Chapter 9 - The Reckoning
The color vanished from Vincent’s face so fast he looked like a corpse under the harsh halogen glare. He stumbled backward, his hand finally diving into his coat pocket and pulling out a small nickel-plated revolver.
"Stay back!" Vincent shrieked, waving the gun wildly between me and Maria. "I swear to God, I’ll put a bullet in both of you before your dogs even reach the truck!"
He made a desperate lunge sideways, aiming straight for Maria, intending to use her as a human shield to reach the open doorway.
I didn't hesitate.
Years of underworld survival and lethal precision took over. My hand flashed to my holster, my arm extended, and with a single, deafening crack, my bullet struck the concrete floor half an inch from Vincent’s right boot, sending a shower of sparks flying into the air.
Simultaneously, my lead enforcer lunged from the shadows, tackling Vincent around the waist and driving him hard against the side of a rusted metal container.
The revolver clattered out of Vincent’s hand, skittering across the concrete until it came to a stop near Maria’s feet.
Maria looked down at the weapon, then slowly raised her gaze to Vincent, who was pinned helplessly against the metal wall with my enforcer's forearm pressed firmly across his throat.
She walked over slowly, her footsteps echoing in the massive warehouse. She stopped inches from him, looking down into the eyes of the man who had ordered her husband to be locked in a freezing industrial freezer.
"You left him in the dark," Maria said, her voice shaking with quiet, devastating fury. "You left him to freeze while you went home to your warm bed and your expensive wine."
Vincent gasped for air against the enforcer's arm, his eyes wide with blind panic. "I was... I was just following orders from the—"
Smack.
Maria’s open palm struck Vincent across the face with a sharp, resounding crack that echoed off the metal walls.
May you like
"There are no orders that excuse murder," Maria whispered, stepping back. She looked over at me, giving a single, decisive nod.
I walked up to Vincent, grabbing him by the expensive lapels of his ruined coat and hauling him upright. "The federal marshals are waiting outside, Vincent. They have your bank records, your encrypted communications, and the testimonies linking you to every drop on the Brooklyn docks. You're going away for the rest of your natural life."
