Chapter 6 - The Alliance of Blood
“They’re coming,” Silas said, staring at the small encrypted monitor on his wrist. The device was blinking with a series of rapidly multiplying red data points. “The consortium’s digital security team just traced our access ping to this vault. We have less than three minutes before the automated lockdown traps us down here.”
Vincenzo didn't hesitate. He slammed the lid of the briefcase shut, locked the brass clasps, and handed it directly to Riley.
“Can you shoot?” Vincenzo asked, his gray eyes locking onto hers with intense, unflinching focus.
Riley looked down at the briefcase, then back up at the most feared man in Cleveland. The girl who had spent her life trying to remain invisible in restaurant kitchens was gone. In her place stood Claire Mercer’s daughter.
“Better than you can,” Riley said coldly.
From his holster, Vincenzo slid a compact, matte-black Sig Sauer pistol and held it out handle-first. Riley took it, her fingers wrapping around the textured grip with practiced familiarity. She checked the chamber, verified the load, and clicked off the safety in one fluid motion.
Vincenzo’s lips twitched into the ghost of an approval smile. “Let’s go to work.”
As the heavy steel security gate at the end of the vault corridor began to grind downward, sealing off the exit, Silas fired a heavy-duty thermal charge into the manual override box. Sparks showered across the stone floor as the gate jammed halfway, leaving a narrow, jagged gap of escape.
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They ducked beneath the searing metal just as heavy footsteps echoed down the stone staircase behind them.
The war for Cleveland had begun, and Riley Mercer was no longer running from her past. She was coming to collect it.
