Chapter 4 - The Voice in the Dark
“Ten seconds is a long time, Victoria,” a voice rang out from the darkness near the loading bay doors.
Victoria’s head snapped around, her eyes narrowing as she scanned the ground floor.
Stepping out from behind a stack of rotting cedar pallets wasn't Marcus. It wasn't an FBI tactical team.
It was Wren Harper.
She had discarded her heavy wool coat, revealing a dark turtleneck and cargo pants. Her head was still bandaged, a faint crimson stain bleeding through the white gauze, but her stance was planted, her hands steady as she leveled a heavy-duty Remington shotgun straight at Victoria’s chest.
Victoria burst out laughing, though the sound lacked its previous confidence. “Are you kidding me? A nanny with a concussion thinks she can play hero?”
“I’m not playing hero,” Wren said, her voice cutting through the damp air like a razor. “I’m just finishing my shift.”
“Wren, get out of here!” Ashton shouted, panic flaring in his chest. “She has a detonator!”
“She had a detonator,” Wren corrected coolly.
Before Victoria could process the words, a sharp click echoed from the rafters above the catwalk. Marcus hadn't been idle while they were talking. Utilizing the catwalk’s blind spots, Marcus had looped a heavy rappel line over the structural girders, dropping silently behind Victoria like a spider descending from a web.
With a lightning-fast sweep, Marcus kicked the legs out from under Victoria, sending her crashing hard against the metal railing.
The detonator slipped from her fingers, tumbling over the edge of the catwalk toward the concrete floor below.
“No!” Victoria screamed, lunging for it.
Ashton didn't hesitate. He sprinted forward, diving across the concrete, snatching the detonator out of the air a fraction of a second before it hit the floor, disabling the toggle switch with a sharp twist of his thumb.
Up on the catwalk, chaos erupted. Victoria fought like a cornered wildcat, driving her elbow into Marcus’s ribs and pulling a ceramic-bladed combat knife from her boot. She slashed wildly, cutting across Marcus’s forearm before diving toward the fire escape ladder bolted to the exterior wall.
“Marcus, secure Chloe!” Ashton roared, tossing the detonator aside and scrambling up the metal staircase two steps at a time.
Marcus ignored his bleeding arm, dropping to his knees and wrapping his arms around Chloe, pulling the sobbing little girl into his chest and shielding her with his body as gunfire cracked through the damp night air.
Victoria was already over the railing, sliding down the exterior fire escape ladder with reckless speed, desperate to reach her getaway car parked in the tree line.
Ashton hit the catwalk top, his chest heaving, his eyes locking onto Victoria’s retreating figure. He didn't fire. He didn't need to.
Because waiting at the bottom of the ladder, leaning casually against the doorframe of a rusted forklift with a heavy iron crowbar resting across her shoulder, was Wren Harper.
Victoria hit the bottom rung of the ladder, jumping down onto the gravel just as Wren stepped forward.
“End of shift,” Wren said flatly.
Before Victoria could raise her knife, Wren swung the heavy iron crowbar in a clean, professional arc, catching Victoria squarely across the shins. A sickening crack echoed through the mill as Victoria dropped like a stone, screaming in agony as she hit the gravel, her combat knife skidding away into the dark.
Ashton reached the bottom of the stairs a moment later, stopping beside Wren as she lowered the crowbar, breathing heavily, her bandage blooming with fresh red.
He looked down at Victoria, who writhed in the dirt, her mask of cold perfection utterly destroyed, reduced to a weeping, broken criminal.
Then, Ashton turned to Wren. He reached out, his hand gently touching her uninjured shoulder.
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“You saved my daughter's life,” Ashton said, his voice thick with an emotion he hadn't allowed himself to feel in years. “You saved my family.”
Wren offered a tired, genuine smile, her amber eyes softening in the moonlight. “Like I said, Mr. Cade. I’m very protective of my kids.”
