Chapter 5 - The Schoolyard Threat
Sadie didn't think.
She bolted from the room, flying past Silas before the massive bodyguard could even reach for her arm.
She sprinted down the grand staircase, ignoring the shocked shouts of the household staff.
June Callaway yelled for security, but Sadie was already bursting through the heavy front doors.
She ran down the sprawling driveway, her cheap shoes tearing against the gravel.
Just as she reached the towering iron gates, a sleek black SUV screeched to a halt inches from her knees.
The tinted window rolled down, revealing the smirking face of a man she had never seen before.
He wore a flashy silver chain and smelled heavily of cheap cologne and expensive cigars.
He wasn't one of Ronan’s men.
This man wore the colors of the Volkov syndicate, the brutal Russian rivals who had warred with the Cains for a decade.
The man leaned out the window and dangled a familiar pink backpack from his thick fingers.
Poppy’s backpack.
The man smiled, revealing a row of gold teeth.
He told Sadie that they knew who she was, they knew about the tattoo, and they wanted the dead man’s book.
He gave her exactly forty-eight hours to find Liam’s ledger and bring it to the docks, or her daughter would disappear forever.
Before Sadie could scream, the rear window rolled down.
Poppy was sitting in the back seat, happily eating a lollipop, completely oblivious to the danger.
Poppy waved and shouted that the nice man was taking them to get ice cream.
Sadie lunged for the door handle, but the SUV’s engine roared.
Suddenly, a massive black town car slammed violently into the side of the SUV.
Glass shattered as Ronan Cain stepped out of the smoking town car, a suppressed pistol gripped loosely in his right hand.
The Volkov driver cursed, threw the SUV into reverse, and sped away down the winding coastal road with Poppy still inside.
Sadie fell to her knees, screaming her daughter’s name.
Ronan walked over to her, his face an emotionless mask of cold fury.
He holstered his weapon and looked down at her shivering form.
May you like
He leaned in close, his voice a lethal whisper.
He told her that her daughter was the bait, and if Sadie wanted to see her alive, it was time to stop lying.
