But that wasn’t what caught my attention.
Instead, it was the form of a man sitting in a chair, the moonlight like a spotlight.
“Victor?”I said, my grip tight on my gun as I slowly moved across the space toward him.
No response.
“Victor?”I repeated, my dread increasing with every inch I erased.
And when I stepped in front of him, I let out a shaky breath.
Because this man wasn’t Victor Kane.
He was dressed like the man we’d seen in the surveillance video.Same jacket.Same jeans.Same boots.
But as I shined my flashlight over his face, there was no mistaking it.He may have had a similar bone structure.Similar hair.Similar build.Enough to pass for him at a distance.Or even up close.
But I’d spent the better part of the last year studying Victor Kane.Learning everything about him.
“Who the fuck is that?”Blake snipped out.
“Someone who looks a hell of a lot like Victor Kane.Who someone wanted everyone to think was Victor Kane.Who wantedusto think was Victor Kane.”A ball of dread tightened in my stomach, and I felt like I was going to be sick.“It was a fucking trap.You were right.Fuck!”
“No time for ‘I told you so’,” he rushed out, quickly moving toward the exterior garage door.“We need to go.”
But just as he opened the door, he froze, darting his eyes toward me.“Henry!Stop!”
I halted in my tracks.“What are you?—”
Then I saw it.
A thin plate beneath Blake’s foot.
I pointed my flashlight at it, following the wires along the floor and toward the workbench.
At first, it was nothing but a tangle of black and red lines disappearing under the legs.But then I noticed them coming out from behind it.
Right to the gutted boat motor.
Only it wasn’t gutted.
Not in the way I’d assumed.It had been taken apart and repurposed for something else.
My stomach bottomed out.
“Jesus Christ.It’s a fucking bomb.”
Blake went still, like he didn’t dare breathe.
I returned to him, following the wiring every step of the way.“This plate is a switch.You lift your foot, the circuit closes.”I straightened, my heart slamming against my ribs as I scanned the garage once more.“There has to be a bypass?—”
“You need to go, Henry.”His voice dropped.Calm.Steady.
“The hell I do.”My light stayed locked on the plate under his boot, like if I stopped looking at it, it would detonate.“I’m not leaving you here.”
“Yes, you are.If you stay, we both die, and Ariana ends up right back where you dragged her from.You want Victor to win?Because that’s how he wins.”He held my gaze for a beat, then surveyed his surroundings, moisture forming in his eyes.“Never thought I’d die in a garage that smells like fish guts and mildew.”He pushed out a nervous laugh.“Or that your ugly mug would be the last thing I’d ever see.But here we are.”
“Blake…” I shook my head, emotion tightening my throat.There was so much I wanted to say.Other than Gideon, he was the only true friend I had.
