Chapter 4 - The Ghost of the Past
💥 THE BREAK-IN: "THEY KNOW SHE’S ALIVE."Three days passed in a strange, high-stakes limbo. Mave lived in a luxurious guest suite adjacent to June’s medical room. She was given clean clothes—soft cashmere sweaters and dark trousers that actually fit her body comfortably, a stark contrast to the stiff, chafing polyester of her diner uniform.
June was recovering quickly, her youth working in her favor. She spent her waking hours talking quietly with Mave, revealing the pieces of a life lived in a gilded cage. June spoke of how Landon had taken over the family business after their parents died in a suspicious car crash five years ago. She spoke of how Landon had grown cold, distant, and obsessed with security.
"He thinks he can protect me from everything," June whispered one afternoon, her pale hands wrapping around a warm mug of broth Mave had brought her. "But the world always finds a way to bleed you."
"He loves you, June," Mave said gently, adjusting the pillows behind the girl’s back. "He’s terrified of losing you."
"He’s terrified of losing control," June corrected grimly. "There’s a difference."
Before Mave could reply, the lights in the medical wing suddenly flickered and died.
The hum of the backup generators didn't kick in immediately. The room was plunged into pitch-black darkness, save for the faint moonlight filtering through the high, reinforced glass windows.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The medical monitors began to chime in alarm as their internal batteries took over.
"Mave?" June’s voice rose in panic. "What’s happening?"
"Stay still," Mave said, her nursing training taking over. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the secure phone Landon had given her. The screen showed zero signal. The building’s comms have been jammed.
A heavy thud echoed from the corridor outside. Then, the distinct, sickening sound of a silenced pistol firing three times. Thwip. Thwip. Thwip.
"They're here," June gasped, her chest heaving as panic took over. "Landon’s gone downtown for a meeting. They knew he wouldn't be here!"
Mave’s stomach dropped. Varga found out. Someone inside Landon’s organization had betrayed him. The location of this secure facility was supposed to be a total secret.
The door handle to the medical room began to rattle.
Mave didn't think. She grabbed June by the waist, helping the frail girl out of the bed. "Can you walk?"
"I... I think so," June whimpered, tears streaming down her face.
"We need to hide. Now." Mave scanned the room in the dim light. There were no closets, no hidden exits. The only large object was a heavy metal supply cabinet in the corner.
Mave pushed June inside the cabinet, crowding her large frame in right behind her. She pulled the metal doors shut from the inside, leaving only a tiny crack to breathe through. The smell of rubbing alcohol and sterile gauze surrounded them in the dark.
The room door burst open with a loud crash.
Two men entered, their heavy combat boots clicking against the linoleum floor. They carried assault rifles fitted with flashlights, the bright beams cutting through the darkness, illuminating the empty medical bed and the dangling IV lines.
"Where is she?" a harsh voice growled in Russian. "The bed is still warm."
"Check the bathroom!" the second man ordered.
Mave held her breath, her heart pounding so loud she was certain the men could hear it. Her arm was pressed tight against June, who was shaking violently. Mave wrapped her body around the younger girl, trying to act as a human shield one more time. If they open this door, I take the bullets first, she thought, a strange calmness settling over her. She had lived a hard, miserable life; if she died saving this kid, at least her life would have meant something.
The flashlight beam flicked across the front of the supply cabinet.
Mave squinted against the light through the crack. One of the men was walking directly toward them. His hand reached out, his gloved fingers wrapping around the handle of the metal cabinet.
Click.
The sound came from the doorway.
The flashlight beam jerked away from the cabinet as both men spun around.
Standing in the doorway, framed by the faint moonlight, was Landon Kee. He wasn't wearing his overcoat anymore. His shirt sleeves were rolled up, his tie was gone, and he held a massive silver revolver in his right hand. He looked like a demon rising from the shadows.
"Looking for me?" Landon asked softly.
Before the men could raise their rifles, Landon fired.
The roar of the revolver was deafening in the small room. The first man was thrown backward, his chest exploding in a spray of dark blood. The second man managed to fire a wild burst into the ceiling before Landon fired a second time, the bullet catching the intruder directly between the eyes.
The silence that followed was absolute, broken only by the smell of gunpowder and the dripping of blood onto the floor.
Landon stood in the center of the carnage, his chest rising and falling slowly. He didn't look down at the dead men. He looked straight at the supply cabinet.
"Mave," he called out, his voice shaking with a raw emotion she hadn't heard before. "June. Come out."
Mave pushed the metal doors open and stepped into the room, her body trembling from the adrenaline. June scrambled out behind her, throwing herself into her brother’s arms, sobbing uncontrollably.
Landon held his sister tight, burying his face in her dark hair. But over her shoulder, his gray eyes locked onto Mave. He looked at the way she had stood between his sister and the door. He looked at the fierce protection written in every line of her posture.
"You're bleeding," Landon said, his voice dropping into a low, dangerous register as he noticed a dark stain spreading across the sleeve of Mave’s cashmere sweater. A stray bullet from the second man’s wild burst had grazed her forearm.
"It’s just a scratch," Mave said, her voice cracking.
Landon stepped away from June, leaving her with Marcus, who had just rushed into the room with a squad of guards. Landon walked over to Mave, took her injured arm in his large hands, and looked down at the wound. His fingers were surprisingly gentle as he inspected the torn skin.
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"They breached my inner circle," Landon whispered, his face turning into a mask of pure fury. "Varga has a mole inside my house. Nobody is safe here anymore."
He looked up, his face inches from hers. "We're leaving Chicago tonight, Mave. You, me, and June. We go to my private estate in the north woods. And we don't return until everyone who touched my family is dead."
