Chapter 6 - DEEP WATERS
The industrial district of Chicago late at night is a wasteland of concrete, corrugated metal, and narrow freight alleys. High brick walls rose up on either side of the road, blotting out what little ambient city light existed.
I killed my headlights.
Driving in pitch darkness, illuminated only by the faint amber glow of distant streetlamps, I navigated the sedan down a narrow alley between two massive meatpacking plants. I pulled the car into a covered loading bay hidden behind a row of rusted semi-trailers, turned off the engine, and pulled the emergency brake.
Silence descended, heavy and absolute, broken only by the sound of raindrops dripping from the corrugated metal roof above us.
A second later, the black SUV glided slowly past the entrance of the alleyway, its high-powered spotlight sweeping across the wet brick walls. The beam flashed over the back of our car, missing us by mere inches, before moving on toward the riverfront.
I let out a long, ragged breath, my forehead resting against the steering wheel.
"Mommy?" Penny’s quiet voice floated from the back seat. "Did we win the game?"
I turned around, reaching back to touch her soft cheek. Her little skin was cool and wet from the rain.
"We're winning, baby," I said, offering her the most genuine smile I could muster. "We just have to make one more stop."
I restarted the car, kept the lights low until we cleared the alley, and then hit the gas, making a straight, unpursued run toward the lit towers of downtown Chicago.
Ten minutes later, I pulled into the underground entrance of 200 South Wacker Drive.
A heavy iron security gate blocked the driveway. Standing beside the control panel in a rain-soaked trench coat was Sarah Lin, holding an access keycard.
As soon as she saw Alex’s car, she swiped the card. The heavy gate rolled upward with a loud mechanical hum. I drove through, and the gate slammed shut behind us, cutting off the outside world.
Sarah rushed over as I put the car in park. She threw open the driver's side door.
"Get out, get out," she urged, her sharp eyes scanning my face and then softening as she looked into the back seat. "Oh, Penny... come here, sweetie."
Sarah helped Penny out of her child seat, wrapping her own dry wool scarf around the little girl's shoulders. We hurried toward the private elevator bank that led directly to Sarah’s law firm on the 34th floor.
Inside the sleek, glass-paneled elevator, Sarah turned to me, her expression dead serious.
"Agent Vance is already on his way here with a federal team," Sarah said as the elevator ascended. "I called him on an encrypted line. But Emily... you need to know something before we go into that office."
My stomach tightened. "What?"
"Alex isn't at the house anymore," Sarah said softly. "I had a contact in the local dispatch check the police band. The local precinct got an anonymous tip twenty minutes ago about a 'domestic disturbance' at your address. When officers arrived, the house was empty... but there were signs of a struggle in the master suite. Blood on the closet floor."
My heart stopped. The world seemed to tilt beneath my feet.
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"No," I whispered. "No, no, no... Alex."
"They didn't find a body, Emily," Sarah added quickly, grabbing my shoulders. "Listen to me! Martha’s men wouldn't kill him there—they need him alive to sign confession documents and hand over the encryption keys for the company accounts. He is alive. But they have him."
