Page 4 of Enigma: The Final Chapter
“How was I to know she’d wake earlier than expected? I put a heap of chloroform on the cloth. It should’ve knocked her out for hours. Where have you been anyway? I’m sick of waiting around for you.”
“I was fixing your fucking errors by dumping the car. I said no weapons, so why were you carrying a gun?”
“Protection. Do you know who she's linked to?” I wince in pain when the man holding me like a ragdoll tightens his grip. “She's Isaac Holt’s girl.”
“I'm not worried about him.”
The other man laughs. “Then that makes you a dead man walking. When he finds out you've taken her, he won’t stop until he finds her.”
When a stretch of silence crosses between them, I try to peer at the man carrying me through the fog coating my eyes. His features are distorted like I’m looking at him through a kaleidoscope. With my vision lacking, I try to speak, but my words are logged in my burning throat.
My bones jump out of my skin, even though I don’t physically move, when he screams, “Get out!” at the top of his lungs.
“My—”
“Your payment is on the table,” he interrupts. “Your services are no longer required.”
“Whatever, it’s your funeral, man.”
A door slamming shut booms into my ears as my eyelids grow too heavy for me to fight. No longer having the strength to keep them open, they drift shut just as a calloused hand removes strands of hair that have fallen onto my face.
“It’s okay, Isabelle. Go to sleep. This will all be over soon.”
My last thoughts go to Isaac.
Chapter 3
Isaac
For the slightest second, fear hazes my usually impenetrable composure. It’s soon replaced with adrenaline as my need to protect Isabelle surges through my blood. Even though everything I’ve feared the past few months is coming to fruition, now is not the time for my composure to fail.
For years, I’ve been waiting for Col to swing the ax he’s been grinding since the death of Ophelia, but his threat of retribution was never more than callous words fired off a vindictive tongue. That only changed as I now have someone significant in my life he can seek vengeance on, but Isabelle’s presence also means I’ve upped my game, ensuring I’m ready for his strike.
My gaze lifts to Hunter, who’s seated in the chair across from me. His laptop is balanced on his knees as he awaits further instructions. “Hugo said he was last on Tivot. Bring up all the CTC cameras in the area. We're looking for a white Range Rover. Also, call Tallis back. If Col so much as sneezes, I want to know.”
I know this is Col. I can feel it in my bones.
Hunter nods as his fingers fly over his keyboard at a lightning pace. I hit the speed dial for Henry’s cell, then press my phone to my ear. He answers on the very first ring. “Isaac.”
“The King has decided it’s time to remove the final pawn from the chessboard. He needs to protect his queen.”
Henry inhales a quick, sharp breath. “I understand. Where are you?”
“Where all the sinners are taken to await trial.”
“My crew will be there in a matter of hours.”
My grip on the phone tightens. “I wasn’t calling to ask a favor. I just wanted you to hear my decision directly from me. I know in our industry this isn’t recommended, but the rules of our game have changed.”
“Chaotic actions will only create bad consequences. Trust me, my boy, if you choose to play this type of game, you'll require structure that comes with years of experience,” Henry replies. “You're like a son to me, Isaac. I want to help you protect your Katarina.”
With that, he disconnects our call. I throw my phone onto my desk, so I can run my hand along my jaw. Hunter’s anxious eyes lift from his laptop. His lips move, but his words stay entombed in his throat. He doesn’t need to speak for me to hear his thoughts, though. I can see the trepidation in his eyes. He understands the ramifications of the decisionI just made, but I was serious when I said I'd do anything to protect Isabelle. Anything at all.
I’ve wanted to seek vengeance on Col for years, but I never did because I knew the aftermath would be greater than anyone predicted. Also, in this industry, you're never to attack the King. You can strategically remove the pawns surrounding them until their kingdom collapses beneath them, or take them down via a monetary death, but you must never attack them directly.
When Col’s son, Roberto, cooperated with the District Attorney’s office by supplying them with vital information pertaining to Col’s family business, the majority of Col’s kingdom collapsed around him. Nothing but rubble was left behind. Financially, he was decimated. With Col’s reputation tarnished with so much corruption, his business never returned to its shining glory.
I would have allowed that to be the end of our game of chess, but Col took it one step further by attacking the Queen, who stands next to the King, breaking the unspoken rules of our industry. The rules of our game have been altered, the guidelines removed, the board swept clean. Now, only two Kings remain standing ready to battle head-on.
