Chapter 12 - The Docks at Midnight
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The Seattle shipping yards at midnight looked like a graveyard for metal giants. Massive cargo containers stacked four stories high created a labyrinth of rusted steel and deep shadows. The freezing November rain poured relentlessly, turning the concrete into slick, black ice.
I stood alone under the sickly yellow glow of a single, flickering streetlamp.
The heavy Kevlar vest under my oversized raincoat was suffocating, and the throbbing in my sprained ankle was agonizing, but I forced myself to stand perfectly still. I leaned heavily on one crutch, trying to look as vulnerable and desperate as Jake expected me to be.
“I am in position right above you, Ava,” Luca’s voice crackled softly through the tiny earpiece hidden in my right ear. “Dante is flanking the left corridor. You are completely surrounded by my men. Do not move from the light.”
“I copy,” I whispered, my breath pluming in the freezing air.
Ten minutes passed in agonizing silence. The only sounds were the rain hitting the metal containers and the distant blare of a foghorn.
Then, the piercing glare of headlights cut through the fog.
A black SUV slowly rolled down the center aisle of the shipping yard, stopping exactly thirty feet away from my streetlight. The engine idled, a low, menacing growl.
The driver’s side door opened.
Jake Martinez stepped out into the rain.
He looked terrible. The charm that had once won me over was entirely gone, replaced by the twitchy, hollowed-out paranoia of a man running for his life. He wore a cheap leather jacket, looking around nervously, a heavy silver handgun gripped tightly in his right hand.
“Well, well,” Jake sneered, taking a slow step toward me. “Look at you, Ava. Still playing the pathetic, broken victim. Where’s the kid?”
“Emma isn't here, Jake,” I said, keeping my voice loud and clear for the hidden microphones. “You said you wanted to talk. Talk.”
Jake let out a harsh, bitter laugh. “You think I want to talk? I want the seventy grand you hid from me, Ava! I know you didn't spend it all. I need that money to buy my way out of this city before Castellano finds me.”
I stared at him, absolutely disgusted. He wasn't even here for his daughter. He was here to rob me again.
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“I don't have the money, Jake,” I said coldly. “You took everything.”
“Liar!” Jake screamed, raising the gun and pointing it directly at my chest. “You’re coming with me, you bitch! When Castellano realizes I have his new favorite toy, he’ll back off!”
