Chapter 16 - Pier Nine
Midnight turned Providence Harbor black.
Wind tore across the water, carrying the smell of salt and diesel through the abandoned warehouses surrounding Pier Nine.
Claire walked alone.
At least, she looked alone.
The false Northstar ledger rested inside a leather case.
A microphone was sewn beneath her coat collar.
Federal agents occupied three positions around the harbor.
Evan sat inside a surveillance van two blocks away, furious that he had agreed to remain there.
Claire reached the end of the pier.
A light appeared inside an old warehouse.
Her phone buzzed.
COME INSIDE.
Claire entered.
Samuel Reed sat tied to a metal chair.
Alive.
His face was bruised but alert.
“Claire, don’t—”
Daniel Cross stepped from behind a steel column.
He looked exactly as Natalie described.
Bald.
Scar on chin.
Gray sweater.
Calm eyes.
He held a pistol.
“Stop.”
Claire stopped.
“Put the case down.”
She did.
Cross smiled.
“You look like your father.”
“That seems to be popular lately.”
“He had the same arrogance.”
“He documented yours.”
Cross’s smile disappeared.
“Open the case.”
Claire knelt.
Inside was the ledger copy.
Cross flipped through it.
His breathing changed.
For the first time, Claire saw emotion.
Fear.
“You found it.”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“My father left instructions.”
Cross laughed bitterly.
“Of course he did.”
“Let Samuel go.”
“When I’m finished.”
“No.”
Cross raised the gun.
“You’re not negotiating.”
Claire looked directly at him.
“My father tried to expose Northstar.”
“Your father built Northstar.”
“And then he tried to destroy it.”
“After making millions.”
“Yes.”
Cross blinked.
He had expected denial.
Claire gave him none.
“He was guilty,” she continued. “So were you.”
Cross’s jaw tightened.
“You think confession makes you strong?”
“No. Truth does.”
Cross poured lighter fluid over the ledger.
Claire’s pulse accelerated.
The pages contained chemical tracing powder.
If Cross handled them, investigators would have evidence.
But Samuel was still tied to the chair.
Cross struck a match.
Claire heard movement outside.
Cross heard it too.
His head snapped toward the loading doors.
He pointed the gun at Samuel.
“Police?”
Claire did not move.
“You expected me to bring you evidence in a kidnapping case without law enforcement?”
Cross’s face twisted.
“You stupid—”
The warehouse lights died.
Darkness swallowed everything.
Samuel shouted.
Gunfire exploded.
Claire dropped behind a shipping pallet.
Someone grabbed her coat.
She drove her elbow backward.
A man cursed.
Not Cross.
There was another person.
Claire tore free.
Red emergency lights flickered on.
Evan came through the side entrance.
He was not supposed to be there.
“Claire!”
Cross fired.
The bullet struck a steel beam.
Agents stormed through the loading doors.
Cross grabbed Samuel, pressing the pistol against his neck.
“Back up!”
Everyone froze.
Claire saw the burning match near the ledger.
The flame spread.
Cross stared at the agents.
“I walk out.”
“No,” Claire said.
Cross looked at her.
She pointed downward.
His shoes stood in spilled lighter fluid.
Fire crawled toward him.
Cross glanced down instinctively.
Samuel moved.
He slammed his head backward into Cross’s face.
Cross screamed.
The gun dropped.
Federal agents tackled him before he could recover.
Evan rushed to Claire.
“You okay?”
“I’m going to kill you.”
He stared.
“What?”
“You were supposed to stay in the van.”
“Happy to see you too.”
Behind them, agents extinguished the flames.
Samuel was freed.
Daniel Cross lay facedown in handcuffs, shouting threats that nobody cared about anymore.
One agent approached Claire.
“We recovered the ledger.”
“It’s fake.”
He blinked.
“The real one is already secured.”
Cross heard.
His entire body went still.
Claire walked toward him.
“You burned copies.”
Cross glared upward.
Claire crouched.
“My father learned too late that destroying evidence doesn’t destroy truth.”
She stood.
“You just learned the same thing.”
As agents dragged Cross away, Samuel began crying.
Claire hugged him.
“I’m sorry.”
He shook his head.
“You came.”
“Of course I came.”
Evan stood a few feet away, blood running from a cut above his eyebrow.
Claire looked at him.
“You’re bleeding.”
“I’ve had worse.”
She touched his face.
“You disobeyed federal instructions.”
“Yes.”
“That was incredibly stupid.”
“Yes.”
May you like
She kissed him.
For once, Evan had no argument.
