Chapter 8 - The Ultimatum
Roman threw his body violently into Harper.
They crashed to the floor just as the shotgun blast obliterated the wall behind them.
Before the traitor could pump the action, Roman fired from the ground.
A single bullet caught the guard between the eyes.
Harper curled into a tight ball, sobbing uncontrollably.
Roman stood up, his face devoid of any emotion.
He checked the guard’s pockets, found a keycard, and swiped it on the elevator panel.
“Get up, Harper,” he commanded.
She couldn’t move.
The sheer volume of death surrounding her had paralyzed her limbs.
Roman reached down, scooped her off the floor, and carried her into the elevator.
The doors closed, and the metal box began a rapid descent to the basement.
“You’re a monster,” she whispered into his shoulder.
“And you are alive because of it,” he replied coldly.
They reached the underground garage.
A black SUV was waiting with the engine running.
Roman shoved her into the passenger seat and took the wheel.
They tore out of the parking structure, merging recklessly into city traffic.
Harper’s burner phone suddenly buzzed in her pocket.
She pulled it out with shaking hands.
The caller ID was blocked.
She answered it, pressing the speaker button.
“Harper,” her boss’s voice crackled through the speaker.
It was not his usual corporate tone.
It was frantic and vicious.
“Mr. Davis?” Harper gasped.
“You caused a lot of problems tonight, Harper,” Davis spat.
“I know you’re with Falco.”
Harper realized with sickening clarity that her boss was a senior cartel member.
“I want out,” she cried.
“It’s too late for that,” Davis sneered.
“But if you want to see your sister again, you’re going to help me.”
Harper’s blood ran cold.
“Roman said his men had Chloe.”
Davis laughed darkly.
“His man Leo took a bullet to the chest in the alley.”
May you like
“We have Chloe.”
“And she dies in exactly one hour.”
