Part 7
Vincent’s expression became terrifyingly calm.
“They used me to flush you out.”
“Yes.”
Arthur whispered, “Why?”
Molly thought of her brother.
The car wreck.
Her destroyed career.
The break-ins.
The years spent folding herself smaller and smaller until even she nearly believed invisibility was safety.
“Because Evan found something they never recovered.”
Vincent stepped closer.
“What?”
“My brother mailed me a package the week before he died.”
Molly’s throat tightened.
“I never opened it.”
Grant stared at her.
“Why not?”
“Because it never arrived.”
Vincent studied her face.
“But you think Dorsey believes it did.”
“Yes.”
Vincent looked toward Grant.
“Find Dorsey.”
Grant immediately moved.
Molly caught his arm.
“Wait.”
Grant looked down at her hand.
She released him.
“If Caleb is using your people, Arthur’s son, and an expensive restaurant to draw me out, he didn’t do all this just to disappear afterward.”
Vincent understood before she finished.
“He’s coming here.”
Every light in the penthouse went out.
Darkness swallowed the room.
Arthur gasped.
Grant drew his weapon.
Emergency lighting flickered on a second later, turning the apartment into a maze of dim amber shadows.
Vincent’s voice became sharp.
“Secure the elevators.”
Grant touched his earpiece.
Nothing.
“Communications are down.”
A distant metallic crash echoed from the lower floor.
Molly’s pulse accelerated.
Arthur whispered, “What was that?”
Vincent grabbed his arm.
“Stay behind the island.”
Another impact.
Closer.
Grant moved toward the hallway.
Vincent stopped him.
“No. That’s what they expect.”
Then he looked at Molly.
“Is there another exit?”
She almost laughed from disbelief.
“This is your home.”
“You understand the people attacking it.”
That was true.
Molly forced herself to think.
Caleb Dorsey did not like uncertainty.
At the laboratory, he had planned redundancies into everything.
Two security badges.
Two data backups.
Two people responsible for every restricted transfer.
He would not enter a building without controlling the obvious escape route.
“He’ll expect the elevators and stairs,” she said. “What about maintenance access?”
Grant pointed toward the pantry.
“Service shaft.”
“Where does it lead?”
“Mechanical floor below.”
Molly looked at Arthur.
“Get him down there.”
Arthur shook his head.
“I’m not leaving my son again.”
“Your son is safe,” Molly said. “You staying alive is how you see him tomorrow.”
That reached him.
Grant opened the service panel.
Arthur climbed through.
Then another voice sounded from the foyer.
“Molly.”
Her blood froze.
Caleb.
Vincent looked at her.
The voice came again.
“Molly Harper, you have caused an extraordinary amount of trouble.”
Molly stepped toward the living room.
Vincent grabbed her elbow.
“No.”
“He wants me.”
“That is precisely why you are not going.”
“If he thinks I’m trapped, he’ll keep pushing.”
“He came into my home.”
Vincent’s voice was barely above a whisper.
“He does not decide what happens here.”
Molly looked into his eyes.
“You’re making this about pride.”
“No.”
“Then what?”
For the first time since the restaurant, something unguarded flashed across his face.
“You saved my life.”
The answer landed between them.
Vincent released her elbow slowly.
“I do not repay that by feeding you to the man who destroyed yours.”
Molly’s throat tightened.
Grant looked away.
Caleb called again.
“Your brother was braver than you, Molly.”
Everything inside her stopped.
Vincent saw it.
“Don’t.”
But Molly stepped into the living room.
Caleb Dorsey stood beyond the foyer with two men.
He was older than she remembered.
Silver had appeared at his temples.
Otherwise, he looked exactly the same.
Clean suit.
Polished shoes.
Gentle voice.
A face designed to make cruelty look administrative.
“Molly,” Caleb said warmly. “There you are.”
“You killed Evan.”
Caleb sighed.
“I hoped age would improve your tendency toward dramatic conclusions.”
“My brother discovered your shipments.”
“Your brother discovered information he lacked the intelligence to interpret.”
“You drugged him.”
Caleb smiled slightly.
Behind Molly, Vincent emerged from the shadows.
Caleb’s smile vanished.
“Mr. Hale.”
May you like
Vincent walked forward.
“You tried to poison me in my own city.”
