Chapter 1 - The Midnight Bus
The ancient engine of the night bus rumbled violently beneath Marin Holloway’s freezing feet.
She stared out the rain-streaked window as the glowing skyline of Boston slowly disappeared into the dark November night.
Her trembling hand rested protectively over her completely flat stomach.
She carried nothing but an eleven-dollar ticket and a secret that could have changed the entire criminal underworld.
Raphael Santoro had thrown her away without a second glance.
He had accused her of treason in front of twelve heavily armed men.
He had promised to banish her only brother, Beckett, far away from the city limits.
Marin closed her tired eyes and promised herself she would never shed another tear for the boss of the North End.
She was going to build a completely new life for the innocent child growing inside her.
Miles away, standing in the shadows of a deserted shipping yard, Gideon Pace pulled a secondary burner phone from his heavy wool coat.
The loyal right-hand man of the Santoro empire dialed a highly encrypted international number.
The line connected with a sharp click, followed by the sound of a man breathing heavily on the other end.
Gideon spoke into the cold wind with absolutely zero emotion in his voice.
He confirmed that Marin Holloway had successfully been exiled from Raphael’s protective fortress.
The older man on the phone chuckled darkly, his voice raspy and cruel.
Gideon promised the anonymous caller that Raphael would never discover the truth about the intercepted shipments.
He also confirmed that Beckett Holloway was currently locked in the trunk of his car.
The older man ordered Gideon to keep the brother alive for future leverage.
Gideon hung up the phone and casually dropped it into the freezing waters of the harbor.
He had successfully lied to Raphael for the very first time in eleven years.
Back on the dark highway, the bus suddenly lurched forward as the driver slammed hard on the heavy air brakes.
Marin gripped the seat in front of her as the massive vehicle skidded to a violent halt on the wet asphalt.
Red and blue police lights began flashing brightly through the foggy windows.
The bus doors hissed open, and two heavily armed state troopers marched directly up the narrow aisle.
One of the officers held a crumpled photograph in his gloved hand.
He stopped right next to Marin’s seat and aimed a blinding tactical flashlight directly into her terrified eyes.
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The trooper looked at the photograph and then placed a heavy hand on his holstered weapon.
He told his partner to secure the exits because they had just found the runaway girl.
