Chapter 2 - The Hostage Brother
Sadie stared at the bloody silver chain, her heart hammering violently against her ribs.
Leo had a terrible gambling problem, and he was the entire reason Sadie was in debt to Silas and Vito in the first place.
She reached out with her trembling left hand and picked up the cold, stained metal.
Heavy footsteps echoed against the hardwood floor of the main hallway.
Declan walked into the kitchen, his crisp white dress shirt ruined by dark crimson splatters.
He poured himself a cup of black coffee as if he had not just spent the entire night erasing fifteen lives from existence.
Sadie held up the bloody necklace, her voice shaking as she demanded to know where her brother was.
Declan looked at the chain, his dark eyes softening for just a fraction of a second.
He told her that when his elite guards raided the Southside safehouse, they found the chain on the floor of a basement holding cell.
The men who broke her arm had taken Leo as collateral the previous night.
Sadie felt the entire room spin dizzily around her as the horrifying truth set in.
Declan explained that a rogue captain named Marcus was secretly orchestrating a coup against him from the inside.
Marcus had used Silas and Vito to kidnap Leo, knowing Sadie would eventually lead them straight into Declan’s inner circle.
Sadie realized she had been an unwitting pawn in a massive, deadly game of mafia chess.
Declan stepped closer, his imposing presence completely filling the massive kitchen.
He promised Sadie that she was his personal responsibility now, and he would not let Marcus hurt her family.
Sadie wanted to believe him, but she knew the brutal reality of the world he operated in.
Before she could ask how he planned to find Leo, a deafening explosion rocked the front of the estate.
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The massive kitchen windows shattered violently inward, spraying deadly shards of glass everywhere.
Declan tackled Sadie to the floor, covering her fragile body with his own as automatic gunfire ripped through the walls.
