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Chapter 6

I whip my head back, head-butting my assailant. His grip loosens—I break free—he snatches the balaclava right off my head. He catches a glimpse of my face. I swoop under a right hook, launching a fist into his gut, he doubles over. Jumping off of my back leg, I take him down with a crescent kick.

I race out of the room, leaving my shadow behind.

“Damn sis!” Calum whoops into my ear. “You just Shang-Chi his ass!”

“Not now!” I scream. “Get me the hell out of here.”

“Second tango, straight ahead.”

My ears hone in on the staccato of clomping boots swelling from the front and from behind. The second one emerges in the archway. I keep running. He charges at me like a bull and I’m just covered in red. I glance up at the ceiling. Instincts override my fear, and training aids with proficient execution. I propel myself into the air, gripping the steel bar grafted into the ceiling. With the generated momentum, I swing my body, thrusting my combat boots into his chest—his back smacks the ground—I let go and my boots hit the floor, inches from his head.

“Third bogey at your nine-o’clock. Go right.”

I throw myself right.

“Left.”

I flee to the left.

“Gaza’s crew must be minutes out.” His fear-drenched holler rattles my skull. “Hurry up!”

Shortly I reach the living room area by the back entrance from where I entered from. I hurl myself right out of there. I spring over the railing, speeding down the pier and making my way out of the docks. Adrenaline inundating my system like a drug. The recon van outside, ready for exfil; headlights on, engine grumbling. The side door is wide open. I fling myself inside and the van bolts forward, shooting down the road. Fumbling my way to the open door. I slam it shut, wobbling over to the front and collapsing on the passenger seat, jerking the seatbelt until I hear that click sound.

“You’re amazing—”

“Never tire of hearing it.”

“—as you are stupid! Let me finish next time.”

He makes a series of sharp turns, tyres screeching into the night.

Calum shakes his head like his neck is broken. “I hope it was worth it. I really do. Because they now know that someone was watching them. Now we got a bunch of spooked, top-tier criminals probably on the hunt for the leak that compromised their covert meet. I obviously erased the footage—”

Sudden dread obliterates my verve. “Crap.” I shove my fingers into my hair, coiled by the curls.

“Crap?” Calum’s head snaps to the side repeatedly, casting feverish glances at me. “Crap what? Shit, what did you do?”

“Besides stealing from one the most feared cartel bosses in the world?” I rip out my hands to stare back at him. “One of his men... he saw me.”

Once he takes full notice of my visible appearance. His one hand throttles the top part of the wheel, repeatedly, his other white-knuckling around it.

“You’re so screwed—we’re so screwed!” He checks the rear-view mirror again, shaking his head. “We got to move… that’s it. We’ll live under a new alias. Just me and you—move somewhere he’ll never find us.”

“Do you know Elon Musk? Because then we’ll need a rocket to mars.” Sarcasm coating every word. “Because you know there is nowhere on God’s green earth that they can’t find us. Every witness set to testify against him, relocated across the globe, has turned up DOA.”

“So you’re saying we’re dead already?” Fear and fury bubbling in his throat. “That we can’t do shit but sit and wait for his goons to kill us in our sleep?”

“Not... not if we get him first.”

“Get him first?” Spittle flies from his mouth. “Did you hit your head on your way out? Legit law enforcement agencies, FBI, CIA. You name it. Couldn’t touch him. And you think you can? Who do you think you are? Liam Neeson’s daughter?”

“Just shut up!” My eyes clench closed for a second. “Look, we have something that none of them have.” I tap the strap of my backpack. “Evidence.”

“You don’t know what’s in there.”

“Let’s find out,” I say resolutely. “If he was keeping it in the vault, tucked away in a secret compartment. Best believe it has something.”


Calum and I hustle inside.

He uses every lock on the door. All the lights inside are off except for the kitchen and dining room. My mom does that when I’m out late and she’s too tired to wait for me. We hurry into the dining room and Calum makes a beeline for the arched window, peeling the curtain away from the corner, taking a peep outside.

I take off the backpack, sliding out the Narnia-looking book. I drop it on the table.

Calum walks away and moves to stand beside me. “I’m sleeping here tonight.”

“You really don’t—”

“Hey.” His hand clasps my shoulder. Then it slides up behind my neck, his thumb stroking my skin. “Non-negotiable... okay?”

I nod curtly.

“At least I can give your mom the grandbabies she’s been asking for.”

I swat his hand away. “Not the time for jokes.”

We both fasten our attention on the book.

“Wow… looks like something you’d find at Hogwarts library.”

The hardcover bears no inscription, its surface a silent enigma. It is clad in heavy-duty leather. Gold plating adorns the spine and edges, glinting softly in the light. The gold accents trace an X shape across both the front and back covers, their lines precise and deliberate. The leather, cool and supple to the touch. I look back at Calum and he nods encouragingly.

“Nearly died for the book,” I mutter. “It better be worth it.”

I flip it open, examining the pages. The writing inside—formatted strangely. I slowly comb through the book. The inscriptions differ. Some pages have a collection of account transactions. Each account has an opening or carry-forward balance. Other pages have names and dates, but it’s incomplete like someone stopped halfway. Despite the book being completed until the end.

“What the hell am I looking at?”

“It’s like they’re parts of it that’s missing even though it’s finished.” Calum flicks through a few pages. “It doesn’t look random. It was intentional... it’s patterned... the names... dates... numbers.”

“Stop.” I re-angle the book, flipping two pages back. “Look there.”

My finger finds the centered section which has a series of one-to-five-digit numbers. Some are complete, others are left with one or two digits missing.

“I recognise those. They are collar numbers.”

Calum gawks back at me, bug-eyed. “Like a force identification number… the one that holds the identity of a police officer?”

“And possibly agents of other law enforcement agencies.” I nod grimly. “Seen my fill of them.”

Calum walks away with his hands on his waist, staring at the floor. “You’re saying that Gaza got dirty cops or agents on his payroll?”

I close the book carefully. “Not really surprised.”

“No, it’s just way worse.” He turns to face me. “It’s probably how he got tipped off about a witness, or whenever the feds were sniffing too close to his operation. He had someone, who knows how many, on the inside to give him a heads up at every turn. That means we can’t trust anyone with this. They could go straight to Gaza and serve our heads on a silver platter.” He whistles lowly. “That book is Pandora’s box.”

I plant my hands on the edge of the table, hanging my head.

“We gotta tell James.”

My head whips up.

“Not everything, just that we failed. Mostly. He doesn’t need to know about the book.” He frees a hefty breath. “In the meantime, he can hook us up with security. You and your mother need to be guarded. For now… we sleep and pretend you didn’t just rob one of the most dangerous men on the planet.”

I take the book with a sigh, heading for the stairs, Calum trailing after me.

I pause, whirling around. “Couch,” I point to the living room, “is that way, mate.”

“C’mon.” He gives me a mischievous smirk. “How many sleepovers have we had?”

I cross my arms, staring back at him with a no-play expression.

“I’ll be the perfect gentleman, even sleep on the floor.” He raises his right hand to swear to it, his other one on his heart. “I just want...” a grave moment banishes every measure of mischief from his voice and visage. “... I need to make sure you’re safe.”

Okay, that was sweet. I resume, trudging up the steps.

“But damn that—”

“You better not—”

He slaps my ass. Hard. “—ass!”

“Stop—”

Accelerating, I ran up the rest of the way.

“You stop, you’re gonna wake up your mom.”

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