Chapter 10 - Blood Debts
Val stood frozen in the narrow cabin, the rumble of the twin engines vibrating through the floorboards. The truth hung between them like an unsheathed blade.
“My father had a black division,” Val said slowly, his voice dangerous. “The St. Jude Operatives. Orphans taken in, raised off the books, trained to clean messes no one else could touch. He disbanded them before he died.”
“He didn't disband us,” Sarah replied calmly, setting the weapon down on the metal table. “He hid us. Declan was our commander. I was assigned to watch your home two years ago—not as an assassin, but as an insurance policy. Your father knew Declan’s ambition would eventually rot him from the inside.”
Val stepped closer, towering over her, his imposing presence filling the confined room. “You let him get close enough to shoot my daughter.”
“I didn't know he was moving tonight!” Sarah hissed back, her eyes blazing with fierce emotion. “I took the bullet out of Mia’s leg with my bare hands! If I wanted her dead, she would never have left that kitchen alive!”
Mia whimpered from the bunk, stirring in her sleep. Val looked at his daughter, then back to Sarah. The raw hostility in his posture slightly receded, replaced by a deadly, pragmatic resolve.
“You know Declan’s blind spots,” Val said.
May you like
“I know every drill he ever ran,” Sarah answered. “And I know he keeps his personal guard stationed exclusively on the north access stairwells. He leaves the express maintenance elevator unguarded because he believes only he has the master override.”
Val reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the drive Silas had sacrificed his life for. “Now we have it too.”
