Chapter 4 - The Alibi
The pounding on the front glass door threatened to shatter the entire pane.
"Open up, Miss Bellamy," the police officer yelled from the sidewalk.
I stood frozen behind my desk, my mind unable to process the nightmare unfolding around me.
Graham had not just stolen my money.
He had perfectly framed me for his massive theft from his new billionaire bride.
Silas moved with sudden, terrifying speed.
He grabbed my wrist and pulled me away from the desk.
"You have exactly ten seconds to decide if you want to spend the night in a holding cell," Silas warned.
I looked at his sharp jawline and the intense, dangerous intelligence in his dark eyes.
"What do I do?" I asked, my voice shaking uncontrollably.
"You do exactly what I tell you, and you do not speak," he commanded.
Silas grabbed a heavy black trench coat from a coat rack and threw it over my wedding dress.
He dragged me out of the back office just as the front door lock began to splinter.
Instead of running out the back alley, Silas marched me directly toward the front door.
He unlocked the deadbolt and pulled the door open before the officers could kick it down.
Two uniformed officers rushed forward with their hands on their holstered weapons.
"June Bellamy, you are under arrest for grand larceny and wire fraud," the lead officer barked.
Before he could reach for his handcuffs, Silas stepped smoothly between us.
Silas pulled a sleek leather wallet from his jacket and flashed a gold badge that caught the streetlights.
"Special Agent Thorne, Federal Bureau of Investigation," Silas lied flawlessly.
The two beat cops froze, staring at the impressive credentials.
"Miss Bellamy is a cooperating witness in an ongoing federal sting operation targeting the Vale crime syndicate," Silas continued.
The officers exchanged a confused and nervous glance.
"We have a warrant signed by a state judge," the younger officer argued weakly.
Silas stepped closer to the officer, using his height to intimidate the man completely.
"And I have federal jurisdiction that supersedes your local paperwork."
Silas firmly grabbed my shoulder and guided me past the stunned officers.
A black armored SUV with tinted windows was idling silently at the curb.
Silas opened the passenger door and shoved me inside before the cops could recover their wits.
He climbed into the driver's seat and sped away from the curb, leaving the police in our dust.
I collapsed against the leather seat, gasping for air as the adrenaline spiked in my veins.
"You are not FBI," I said, peeling the heavy trench coat off my shoulders.
"I am whatever I need to be to keep my assets out of prison," Silas replied smoothly.
I reached into the pocket of the trench coat to find a tissue for my sweating forehead.
Instead, my fingers brushed against cold metal.
I pulled out a small, cheap burner phone that I had never seen before.
I realized the trench coat Silas had grabbed belonged to Graham, who had left it at the shop yesterday.
Suddenly, the burner phone in my hand began to vibrate violently.
May you like
The screen lit up with a single incoming text message.
"If you are reading this, Silas Thorne plans to kill you tonight."
