Chapter 8 - THE BRASS KEY
"Mommy?"
Mia’s voice was a fragile, terrified whisper that shattered every defense I had left.
She looked so small. Her dark curls were tangled, her clothes rumpled. But she was alive. She was breathing.
"Mia," I sobbed, taking an instinctive step forward.
"Stay exactly where you are, Evelyn," Keller commanded, raising the massive revolver level with my eyes. His voice was completely different now. The calm, calculated operator was gone. He sounded jagged. Desperate.
I froze, my hands raised.
Answer One: Keller hadn't been killed by Victor in the train yard. He had faked his death, using the chaos to slip away and secure Mia for himself.
Open Two: Why? If Keller hated Victor and Julian, what was his endgame with my daughter?
"You played us all," I breathed, staring at the man who had given me the pocket watch. "You didn't give me that SD card to protect me. You gave it to me so I would lead Victor on a wild goose chase while you came here to take out Julian."
Keller smirked, a dark, blood-stained expression. "Victor was too greedy. Julian was too arrogant. I just let them destroy each other."
Julian coughed violently from the armchair, blood spraying his ruined shirt. "You’re a dead man, Keller. Rourke will tear you apart."
"Rourke is finished," Keller spat, not taking his eyes off me. "Once I have the ledger from Evelyn, I trade it to the Feds for full immunity and a new identity. I walk away clean."
"I don't have the ledger!" I yelled, desperate. "Victor took it at the cemetery!"
Keller’s face darkened. "Don't lie to me. Victor called me before he arrived here. He said you hit him with the lockbox and ran. He was empty-handed."
A horrifying realization dawned on me.
Victor had lied to Keller. Victor did have the ledger, but he was keeping it for himself, cutting Keller out of the deal.
"Victor betrayed you, Dean," I said slowly, trying to keep my voice steady for Mia’s sake. "He has the books. He’s going to use them to take over Rourke’s empire. You have nothing."
Keller’s jaw tightened. The revolver wavered slightly.
"Then I’ll just have to settle for the SD card," Keller said coldly. "Toss me the pocket watch."
I reached into my pocket. My fingers brushed the cold silver of the watch.
But they also brushed something else.
The heavy brass key to the lockbox I had thrown at Victor. The key I had kept in my pocket.
An insane, desperate plan crystallized in my mind. A bluff that relied on Keller’s greed.
"The SD card won't save you from Rourke, Keller," I said, pulling my hand out of my pocket.
I didn't hold up the watch. I held up the heavy brass key.
"Victor didn't get the ledger," I lied, my voice ringing with absolute certainty. "I locked the books back in the box before I ran. I hid it in the cemetery. This is the only key. You kill me, you never find it. And Victor hunts you down for the rest of your short life."
Keller stared at the brass key. Doubt flickered in his eyes.
"Mommy, I’m scared," Mia whimpered, trying to pull her hand from Keller’s grip.
"It's okay, baby," I said, my voice soft but commanding. I locked eyes with my daughter. "Mia, do you remember the dropping game?"
Mia blinked, tears spilling down her cheeks. She gave a tiny, almost imperceptible nod.
The dropping game. A survival tactic I had taught her when she was four, disguised as hide-and-seek. When Mommy says the word 'now', you drop completely limp, like a sack of rocks.
"Toss me the key," Keller demanded, losing patience. He aimed the gun directly at my chest.
"You want it?" I yelled. "Go get it!"
I hurled the heavy brass key directly at Keller’s face.
He instinctively flinched, raising his free arm to block the flying metal.
"NOW!" I screamed.
Mia instantly went entirely limp. Her sudden dead weight yanked Keller’s arm downward, pulling him off balance.
I didn't hesitate. I launched myself across the room.
I didn't go for the gun. I went for his knees.
I slammed my entire body weight into his legs. Keller roared in surprise as his knees buckled. He crashed backward, hitting the wooden floorboards with a bone-rattling thud. The massive revolver flew from his hand, skittering across the floor.
"Run, Mia! Outside!" I screamed, scrambling on top of Keller, driving my elbow into his face.
Mia didn't freeze. She scrambled up and bolted for the front door, disappearing into the fog.
Keller roared, throwing a brutal punch that caught me in the ribs. The breath left my lungs in a sharp gasp. He shoved me off him, scrambling wildly for the dropped revolver.
His fingers brushed the grip.
Suddenly, the front door exploded inward.
Not Mia.
Adrian Rourke stepped into the room, flanked by three heavily armed men.
Rourke didn't say a word. He raised a suppressed submachine gun and fired a three-round burst directly into Keller’s chest.
Keller jerked backward, his eyes wide with shock, before collapsing dead onto the floorboards.
The room went deathly silent, save for Julian’s ragged, dying breathing in the armchair.
Rourke lowered his weapon. He looked at Keller’s body, then at Julian, and finally, his cold gray eyes settled on me.
"You kept your word, Evelyn," Rourke said smoothly. "You brought me the traitor. Now... where is my SD card?"
I slowly stood up, my ribs burning, blood dripping from my cheek. I was surrounded by Rourke’s men. There was nowhere to run.
I reached into my pocket, pulled out the silver pocket watch, and tossed it to the billionaire.
Rourke caught it. He popped the back. He saw the SD card. A satisfied smile touched his lips.
"A pleasure doing business with you," Rourke said. He raised his gun, pointing it at my head. "It's a shame we can't leave loose ends."
I stared down the barrel of the gun.
But I didn't panic. I just smiled. A cold, knowing smile.
"You should really check the SD card before you shoot me, Adrian," I whispered.
Rourke frowned. "What?"
"Keller didn't give me your offshore routing history," I said, my voice echoing in the bloody room. "Keller was an intelligence operator. He gave me a live GPS tracking beacon. The one inside that watch."
Rourke’s face went completely pale.
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Outside, cutting through the fog and the roar of the ocean, came the deafening thwip-thwip-thwip of approaching helicopter blades.
"FBI! DROP YOUR WEAPONS!" a voice boomed from a megaphone above the house. Blinding white spotlights illuminated the windows, trapping Rourke and his men in a cage of light.
