CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The caravan of SUVs carrying Jared, DeMarco and their assortment of bodyguards, all armed to the teeth, entered the deserted construction site a little past midnight. The skeletal framework of the abandoned casino project on the outskirts of Las Vegas loomed ominously over the proceedings, casting an eerie specter over an already tense situation as Jared faced off with DeMarco. The two men stood in a ring of light created by the headlights of the SUVs that formed a tight circle around them like two gladiators squaring off in a quasi Roman amphitheater, preparing to fight to the death. Dylan, Falconer and Brad stood a few feet behind Jared as they warily eyed their counterparts standing behind DeMarco, their holstered handguns exposed and positioned for quick access.

“I think it’s in both of our best interests to find a peaceful resolution to our dispute,” DeMarco announced with what was intended to pass for a congenial smile oozing across his smarmy face.

“You have a funny way of showing it,” Jared replied, his own face remaining hard and hostile. “That little reception you had waiting for me in the desert was hardly conducive to peace.”

“If the situation were reversed you would have had the same initial response. But after having time to think about the situation, I believe that we can come to an amicable agreement regarding the Atlantic City property.”

Jared pondered DeMarco’s words carefully before responding. “In light of your recent attempt on my life, any negotiations of an amicable agreement would require a show of good faith on your part first.”

DeMarco's lips twisted, morphing from a smile into a supercilious pout. “Such as?”

“Such as giving me the name of your source inside my compound. I know that someone tipped you off about my trip to Tahoe and I want to know who it was.”

DeMarco’s smarmy smile returned, as his soulless black eyes turned calculating, causing Dylan’s body to immediately tense as he remembered DeMarco’s threat to tell Jared about his arrangement with Chloe.

“Naturally, I would expect certain concessions in exchange for this information.”

“What sort of concessions?”” Jared asked.

“Just your promise that I will be immune from retaliation from either you or your associates in The Cartel.”

Jared eyed DeMarco disdainfully. “You ask a lot.”

“Not really. You have a viper in your midst. A potentially lethal one. I would think that expelling it from your inner sanctum would be well worth forgoing whatever satisfaction you may get from retaliating against me. After all, our dispute is merely business whereas this betrayal by one of your own is highly personal.”

Dylan held his breath as Jared contemplated DeMarco’s offer, his heart pounding. A burst of adrenalin pumped through his veins preparing his body to act in order to protect Chloe by any means necessary as his mind quickly raced to form a plan of action. His eyes locked on one of DeMarco’s men positioned directly in front of him as an idea gelled in his mind.

“Fine,” Jared said finally. “We have a deal. Tell me who it was that set me up.”

“He’s going for his gun!” Dylan suddenly shouted as he gestured at the guard in front of him while reaching for his own gun, instantly setting off the tinderbox of a situation. In the blink of an eye, the scene was plunged into a state of violent chaos as both DeMarco’s men and Jared’s all simultaneously sprang into action in response to his words and movements, drawing their guns and opening fire at the other side.

Searing pain suddenly exploded in Dylan’s left shoulder in response to a bullet fired from Vincent DeMarco’s own gun by the man himself. Dylan just managed to return fire as the force of the bullet knocked him backwards, sending him crashing down, the impact of his body hitting the ground dislodging the gun from his hand as the sound of gunfire rang out loudly in the night air around him. From his position sprawled on his back on the bed of gravel and dirt beneath him, Dylan could see the now soulless eyes of DeMarco staring blankly back at him as he lay in a lifeless heap a few yards away. DeMarco was dead and, even in his current precarious position, a feeling of relief washed over Dylan at the knowledge that Chloe's secret had died with him. But that relief proved to only be temporary as he saw one of DeMarco’s men aim his gun directly at him. The world seemed to suddenly move in slow motion as he watched the man’s finger slowly begin to tighten on the trigger. In that moment, the image of Chloe’s face flashed in front of his eyes causing him to realize that he was content to die as long as it meant that she was safe. With that knowledge, he peacefully waited for a bullet that never came.

The bullet that slammed into Dylan's would-be killer came from a high powered, long range rifle. Dylan could see the tell-tale red dot of a laser scope zero in on the man’s forehead just seconds before his head exploded in front of Dylan’s eyes. It was the last thing that Dylan saw before he lost consciousness.

From his sniper position on the roof of an adjacent building, Donovan lowered his rifle.

“They’re taking Dylan,” Ethan announced as he watched helplessly through a pair of binoculars while two of Jared’s men loaded an unconscious Dylan into one of the SUV’s and peeled away from the construction site at top speed. He cursed under his breath as he caught sight of Jared sitting in the passenger’s seat of the car as it sped away, completely unscathed. “And the old man’s with him.”

***

“I don’t want to hear any excuses; I want you to find my brother!” Donovan roared into his cell phone as he glared angrily out of the window of his penthouse. The sun was already blazing unrelentingly over Las Vegas, marking the beginning of a brand new day in Sin City and he still had no idea where Jared had taken Dylan. All he knew was that Jared’s jet had taken off just after sunrise without a flight plan and every instinct he had told him that his brother was on it.

“Why would Jared fly Dylan out of Las Vegas?” Ethan asked as if reading Donovan’s mind.

“Who the hell knows?” Donovan replied gruffly. “I’m still trying to figure out why Dylan deliberately set things off with DeMarco’s men back at the construction site.”

“That was completely out-of character for Dylan,” Kyle added. “I know from first hand experience that he’s usually cool as a cucumber in those sorts of situations.”

“Whatever it was that he was trying to do last night, I’ll bet dollars to donuts that his reasons had something to do with Chloe,” Ethan surmised, grateful that he had gone against Dylan’s express wishes by both trailing him after he left his apartment the night before and turning to Donovan for help. If they hadn’t been at the construction site that night, Dylan would be dead.

Donovan grumbled with disapproval of Dylan’s apparent willingness to get himself killed for the sake of Chloe Halifax. Silently, he prayed that it hadn’t actually come to that as he turned to face the other two men. They looked just as exhausted as he felt. And just as worried.

“So what are we going to do now?” Ethan asked as he anxiously ran a hand through the thick strands of his dark hair.

“We’re going to go on the offense,” Donovan replied, a dangerous edge creeping into his voice.

***

A jittery fear vibrated through Chloe’s body as the SUV carrying her pulled away from the Rec Center where she had just dropped off Emma. With Dylan’s instructions from the night before still echoing in her mind, she had wanted to keep Emma close to her that day but Jared had insisted that she go to the camp. This fact, coupled with the knowledge that Dylan hadn’t returned to the compound after Jared’s meeting with DeMarco, had Chloe teetering precariously on the brink of full blown panic. She knew something had gone terribly wrong at the meeting with DeMarco. Jared had returned to the compound visibly shaken, his clothes splattered with blood.

Was it Dylan’s blood?

The thought sent a violent shudder through her body as her heart filled with chilling fear over Dylan’s possible fate. Deep regret washed over her like a bucket of ice water as she recalled the coldness with which she had treated him the last time she saw him, the way that she had pulled away from him when he had tried to kiss her. What if that was the last time that she would ever see him? Her heart wrenched painfully at the prospect.

With a force born of the primal need to protect her child, Chloe shook off both the thought and the overwhelming feeling of despair that accompanied it. She needed to focus. Dylan had told her to grab Emma and the files from Jared’s computer and make a run for it which meant that she needed to find a way to get to Dylan’s apartment to retrieve the files before she returned to pick up Emma from day camp. Chloe’s eyes flicked nervously at the bodyguard driving the SUV, her heart racing double time inside her chest as they moved closer to the street where Dylan’s apartment building was located. She had instructed him to drive her to a funky little clothing boutique she had spotted nearby on her previous trips to Dylan’s apartment. Once there she would have to find a way to give him the slip long enough to make her way to Dylan’s apartment and retrieve the files.

“Pull over here,” she said, pointing to a vacant parking spot right across the street from the boutique.

Chloe’s eyes carefully took in the layout of the building as she entered the store with Jared’s stocky, dull eyed guard dog right on her heels. It was still fairly early in the morning and the store was devoid of any other customers, much to Chloe’s relief.

“You might want to take a seat,” Chloe offered, gesturing towards an empty chair situated towards the front of the store. “This is going to take a while.”

Like the obedient mutt that Jared had trained him to be, the guard took a seat as Chloe began looking through the racks of trendy clothing in what she hoped appeared to be a casual, unhurried manner as her eyes repeatedly returned to the rear exit of the store.

“Oh, darn it,” Chloe exclaimed with feigned dismay as she turned to face the guard. “I left my purse in the car. Could you go get it for me?”

The guard cast a glance out at the SUV through the large plate glass window, contemplating it’s proximity to the store. Apparently deciding that it was close enough, he rose to his feet and headed out the front entrance. The second he turned his back to Chloe, she sprinted towards the girl behind the checkout counter. Fishing out five one hundred dollar bills from the front pocket of her jeans along with the key to Dylan’s apartment, she slapped the money down on the counter in front of her.

“When my friend comes back tell him that I went into the dressing room to try on some clothes,” Chloe said, looking beseechingly at the frizzy haired young woman standing in front of her.
The clerk quickly scooped up the money, folding the bills together before carefully tucking them into her bra. “For five hundred bucks, I’ll tell him you went to the moon.”

“Is there an alarm on that door?” Chloe asked, pointing to the emergency exit?

“Yeah, but I can turn it off,” the salesgirl said as she made her way over to the door.

“Good. Do that,” Chloe said, casting an anxious eye out the window at the retreating back of her bodyguard as he made his way across the street. It took only a few seconds for the clerk to disarm the door and only a few more for Chloe to slip out of it, emerging into the alley behind the store. Making her way towards the front of the building, Chloe cautiously peaked around the corner, clutching the key to Dylan’s apartment tightly in her hand. From her vantage point she could just manage to see the SUV parked across the street and what she saw made her heart drop in her chest. The guard lay in a motionless heap next to the vehicle and at the feet of the man who had just rendered him that way. Even with the man’s back turned to her Chloe immediately recognized the tall, distinctive figure of Donovan Chance as he towered menacingly over the guard.

“Scrape him off the sidewalk and put him in the car,” Donovan instructed Ethan and Kyle. “I'll grab Chloe.”

Holding her breath, Chloe flattened her back against the stucco wall of the building as she saw Donovan walk towards the entrance. Once he was out of her line of sight, Chloe cautiously eased out of her hiding place and ran towards the direction of Dylan’s apartment at full speed.