Chapter 13 - The Hunt
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We didn't have much time.
Karen was already packing. I was checking the windows. The doors. The perimeter.
Nothing. Yet.
"How long until David gets here?"
"He said twenty minutes."
"That was ten minutes ago."
I looked at the phone. No calls. No texts.
"Something's wrong."
"Maybe traffic."
"Maybe."
I didn't believe it. Neither did she.
The sun was setting. The farmhouse was getting dark.
Then we heard it.
A car. Engine. Tires on gravel.
I grabbed Karen. Pulled her away from the window.
"Stay down."
We crouched in the kitchen. The car stopped. Doors opened. Footsteps.
"Hello?" A voice. Female. "Marcus? Karen? It's Sophie."
Sophie?
I looked at Karen. She shook her head.
"Don't."
"She helped before."
"She also sold us out."
"Marcus, please!" Sophie's voice was desperate. "I know you're in there. I'm alone. I swear. You have to let me in."
I crept to the window. Peeked out.
Sophie was standing in the driveway. Alone. Hands up. No weapon.
Behind her, a car. Empty.
"Where's David?"
"He sent me. He said there was a change of plans. He said to get you out of here."
"Why didn't he call?"
"He said the lines were compromised. He told me to tell you... tell you about the cabin. About Frank. About everything."
I looked at Karen. "She knows things only we would know."
"That doesn't mean anything. Mom could have told her."
"Sophie. She helped us before."
"She could be a plant."
"I don't think so."
"You don't think? You're going to risk our lives on a feeling?"
I looked at Sophie. Standing in the driveway. Scared. Alone.
"I think we have to."
I opened the door.
Sophie ran in. Hugged me. Crying.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't know they were going to—"
"It's okay."
"It's not okay. It's never going to be okay."
"Sophie. Calm down. Tell us what happened."
She took a breath. Steadied herself.
"Ray's dead. Someone killed him. In his cell."
"He was in prison?"
"He was in protective custody. Waiting to testify. But someone got to him."
"Who?"
"I don't know. David thinks it was someone on the inside. Someone who knew where he was."
"Shit."
"The others. Danny. Patricia. They're running. But they won't get far."
"Why are you here?"
"David sent me. He said you need to move. Now. Before they find you."
"Where?"
"He's got a safe house. A different one. In West Virginia. He'll meet us there."
"Us?"
"I'm coming with you."
Karen stepped forward. "Why should we trust you?"
Sophie looked at her. "Because I'm the only one who knows where Danny is. And if we don't find him before they do..."
"He's dead."
"He's dead."
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We drove in silence. Sophie's car. Dark roads. No lights.
The safe house was a cabin. Smaller than the last one. More remote.
"Cozy," Karen said. Sarcasm.
"It's safe," Sophie said. "That's what matters."
David was waiting inside. He looked relieved. Then confused.
"Sophie. I told you to stay in the city."
"I couldn't. They found Ray. They'll find me next."
David sighed. "Fine. You're here. Stay out of the way."
He turned to us. "We have a problem. The leak. It wasn't just someone on the inside. It was someone close to you."
"What do you mean?"
He looked at me. At Karen.
"It was Frank."
"Frank's dead."
"I know. But before he died, he sent a message. To your mother. Telling her everything."
"That's impossible."
"It's not. He was working for her. The whole time."
I thought about Frank. The cabin. The rifle. The story about his wife.
"He seemed so... sincere."
"He was. That's what made him so dangerous." David pulled out a file. "We found it in his phone. Messages. Calls. Everything."
"Then why did he help me? Why give me the ledger?"
"To gain your trust. To find out what you knew. He was going to kill you. But you got away."
I sat down. My legs were shaking.
"So everything he told me... it was a lie?"
"Not everything. The ledger is real. The evidence is real. He just... wasn't on your side."
"Jesus."
"There's more." David opened the file. "We know where Danny is."
"Where?"
"Atlantic City. He's been hiding out. In a casino his mother owns."
"Patricia owns a casino?"
"She doesn't. But her brother does. And he's been laundering money for years."
"What's the plan?"
"We go in. We get him. We bring him back."
"When?"
"Tonight. Before they can kill him like they killed Ray."
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