“I’m not scared of you, Claudia. I’m disappointed in you, but not afraid. You’re a coward, a cheat, and a lousy criminal,” I snap. “You made itsoeasy, leaving a trail of huge breadcrumbs.”
Something flickers in her eyes. Can it be doubt? I’ve never seen that expression on her, and it fills me with satisfaction. Good. Let her worry. By the wall, Matthew stirs and groans quietly. I almost weep at the sound.He’s alive. Emboldened, I shove Claudia with both hands. She stumbles back toward the elevator shaft, her high heels clicking on the concrete.
Behind me, I hear a clang as her hired man picks up a steel pipe, and I spin around to defend myself. Before either of us can react, another shape barrels out of the shadows.
Gary.
He’s just as big as Claudia’s brute, and just as strong. He slams into him, landing a hard punch under the thug’s jaw. Claudia’s man staggers, dropping the pipe with a clatter, and Gary doesn’t hesitate. He plants a hand on the thug’s chest and pushes hard, sending him sprawling headfirst into a scaffolding tower. The whole thing comes crashing down with a deafening roar, and dust explodes into the air.
That’s when I realize Gary was the man in the shadows, following me. I stare at him, stunned.
Claudia is frozen in place. She’s covered in dust from her hair to her heels, and her face is white with it. She’s lost control, and she knows it.
Gary, in contrast, is red with fury. His hands flex as if he wants to strangle her. Instead, he pulls his phone from his jeans pocket. When he gets close enough, he holds up the phone so she can see the screen, and Claudia stiffens.
“You didn’t have to kill Paul. He was a good guy. Plus, he and I had a deal. If one is ever harmed, the other shares this with the world. Now everyone is gonna know about you. Police, media, your competition, everyone. You’re finished.”
Claudia looks ready to bolt, but there’s nowhere to run. I step into her path, forcing her back another step. The flimsy metal fence wobbles, then crashes down. The elevator shaft behind her gapes open. One more step and she’s gone.
But I’m not a murderer. I would never let that happen. Still, it doesn’t hurt to let her think otherwise.
“You wouldn’t,” she whispers.
“Maybe not,” I reply. “But one way or another, you’re going down.”
She tries to sidestep but wobbles when her heel slips. Off to the side, I hear the thug trying to escape the fallen scaffolding. When I turn, he is pawing for the dropped pipe.
That’s when Matthew, bloodied and barely upright, seizes my phone from the floor and hurls it across the garage. The phone smacks the thug’s bloody knuckles, and he howls, dropping the pipe. Grabbing his opportunity, Gary tackles the big man and sends him sprawling once more. This time, he stays down. When Gary faces Claudia, she minces out of the danger zone and raises her hands in surrender. She looks defeated, weak, and foolish.
I catch Matthew as he staggers to my side and wrap a supportive arm around his waist. “Good arm,” I say. “Ever considered a professional baseball career?”
He leans into me, and we both smile, seeing Louis stir. I had feared the worst, seeing all that blood.
“He’ll be okay,” Matthew says, resting his head against mine. “He always is.”
I hear sirens wail in the distance, coming closer, and I wonder who called them. For the first time all night, my pulse returns to normal.
“You don’t get it,” Claudia whispers to me. “I had no choice.”
“You always have a choice,” Matthew mutters.
“No, no. You’ve made a mistake. I’m only a small player in something much bigger. Trust me. You don’t want to mess with the man in charge.”
“Trust you? No, thanks. Already made that mistake once. Never again.” I retrieve my phone from the floor, keeping my eyes on her. The screen is smashed, but I’m still able to show her the photo Louis gave me of her with Leandro Mazza. “Are you referring to this guy?”
Her eyes pop open, and I swipe right so she can see more photos. “This is just a few samples. I’ve got you ignoring safety warnings and approving faulty materials, like that Montey stuff. Oh, and I found out there’s a lot more than hardware packed in those crates, isn’t there?” I pause for effect and hope my pronunciation is correct. “I know what you did to Paul Brzezicka. Murder is life behind bars, Claudia.”
“It wasn’t me,” she claims weakly.
Gary shuffles closer and sniffs. “No, but you ordered it.”
Finally, about a dozen policemen enter the space through the dark stairway, guns at the ready. Gary goes to meet them, and I assume that he was the one who called. While they’re talking, he points toward the ruined scaffolding, then at Claudia.
Matthew sighs, then faces me. His jaw is swollen on one side, and blood is beginning to dry around his mouth and nose.
I love his sweet, pained expression. “There you are, Indy.” I gently wipe his bloody cheek, cleaning a little of it away. “My hero.”
He leans in to kiss me, then draws back with a hiss. “Ow. Oh—” It’s his turn to clean blood off my face, put there by him. “Sorry.”
