Chapter 5 - The Explosion
The shockwave rocked the heavy SUV violently.
Mave screamed, covering her face as fiery debris rained down onto the hood of the vehicle.
“Vincent!” she yelled, tearing at her seatbelt.
Leo grabbed her shoulder, pinning her to the seat.
“Stay down!” Leo ordered, his voice tight with panic.
The entire secondary warehouse was completely engulfed in raging flames.
The explosion had blown the massive steel bay doors clean off their hinges.
“He was in there, Leo!” Mave sobbed, struggling against his grip.
“We have to help him!”
Before Leo could answer, the dark silhouette of a man stumbled out of the burning warehouse.
He was coughing violently, clutching his side, and limping heavily.
It was Vincent.
“Drive to him!” Mave screamed.
Leo threw the SUV into gear and sped toward the burning building, skidding to a halt right next to Vincent.
Mave threw the back door open.
Vincent collapsed into the backseat, smelling heavily of smoke and blood.
“Get us out of here, Leo!” Vincent gasped, pressing a bloody hand against his ribcage.
Leo floored the accelerator, tearing out of the industrial complex and back onto the highway.
Mave frantically grabbed the first aid kit from under the seat.
“You’re bleeding,” Mave panicked, trying to unbutton his ruined, blood-soaked tuxedo shirt.
“It’s just a graze,” Vincent grunted, waving her hands away.
“Did you find Marcus?” Leo asked from the front seat, checking his mirrors for pursuit.
Vincent let out a harsh, bitter laugh.
“I found him.”
“He was already dead when I got there.”
Mave froze, the bloody gauze slipping from her hands.
“Dead?”
Vincent nodded grimly, accepting the gauze from her and pressing it against his side.
“Someone put a bullet in his head and wired the warehouse to blow.”
“The Rossi family tied up a loose end,” Leo concluded.
“No,” Vincent said, his eyes darkening with a terrifying realization.
“The bomb wasn't planted by Dante’s men.”
“It was military-grade C4, wired to a pressure plate connected to the master safe.”
Vincent looked at Mave.
“Only one person in my entire organization knows how to wire a pressure plate to a master safe.”
Mave’s blood ran completely cold.
“Who?” she whispered.
May you like
Vincent stared out the rain-streaked window into the darkness.
“My younger brother, Julian.”
