Chapter 7 - The Loyal Traitor
Adrian stared down the barrel of Victor’s revolver.
The streetlights flashed through the windshield, illuminating the absolute terror in his lieutenant’s eyes.
Victor had been by his side for fifteen years, saving his life more times than Adrian could count.
“Put the gun down, Victor,” Adrian said evenly, not moving a muscle.
“I can’t,” Victor choked out, tears mixing with the sweat on his face. “Claire’s men have my wife and my little boy.”
Adrian knew Victor was telling the truth, but he also knew he could not let himself be captured.
With blinding speed, Adrian struck Victor’s wrist with the edge of his hand.
The revolver discharged, blowing a massive hole through the roof of the SUV.
Adrian twisted Victor’s arm, forcing him to drop the weapon onto the floorboards.
The sudden struggle caused Victor to jerk the steering wheel violently to the right.
The heavy SUV jumped the curb, smashing through a wrought-iron fence and crashing into a stone monument in a public park.
The airbags deployed with a deafening crack, filling the cabin with white smoke.
Adrian punched the deflating airbag away and looked over at Victor, who was bleeding from a cut on his forehead.
“Where is she keeping your family?” Adrian demanded, grabbing Victor by the collar.
Victor coughed, pointing a shaking finger toward the dashboard monitor.
“She gave me a tracking link to prove they were alive,” Victor gasped.
Adrian ripped the navigation screen loose, revealing a hidden tablet wired into the console.
He tapped the screen, bringing up a live video feed from a dark, damp basement.
Victor’s wife and son were tied to wooden chairs, blindfolded and gagged.
However, a secondary camera feed in the corner of the screen caught Adrian’s full attention.
It showed the private underground garage of Adrian’s own secure banking facility across town.
In the video, a man was violently dragging little Emma toward a waiting helicopter.
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The man dragging the child turned his face toward the camera, illuminated by the harsh security lights.
It was Elias Vale, Adrian’s older brother, who had supposedly burned to death in a warehouse fire ten years ago.
