Chapter 9 - The Final ChoiceThe rain seemed to stop for one impossible, suspended second.
The wind howled across the dark waters of the Seattle harbor.
Vance started to swing his pistol toward Dante—
Bang.
The shot echoed like a thunderclap across the bay.
Vance’s eyes widened in absolute shock. The Glock slipped from his fingers, clattering loudly against the wooden planks of the pier before rolling off the edge into the dark water below.
Agent Marcus Moretti stumbled backward, clutching his chest as blood rapidly bloomed across his white shirt, before collapsing heavily onto the wet wood.
He didn't move again.
From the shadows behind the crates, three federal agents in unmarked tactical gear lowered their smoking weapons.
Claire stood frozen, her heart hammering against her ribs, holding Mia tight.
Dante lowered his gun, his knees buckling slightly as the adrenaline faded and blood loss took its toll. He dropped to one knee, gasping for breath, dropping the pistol into the puddles.
Sirens wailed in the distance—real police sirens, state troopers and internal affairs units responding to an anonymous digital data dump that had just been transmitted to every news station in Washington state.
The Moretti syndicate was finished. The corrupt federal agents were exposed.
Dante slowly raised his head, looking across the wet wood at Claire and the little girl sleeping safely in her arms.
"It's over," Dante whispered, blood staining his lips as he offered a weak, heartbreaking smile. "You're safe now, Claire. Both of you."
Claire didn't run. She didn't scream.
Slowly, carefully, she handed Mia over to Kate, who was crying softly in relief.
Then, Claire walked across the wooden planks through the driving rain, knelt down in front of Dante Moretti, and reached out her hands.
Not to push him away.
Not to arrest him.
She pressed her palms firmly against his bleeding shoulder, stopping the pressure, doing what she had trained her entire life to do.
"You don't get to die on me now, Dante Moretti," Claire whispered, her voice cracking with tears as the first rays of dawn finally began to break over the dark Seattle skyline. "You have a lot of explaining to do... to both of us."
May you like
Dante let out a ragged, disbelieving laugh, catching her hand in his.
"I'll take that as a maybe," he rasped, before closing his eyes and letting her pull him home.
