Tony leaned down close to Raquel. “Where is Carlos?”
“You’ll never find him.” Raquel moaned in frustration. “And if I don’t check in with Wallace, he’ll shoot Carlos. If you don’t let me in the vault, he will die.”
“One person’s life isn’t more important than all the secrets contained within the Shrine vault,” he told her. “We all have to make sacrifices. It’s part of the life that we live. So don’t think for one second that we’re going to cave to your demands simply because you put the life of one man in danger.”
Eliana wanted to scream at him. She turned away, moving where Raquel wouldn’t be able to see her. Where she could swipe tears from her face in private.
But she heard Raquel say, “There’s nothing you can do to me that will make me tell you where he is, or call in to Wallace. Carlos is dead no matter what, and?—”
Eliana turned back and saw Raquel looking at her.
“—you killed him.”
Tony lifted her a fraction and slammed her head on the floor. She slumped down, out cold. He pushed off the floor and stood, groaning in pain.
“How badly did she hurt you?” Eliana asked.
Tony shook his head. “You know I didn’t mean that about sacrifices. We’re going to do what we can to get him back.Starting with Maizie getting into Raquel’s phone and finding Wallace’s location.”
“Maizie is a little busy right now, dealing with a bomb threat.”
“You were serious about that?”
“Yes!” How many times did she have to explain it? “Bomb threats are always serious!”
“Okay, okay.” He held up his hands. “Let’s go. We can take the phone to her.”
“Before we do that, maybe you could tell me what she meant about what was in the vault. It seemed like she thought you knew what she was talking about. What Lydia supposedly wants.”
Tony looked at her, a dark expression on his face. “Whoever gets in the vault can force the Board of Governors to vote in their favor. They’ll gain control of everything.” He let out a quick puff of air and stared at her. “Is this really the point right now? Why don’t we both do our best to stay alive and leave it at that? No one gets in the vault. Okay?”
He strode toward the elevator, Raquel’s phone in his hand.
Before he could reach for the button, the doors slid open and a gunshot blasted out of the elevator. A flash of light and a sound like a firework. Tony’s body jerked and he stumbled back, falling to one knee.
Blood on his chest.
Eliana screamed, and her neighbor Patience stepped out of the elevator, holding a gun in her hand.
A second later, an explosion ripped through the building above them.
Chapter Forty
The hallway shuddered, and dust rained from the ceiling. Eliana stared at her neighbor, the elderly woman she’d been taking care of for weeks now. Preparing meals for her, helping her with chores, and ensuring she took her medication.
This was like an entirely different person, even if she wore the same slacks and sweater Patience did. Same hair. The same nails. It was the expression on her face that didn’t look anything like the woman Eliana knew.
“You just shot Tony.”
Patience pointed the gun at her. “I’ll shoot you as well. Don’t think I won’t.”
Eliana flinched, everything in her wanting to go to Tony. To apply pressure and try to stop the bleeding. A whimper escaped her lips. “What is going on?”
“You wanted to know who the Mother was, didn’t you?”
“You can’t possibly be the?—”
Patience cut her off. “Let’s skip past the surprise. I have things to do, and you’re standing in between me and that vault.”
