Chapter 5 - The Ride to Hell
They moved rapidly through the cramped kitchen and out the back delivery doors.
The cold night air hit Mave's face, smelling of ocean salt and rotting garbage.
An armored black SUV was idling in the alleyway with its headlights off.
Gallagher shoved Mave into the spacious backseat.
Brutus leaped in immediately after her, pressing his massive, warm body against her leg.
The dog rested his heavy, blood-stained head squarely on her lap.
Gallagher climbed in the other side and slammed the heavy door shut.
"Drive," he told the man behind the wheel.
The SUV peeled out of the alley, tires screaming against the wet asphalt.
Mave stared at the black notebook resting on Gallagher's knee.
"What is so important about a notebook?" she asked, trying to keep her voice from shaking.
Gallagher looked at her with those dead, dirty-ice eyes.
"That crew belongs to the Suarez Cartel," he explained quietly.
"They are moving into my territory, and this book contains the names of every corrupt judge and cop on their payroll."
Mave felt a chill run down her spine.
She realized she was now holding the most dangerous piece of leverage in the entire criminal underworld.
She looked out the tinted window, wondering if she would ever see her tiny, rundown apartment again.
They sped down a narrow side street, completely ignoring the traffic lights.
Suddenly, a pair of blinding high beams flared from an intersecting alley.
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Mave barely had time to brace herself.
A massive, reinforced pickup truck slammed violently into the passenger side of their SUV.
