared to life with a primal scream.
I slammed the vehicle into gear and tore out into the storm, chasing the taillights of the man who had stolen five years of my life.
