Chapter 8 - MIDNIGHT TRADE
Harlan wanted Marco’s ledger by midnight.
We did not have Marco.
We had the flash drive.
Different poison.
Same bottle.
Mara said no to the trade.
Tony said yes.
I said nothing until everyone stopped arguing.
Then I called Harlan.
“You still have my brother?” I asked.
A pause. “For now.”
“I have something better than Marco’s ledger.”
“Oh?”
“Elena’s flash drive.”
Silence.
For the first time, Victor Harlan stopped sounding amused.
“Careful, Dante.”
“No. You be careful. Because if my brother dies, this drive goes to every newsroom, every federal office, every mother with a missing child, and every enemy you ever made.”
“You wouldn’t expose yourself.”
“I’m already exposed.”
He breathed slowly into the phone. “Midnight. College Point marina. Come alone.”
“No.”
“No?”
“You bring Luca. Alive. I bring the drive. We both bring two men. No snipers, no tricks, or the files go public.”
“You make demands like a man holding power.”
“I am holding power.”
He laughed, but the laugh was thinner now.
“Midnight,” he said.
The call ended.
Tony looked ready to explode. “We are not giving him that drive.”
“We’re giving him a copy.”
Mara folded her arms. “And the original?”
I looked at Nurse Mercer.
She was pale but standing.
“You know any reporters who still care about missing children?” I asked.
Her chin lifted slightly. “My sister works for Channel 9.”
“Good.”
Mara shook her head. “This is reckless.”
“This is insurance.”
“And the marina?”
“That’s theater.”
Tony smiled without warmth. “Boss, I love theater.”
But Bruno did not smile.
He stood beside Elena’s room, ears forward, body tense.
Inside, Elena’s fingers moved.
A doctor called for the nurse.
Rosa gasped.
Elena opened her eyes.
Just a little.
Her lips moved beneath the oxygen mask.
Tomas leaned close, crying. “Mija?”
The sound that came out was barely human.
May you like
“Lily.”
Then Elena’s heart monitor began screaming.
