Chapter 6 - The Brother's Secret
The shipyard erupted into absolute chaos as Marcus’s mercenaries blindly returned fire toward the shipping containers.
Declan immediately dove behind a stack of wooden pallets, pulling a hidden backup weapon from his ankle holster.
He laid down a suppressive blanket of heavy gunfire, giving Sadie enough time to sprint across the clearing to his position.
He grabbed her roughly by her uninjured arm and pulled her down into the freezing mud beside him.
He angrily demanded to know why she had disobeyed a direct order to stay in the impenetrable safehouse.
Sadie yelled over the deafening gunfire that she was not going to let him die for her family's mistakes.
Declan reloaded his weapon, an undeniable look of fierce admiration flashing in his dark eyes.
Using the confusion of the sudden ambush, Declan threw a smoke grenade directly into the center of the clearing.
Thick, blinding gray smoke instantly filled the air, completely masking their movements.
Declan and Sadie rushed forward through the smoke to where Leo was still kneeling in the mud.
Sadie dropped to her knees and frantically ripped the black cloth sack off her brother’s bruised face.
She hugged him tightly, sobbing with profound relief that he was still alive.
Declan ordered Leo to get up so they could run to the extraction point before the smoke cleared.
Leo did not move a single muscle, his eyes darting nervously toward the fading gray smoke.
Sadie tugged on his shirt, begging him to hurry before Marcus’s men found them.
Leo slowly stood up, but instead of running, he reached into his muddy jacket.
He pulled out a heavy black handgun and pointed it directly at Declan’s head.
Leo looked down at his horrified sister and apologized in a cold, unfamiliar voice.
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He confessed that he had never been a hostage; he had orchestrated the entire kidnapping with Marcus.
Leo had sold out his own sister and the powerful mafia boss just to clear his gambling debts and secure a place in the new empire.
