"Thirty seconds. That's all you have to stop the bullshit, or your son is dead."
~~~~
Six years ago, Chelsea Doherty lost everything when her husband disappeared without a trace and left her to clean up his past. Now living in Ireland, she has piec...
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Cambridge, Massachusetts
June 2024
~~~~
I glare at the screen of the GPS where the dot that's Chelsea's phone has stopped moving. Things are about to get tight. "I told you not to keep that far of a distance."
Anton huffs. "Marcel isn't an amateur. If I had kept on his ass, he'd notice we were following them."
Marcel is probably shooting Chelsea right now.
We are gaining on the dot; one more turn and my breath hitches.
The fuck!
I stare at the surreal scene. The hood of Chelsea's car kissing the metal divider, windshield busted, glass scattered everywhere.
What the hell happened?
I jump out of the van before Anton has a chance to fully break. Legging it around the crashed Toyota, I freeze. Marcel lies in a pool of blood on the ground, Chelsea standing over him, the gun she has trained on him trembling. I approach slowly so as not to spook her. The situation is unstable as it is; the last thing I need is for her to swing around and fire a bullet at me because she feels threatened.
Sobs shake her body; if Marcel weren't hurt, he would've long disarmed her. I step behind her and reach around to steady her hand. "It's okay. I'll take this."
When I twist the weapon out of her grip, she doesn't resist. Gazing at me with tearful eyes from under her lashes, she lets out a low wail. "Why can't I do it? Why can't I shoot him?"
"'Cause you're not a killer."
She leans her forehead against my shoulder, her body quivering. I rub her back, whispering "shh, shh" under my breath.
The racking of a gun behind me foils the little strides I made to calm her. Turning around, I ensure that I'm shielding Chelsea from Anton's Glock. "Wo-ho, hold up. Now it's not the time."
"Now is the perfect time. Cleaner doesn't care if he has to get rid of one body or two."
The moment to pull rank. "Stand down, Anton, I mean it."
"Why are you protecting her? She has been playing us. You said so yourself."
"We don't have time to get into this right now."
"A bullet takes a second."
"Anton, I said stand down." I lock his gaze and hold it without blinking. "In case you forgot, I run this crew and what I say goes. There are still too many questions she needs to answer and tonight, our focus should only be on Marcel."
Anton's nostrils flare, but he lowers the gun. I bought Chelsea some time.
I clutch her shoulders and shake her gently to get through to her. "The transit station is less than half a mile from here. Can you make it there on foot?"
