Chapter 2 - The Man Behind the Broken Door
The bouncer made the worst mistake of his life when he reached for Dominic Vale's arm.
Dominic caught his wrist before the man's fingers touched his coat.
"Don't."
It was one word, spoken without anger.
The bouncer froze.
Behind Dominic, Miles Carter stepped beneath the awning, rain dripping from his closely cropped hair.
"We're looking for a woman," Miles said. "Claire Bennett. She came here tonight."
The second bouncer exchanged a glance with the first.
Dominic noticed.
"You know something."
Neither answered.
Then a woman's scream came through Dominic's phone.
He released the bouncer and pushed through the entrance.
Inside, the Neon Harbor pulsed with blue lights and heavy bass. Couples crowded the dance floor. Bartenders poured expensive drinks beneath a glowing wall of imported liquor.
Dominic barely registered any of it.
"Restrooms," he demanded.
A bartender pointed toward a hallway behind the VIP lounge.
Dominic moved.
Miles followed, one hand near the phone in his pocket.
At the end of the hallway, a man in a navy suit stood outside the women's restroom.
He was holding a black leather purse.
Claire's purse.
"Private area," the man said.
Dominic didn't slow down.
The man stepped into his path.
Dominic drove his shoulder into him, sending him backward against the wall.
The purse fell.
Dominic caught it before it struck the floor.
From inside the restroom came a violent crack.
"Claire!"
"Dominic!"
Her voice was small, desperate, and unmistakable.
He shoved through the damaged outer door.
The restroom smelled of expensive perfume, spilled alcohol, and splintered wood.
A broad man with blond hair stood in front of the last stall. His white shirt was stained with sweat. One hand gripped a broken piece of the stall door.
Grant Keller.
He turned as Dominic entered.
"Who the hell—"
Dominic crossed the room in three strides.
He seized Grant by the back of his collar and pulled him away from the stall.
Grant swung blindly.
Dominic blocked the blow and drove him against the sinks.
A mirror cracked.
"Where is she?"
Grant spat blood into the basin.
"You don't understand what you're walking into."
Dominic tightened his grip.
"Then explain it."
Grant smiled.
And Dominic felt the first warning that this night was more complicated than it appeared.
"You're late," Grant whispered.
Dominic heard the stall lock turn.
Claire stepped out.
Her dark hair had escaped its neat arrangement. One sleeve of her blue dress was torn. A bruise was beginning to darken beneath her wrist.
But she was standing.
Alive.
For a moment, Dominic forgot the man struggling beneath his hand.
"Claire."
She stared at him.
Her lips trembled.
Then she crossed the space between them and pressed her face against his chest.
Dominic released Grant to catch her.
She was shaking so badly that he could feel it through his coat.
"I thought he was going to kill me."
Dominic closed one arm around her shoulders.
"You're safe now."
He wanted those words to be true.
Miles entered behind them.
"Boss, we've got company."
Four men appeared in the hallway.
At their center stood Silas Harrow.
Silas was fifty, silver-haired, immaculately dressed, and smiling with the practiced warmth of a man who had never needed to apologize sincerely.
"Dominic," he said. "What an unexpected pleasure."
Dominic kept Claire behind him.
"Your employee attacked her."
Silas looked toward Grant, who was slowly straightening beside the sinks.
"Did he?"
Claire gripped Dominic's sleeve.
"He's lying. They all know."
Silas sighed.
"Miss Bennett, I'm afraid you've misunderstood an unfortunate disagreement."
Grant wiped his mouth.
"She stole something."
Dominic's gaze sharpened.
"What?"
"A storage device. Property belonging to my employer."
Claire shook her head.
"I don't know what he's talking about."
Silas studied her.
"Then perhaps we should search your belongings."
Dominic held up the purse.
"Try."
The hallway fell silent.
Silas's smile thinned.
"You're making this unnecessarily difficult."
"You put your hands on someone who works for me."
"Your secretary," Silas said thoughtfully. "Yes. Four years, isn't it?"
Dominic said nothing.
"Remarkable loyalty for a woman earning a salary."
Claire stiffened.
Silas noticed.
"Tell me, Miss Bennett. Does your employer know why you really came to Ravensport?"
Dominic turned slightly.
Claire had gone pale.
"Don't listen to him," she whispered.
Silas laughed softly.
"Oh, I think he should."
Miles stepped forward.
"Enough. Police are on their way."
That changed the room.
Silas glanced at him.
"You called the police?"
"Evelyn Price did," Miles replied. "She also arranged for the club's security footage to be preserved."
Silas's expression hardened.
For the first time, his confidence faltered.
Dominic noticed immediately.
"Let us leave," he said, "and whatever you think she has stays a matter for the authorities."
Silas looked from Dominic to Claire.
Then he stepped aside.
"Of course."
It was too easy.
Dominic knew it.
He guided Claire toward the exit, keeping himself between her and the men lining the hallway.
They passed the VIP lounge.
The music continued.
Nobody on the dance floor knew how close the club had come to violence.
Outside, rain still hammered the sidewalk.
Miles opened the SUV's rear door.
Claire hesitated.
"Dominic?"
He turned.
"There's something I need to tell you."
"Tell me in the car."
"No. Now."
Her eyes filled.
"The blind date wasn't an accident."
Dominic went still.
"What do you mean?"
"Grant didn't recognize me because I work for you."
She swallowed.
"He recognized me because of my father."
Before Dominic could answer, a phone rang inside Claire's purse.
Not her regular phone.
A second phone.
Small. Black. Unfamiliar.
Dominic removed it.
The screen displayed an incoming video call.
No name.
Only a number.
He answered.
A grainy image appeared.
A man sat tied to a chair inside a dark warehouse.
His face was bruised.
His eyes were swollen.
But Claire recognized him instantly.
She made a sound Dominic would remember for the rest of his life.
"Dad?"
The man lifted his head.
May you like
"Claire," he whispered. "Don't trust Dominic Vale."
Then the screen went black.
