Chapter 6 - The Trap at the Pier
An hour later, the steel door of the panic room slid open.
I scrambled up from the small bench, expecting to see smoke or blood.
Standing in the doorway was Elena, her tactical vest scuffed with soot, holding an assault rifle across her chest. Beside her stood two fresh guards.
“The manor is secure,” Elena announced, her voice surprisingly respectful. “Liam O’Connor’s team was eliminated. Miles Vance escaped through the utility tunnels beneath the estate, but our trackers are already on his tail.”
“Where is Roman?” I asked immediately.
“The Don took thirty men and headed straight for Pier 4,” Elena replied. “He left orders for me to stay with you and Ethan.”
“Is Ethan okay?”
“He woke up ten minutes ago,” Elena said, stepping aside. “He’s asking for you.”
I sprinted down the private medical corridor toward the secure trauma bay. Inside, surrounded by heart monitors and IV stands, Ethan sat propped up against two white pillows. His face was still badly bruised, a white bandage wrapped tightly around his chest, but his eyes were sharp and clear.
When he saw me walk through the door, a faint smile broke across his cracked lips.
“Hey, waitress,” Ethan croaked out softly.
“Don't you dare call me waitress,” I said, walking over to his bed and taking his warm hand in mine. “You almost died in my arms tonight, kid.”
“I know,” Ethan murmured, his grip tightening on my fingers. “My dad told me what you did. He said you figured out Miles’s real target.”
“Roman went to Pier 4,” I said, panic rising back up in my chest. “Ethan… it’s a trap.”
Ethan’s smile vanished instantly. “What do you mean?”
“Miles didn't just leak the schedule for Pier 4,” I explained, the pieces connecting in my mind as I recalled the dock politics my father used to talk about. “Pier 4 is surrounded by high-rise shipping cranes and narrow access lanes. If Roman takes thirty men into that container yard to defend the gold, the O’Connors don't need to fight him man-to-man. They just need to blow the access bridges and trap his convoy inside!”
Ethan’s eyes widened in horror. “They’ll bottleneck his whole fleet and pick them off with snipers from the crane towers!”
He scrambled to pull off his IV line, but the heart monitor beeped wildly. He groaned in agony, clutching his cracked ribs as he fell back onto the mattress.
“Ethan, stop!” I shouted, pushing his shoulders gently back down. “You can't move!”
“I have to warn him!” Ethan gasped, sweat pouring down his forehead. “His radio comms will be jammed the second he enters the container grid! That’s standard O’Connor tactic!”
I looked at the car keys sitting on the medical desk near the door—keys to one of the high-speed security SUVs parked in the underground garage.
I looked at Ethan.
Then I looked down at my own hands—the same hands that had saved the mafia boss’s son in the snow three hours ago.
“Give me the master entry codes for the dock gates,” I said, my voice surprisingly steady.
Ethan stared at me like I had lost my mind. “Clara, no! It’s a war zone down there!”
“I know the dock layout better than any of your father’s Italian suit-wearing bodyguards,” I snapped, grabbing the heavy keys off the table. “I grew up running through those container yards when my dad worked the night shift. If I take the rear access road along the tide walls, I can reach the crane towers before Roman’s convoy enters the bottleneck!”
“Clara—”
“Give me the codes, Ethan!” I yelled. “Or watch your father drive straight into an ambush!”
Ethan swallowed hard, staring into my eyes for three long seconds. He realized in that moment that I wasn't asking for permission.
“Code is 4-9-2-8,” Ethan rasped out, reaching onto his bedside table and pressing a small silver crest ring into my palm. “Show this to the gate guards if they try to stop you. It’s my father’s personal seal. Anyone wearing it speaks with the voice of the Don.”
May you like
I slipped the heavy silver ring onto my index finger. It felt cold, heavy, and terrifyingly real.
“Stay alive until I bring your dad home,” I said, turning on my heel and running toward the underground garage.
