Chapter 13 - The Serpent's Nest
Clara’s thumb hovered over the red end-call button. Her breath froze in her chest as the caller’s raspy voice continued over the speaker.
""Who is this?"" Clara demanded, keeping her voice low so Miller wouldn't hear over the humming engine.
""This is Marcus Kane,"" the voice wheezed. ""The real Marcus Kane. Arthur Vance isn't running an authorized Treasury operation. He's the head of the syndicate Julian was stealing from.""
Clara’s gaze snapped toward Officer Miller. The veteran officer had his eyes fixed forward on the highway, his jaw set in a rigid, neutral line. But Clara noticed something she hadn't seen earlier: Miller wasn't driving toward the federal air base outside the city. He had taken the turnoff toward the abandoned industrial shipyards near the southern harbor.
""Elena is not safe,"" Kane continued, coughing painfully. ""They didn't stage that fire to protect her. They staged it to kidnap her. They needed the master encryption key, and Julian hid it inside Elena's medical records.""
""Why are you telling me this?"" Clara whispered, terror surging back into her bloodstream like venom.
""Because Arthur thinks you have the physical confirmation code memorized. Once you arrive at the shipping container facility, they'll extract it from you and dump both you and Julian into the ocean. The entire family is being liquidated to clean the books.""
The line went dead with a burst of static.
Clara looked at the dashboard GPS. The destination was listed as Pier 42 - Restricted Access.
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She glanced sideways at Miller's holster. The leather retaining strap on his sidearm was snapped open.
""Rough night, isn't it, Clara?"" Miller said casually, his eyes meeting hers in the rearview mirror with chilling apathy. ""Almost over now.""
