They’ll cross-reference the blood trail and property records. If we leave you here, Dominic’s men will breach that door by 8 a. m. They’ll torture you for information, then put a bullet in your head.
”
“I’ll call the police. ”
“The police commissioner is on Dominic’s payroll. There is no law in Chicago today. Only survival.
You have three minutes to pack a bag, or you will die in this house. ”
She sprinted upstairs, grabbed jeans, sweaters, a parka, her passport. When she came down, Harrison and Damian were moving toward the door. Two men in tactical gear were already wiping down surfaces, erasing evidence.
She stepped onto her porch. The scale of the operation stole her breath. The entire neighborhood was locked down. An armored SUV pulled up.
Harrison shoved Damian inside, then turned to her. “Get in. ”
She climbed in. The ballistic glass door slammed shut.
Her townhouse disappeared into the swirling snow as the convoy moved. On the Bombardier Global 7500 private jet, a doctor named Sterling finished securing an IV line into Damian’s arm. Damian dismissed him. They were alone.
“Where are we going? ” Natalie asked. “A private estate in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Off the grid.
Dominic doesn’t know about it. ”
“And what happens to me? Am I a hostage? ”
“A guest.
You saved my life. I protect what is mine. ”
“I am not yours. ”
He slid a tablet across the table.
“Look. ”
A live feed from her neighbor’s security camera. Three unmarked black vans on her lawn. Heavily armed men kicking her front door off its hinges.
If she had stayed, she would be dead. “Why is your own brother trying to kill you? ”
“Power is a sickness. Our father left the syndicate to me.
Dominic wants to pivot into human trafficking and synthetic narcotics. I refused. He bought off my lieutenants, hired a private army, and tried to bury me in the snow. He failed.
Now I’m going to tear his empire apart. ”
“And I’m just supposed to wait in a fortress while you start a war? ”
“You’re going to wait because it’s the only place you’re safe. And because you’re more important than you realize.
”
He reached into his pocket, pulled out the Kimber, popped the magazine, and pried off a small false plate at the base. A tiny micro SD card fell into his palm. “Dominic thinks he destroyed the shipping ledgers at the Navy Pier fire. He doesn’t know I downloaded the master files before the warehouse went up.
When you dragged me into your house, you didn’t just save my life. You saved the one piece of evidence that can destroy half the political infrastructure of Chicago. You’re the sole reason I still hold the winning hand. ”
Natalie stared at the microchip.
The old Natalie, the tired ER nurse from Evanston, had died in the blizzard. She was holding the key to a criminal empire.