Chapter 6 - The Man in the Shadows
Clara didn't hesitate. She scrambled across the floor, kicked back the faded red Persian rug, and ran her fingers along the tongue-and-groove oak planks. Near the corner molding, one board sat loose. She pried it open with her fingertips, revealing a velvet pouch containing a black satellite phone and a slim encrypted thumb drive.
She powered the device on. It required no password; a single contact was labeled: SEAN.
She hit dial. The line rang twice before a deep, gravelly voice answered without a greeting. ""Report.""
""I’m with Edward,"" Clara said, her voice shaking but clear. ""He’s conscious. He told me to call you.""
A sharp intake of breath hissed through the receiver. ""Who the hell are you?""
""His wife,"" Clara replied bluntly. ""Richard married him to me three hours ago to humiliate him in church. Dr. Alan just tried to execute him with an injection. I broke the syringe, but they think he’ll be dead by sunrise.""
A beat of stunned silence followed. Then Sean's tone turned coldly clinical. ""Listen to me carefully, girl. Edward was in a staged car crash six months ago. Richard bought off the hospital and moved him to manor confinement to slowly paralyze him. Does Alan know Edward's mind is intact?""
""No. Edward played comatose until they left the room.""
""Good,"" Sean said. ""I am the head of Edward’s private security detail, currently operating out of an offshore terminal. I have thirty men twenty minutes outside the estate, but Richard has the perimeter guarded by private contractors. If we hit the gates prematurely, Richard will order his guards to put a bullet through Edward's head and claim home invasion.""
""Then what do we do?"" Clara asked, glancing at Edward.
Edward slowly gestured with two fingers toward his mouth, asking for the phone. Clara held the speaker to his ear.
""Sean,"" Edward whispered, his voice gaining fractional strength. ""Initiate... Protocol Lazarus. Bring the board.""
""Understood, Boss,"" Sean answered. ""Hold the line until dawn. Don't let anyone touch you.""
May you like
The call clicked dead. Clara looked at Edward. His eyes were burning with a cold, terrifying fire.
""Clara,"" he whispered. ""Lock the secondary bolt on the window. We have three hours.""
