Chapter 6 - Confrontation on the MezzanineThe Mask SlipsThe music stopped instantly. Shouts of alarm echoed across the plush VIP lounge as half a dozen armed bodyguards scrambled to draw their weapons, but Gabriel was faster. Two deafening cracks from his customized pistol echoed through the vaulted ceiling, and the two closest guards dropped their weapons and hit the polished marble floor.
In the center of the room, sitting at a mahogany table littered with laptop computers and financial documents, sat Daniel Shaw.
For a fraction of a second, color completely drained from Daniel’s face. His eyes darted from Gabriel to the doorway, and then—horror of horrors—they landed on me.
“Elena?” Daniel whispered, his voice trembling as he stumbled backward against the glass railing of the mezzanine. “No... that’s impossible. We pulled the body from the river. You died months ago!”
“Surprise, Daniel,” I stepped out from behind Gabriel’s shoulder, my hand resting firmly on the grip of my concealed pistol. “Turns out your cleanup crew was sloppy. And your forged evidence is about as sturdy as your loyalty.”
Daniel’s panic evaporated as quickly as it had appeared, replaced by a cold, calculating snarl. He reached slowly toward his jacket pocket, his eyes locked on Gabriel. “You think walking in here with a ghost gives you the upper hand, boss? Look around. Connor Bell’s men own every street between here and the loop. Even if you kill me, you won’t make it out of this building alive.”
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“Try me,” Gabriel said, taking a slow, measured step forward, his gun pointed squarely at the center of Daniel’s chest. “You sold out my men, you tortured the mother of my child, and you thought you could step into my shoes. I’m going to take everything you built, Daniel. And then I’m going to take your life.”
Before Daniel could draw his weapon, a massive explosion rocked the lower level of the club, shaking the glass mezzanine and plunging the room into sudden, chaotic darkness as the emergency backup generators kicked in with a dull hum.
