Chapter 8 - THE SHOT IN THE DARK
Clare raised the Glock and fired.
She didn't aim for Hector’s head. The margin of error was too high, the risk to Marie too great. She aimed for his shoulder—the shoulder of the arm holding the gun to Marie’s head.
The bullet struck true with a wet, heavy thud. Hector screamed in agony, the impact spinning him backward and forcing him to drop his weapon.
Marie instantly dropped to the ground, scrambling away on her hands and knees.
Clare closed the distance in three strides, kicking Hector’s dropped gun off the dock and into the dark water. Hector writhed on the concrete, clutching his shattered shoulder, cursing violently in Spanish.
"You're dead, Lauron! My cartel will hunt you to the ends of the earth!" he spat blood onto the pavement.
Clare stood over him, her gun pointed directly at his chest. The fog swirled around her trench coat, making her look like an avenging angel of death.
"Let them try," Clare whispered.
Sirens wailed in the distance. Real sirens this time. Clare had tipped off the FBI hours ago, giving them Hector’s location and the evidence of his operations. They were swooping in to clean up the mess.
Clare lowered her weapon and turned her back on Hector, dismissing him as nothing more than an insect.
She dropped to her knees beside Marie.
Her daughter was trembling violently, her breathing shallow and frantic. Clare pulled her into a fierce, crushing embrace. She buried her face in Marie’s matted hair, the smell of blood, dirt, and fear overwhelmed by the scent of the child she had mourned for six years.
"I've got you," Clare sobbed, the iron façade finally breaking. Tears streamed freely down her face, mixing with the dirt on Marie’s cheeks. "I've got you, my beautiful girl. It's over. It's finally over."
Marie clung to Clare’s tactical vest, crying so hard she was choking. "I thought you gave up on me. I thought everyone forgot."
"Never," Clare swore fiercely, kissing her forehead. "I would have burned the world down to find you. Come on. We're going home. Your girls are waiting."
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Vance and his team secured the perimeter, hauling Hector up to his feet to hand him over to the arriving federal agents. As Clare helped Marie toward the armored SUV, the flashing red and blue lights illuminated the fog, signaling the end of the nightmare.
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