Chapter 9 - The Final Reckoning
Tyler was still slamming his fist against the wood when the sound of heavy engines echoed down the residential street.
He turned around, panting and wild-eyed, just as two black SUV’s screeched to a halt right behind his battered sedan, blocking him in completely.
Doors flew open. Marcus and four other men stepped out into the pouring rain, moving with terrifying speed.
Tyler’s face drained of all color. He backed away from the brownstone door, holding up his good hand. “Wait—wait, look, I just wanted to talk to her! I just wanted—"
He didn't get to finish the sentence.
Marcus caught him by the collar of his jacket, lifting him off his feet and shoving him against the brick wall of the brownstone with enough force to rattle his teeth.
At that exact moment, the third SUV door opened, and Gideon Locke stepped out into the rain.
He didn't use an umbrella. The cold Chicago rain plastered his dark hair against his forehead, and his long wool coat trailed behind him like the cloak of a judge heading to the gallows. He walked slowly across the pavement, his eyes fixed entirely on Tyler.
“You don't learn very well, do you, Tyler?” Gideon said softly, stopping two feet away from where Marcus held the struggling man.
“You’re crazy!” Tyler screamed, spitting blood onto the pavement. “You’re protecting a thief! She ruined everything! I’m going to call the cops—I’m going to tell them what you people—"
“You won’t be telling anyone anything,” Gideon interrupted, his voice perfectly level. He reached inside his coat and pulled out a manila envelope, tossing it carelessly onto the hood of Tyler’s car. “Inside that envelope are three things. One: a bus ticket to a town three hundred miles south of here where no one knows your name. Two: a cashier’s check for five thousand dollars to start over. Three: a photograph of what happens to you if you ever cross the county line again.”
Tyler stared at the envelope, then up into Gideon’s terrifying, dead-eyed gaze.
“You can’t do this,” Tyler whispered, his voice cracking. “This is kidnapping! This is—"
“This is mercy,” Gideon corrected him coldly. “Because if I let my men handle you the way you handled Harper in that kitchen three weeks ago, you wouldn't be walking onto a bus.”
Gideon nodded to Marcus.
Marcus hauled Tyler away from the wall, dragging him across the wet pavement toward the waiting sedan, shoving him roughly into the passenger seat and slamming the door shut.
Gideon stood alone in the rain for a moment, staring up at the second-floor window of the brownstone.
May you like
Through the glass, he could see Harper standing in the hallway, clutching her crutches, her face pale but resolute.
Gideon adjusted the collar of his coat, turned around, and walked toward the entrance of the brownstone.
