Chapter 2 - Fifteen Names on a Screen
Dr. Ellis arrived twenty minutes later.
He examined Sadie's arm in a private treatment room and immediately ordered X-rays at a discreet medical facility.
“The fracture is serious,” he told Declan. “The wrist is displaced, and there may be additional damage. She needs proper imaging and treatment today.”
Sadie sat rigidly on the examination couch.
“Can you fix it without putting my name on anything?”
Dr. Ellis frowned.
“I can discuss confidentiality with you, but I won't promise that medical care leaves no records. You deserve treatment, not another reason to be frightened.”
Declan stood by the door.
“Arrange the safest appropriate option. She decides what happens next.”
Sadie looked at him in surprise.
She had expected orders.
Instead, he had given her a choice.
After the doctor left to make arrangements, Declan sat across from her.
“Tell me about your brother.”
Her face drained of color.
“How do you know I have a brother?”
“You said someone would die if you spoke. People who threaten you usually choose something you care about.”
She looked down.
“My brother's name is Jamie. He's nineteen. He works at a garage in Queens.”
“Does he know what happened?”
“No.”
“Has anyone contacted him?”
Sadie hesitated.
“Yesterday, someone left a photograph of him outside my apartment.”
Declan's jaw tightened.
“Do you have it?”
She nodded.
From her handbag, she removed a folded piece of paper.
The photograph showed Jamie leaving work.
On the back, someone had written six words.
Keep your mouth shut, or he pays.
Declan studied the image.
“Where were you when your arm was broken?”
“Behind a warehouse near the East River.”
“What warehouse?”
She gave him the address.
His expression changed immediately.
He knew the building.
It was part of a shipping operation once controlled by his uncle, Victor Watcher, before Declan had forced him out of the legitimate business.
Victor had supposedly retired overseas.
Supposedly.
Declan called his security chief, Marcus Reed.
“Get me every camera recording from the warehouse district for the last seven days. Quietly. And locate Jamie Miller. I want him protected without frightening him.”
Marcus paused.
“Is this related to the Blackthorn crew?”
Declan looked at Sadie.
“Why would you ask that?”
“Because three of our people reported activity near the warehouse. We thought it was a dispute over stolen cargo.”
Declan's eyes hardened.
“Find out who is involved.”
He ended the call.
Sadie was staring at him.
“What is Blackthorn?”
“A group of men who have been trying to take control of businesses that aren't theirs.”
“Are they your enemies?”
“Yes.”
She looked away.
“Then I'm sorry.”
Declan frowned.
“For what?”
“Because I think I'm the reason they're doing this.”
He leaned forward.
“Tell me why.”
Sadie swallowed.
“Because I saw something I wasn't supposed to see.”
She explained that she had been cleaning an office near the warehouse when she overheard several men discussing a shipment. One of them mentioned a list of payments, a missing ledger, and a meeting with someone they called the Chairman.
Then a man had noticed her.
They chased her into the alley.
She remembered being shoved against a wall, her arm twisting beneath her, and someone telling her that if she wanted to keep her brother alive, she would forget everything.
“Did you recognize any of them?” Declan asked.
“One.”
“Who?”
Sadie looked directly at him.
“Your head of security.”
The room went silent.
Marcus Reed had worked for Declan for twelve years.
Declan had trusted him with his life.
He looked at Sadie for a long moment.
Then he stood.
“Marcus will not be told anything about your treatment or your brother's location.”
Sadie trembled.
“You believe me?”
“I believe that you are frightened. I believe your arm was broken deliberately. And I believe someone inside my organization may be involved.”
He moved toward the door.
“But I don't make decisions about guilt without evidence.”
For the first time since the warehouse, Sadie felt the tiniest crack appear in the wall of fear surrounding her.
Declan was dangerous.
May you like
But he was not careless.
And that might be the only reason either of them would survive the night.
