Chapter 6 - BETRAYAL AND BLOODLINESJericho slowly turned his head to look at me. The trust we had built over weeks shattered in an instant. The stormy coldness returned to his gray eyes, deadlier than before.
"Jericho, he’s lying!" I shouted, taking a step forward. "I didn't set you up!"
"LIAR!" Volkov spat, pulling a small remote detonator from his pocket. "DIE TOGETHER!"
Jericho didn't hesitate. He pulled the trigger, execution-style. Volkov’s head snapped back, dead instantly. But his thumb pressed the button as he died.
A high-pitched beep echoed from under the shipping container next to us.
C4.
"JERICHO, RUN!" I screamed.
I lunged forward, tackling Jericho across the concrete just as the bomb detonated. The blast wave threw us twenty feet into the air. We slammed into the freezing ocean water, swallowed by the dark waves.
The cold water hit my lungs like ice. Fire raged in the docks above as burning debris rained down. I kicked hard, swimming toward the surface, dragging Jericho with me. He was unconscious, bleeding from a gash on his forehead.
I hauled him onto a floating wooden platform near the edge of the pier, pumping his chest frantically.
"Come on, Jericho! Don't you dare die on me!" I screamed, slamming my hands onto his chest. "Breathe!"
I leaned down and gave him mouth-to-mouth.
On the third breath, Jericho suddenly gasped, coughing up salt water. His hands flew up, grabbing my wrists in a death grip. He pulled me down, his face inches from mine, panting heavily.
"Was it a lie?" he rasped, his eyes searching my face with raw, agonizing vulnerability. "Was Rosie... was meeting her a plan?"
Tears mixed with the rain on my cheeks. "I swear on my life, Jericho... I love that little girl. I would die to protect her. I didn't know who she was. You have to believe me."
Jericho stared at me, the fire of betrayal warring with the undeniable truth in my eyes. Slowly, his grip on my wrists softened. He pulled me closer, burying his face into the crook of my neck, holding me tight as the docks burned around us.
"If you're lying to me, Katherine," he choked out, "it will kill me."
"I'm not lying," I whispered, wrapping my arms around his wet shoulders.
At that moment, my encrypted phone vibrated in my waterproof pocket. I pulled it out with trembling hands.
It was a text message from an unknown, untraceable number. Attached was a photo.
It was a photo taken ten minutes ago inside the Star Island mansion.
Rosie was sitting on her bed, asleep. But standing in the doorway, shadow casting over her, was a man wearing a tactical vest with the Ghost Syndicate emblem.
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The text read:
"Thank you for leading us to Jericho’s daughter, Agent Vance. Phase Two is complete."
