Chapter 6 - THE HOSTAGELuis Moreno had saved my life twice.
The first time was in a valley I still dreamed about.
The second was when he lied to a surgeon and told him I had ordered Luis to go home instead of returning to duty early.
He knew I would never give that order.
He also knew I would never forgive myself if he destroyed his body trying to prove he could still serve.
Luis was family.
And Marcus Blackwood knew it.
Rebecca stared at the photograph on my phone.
“This is bait.”
“I know.”
“He wants you emotional.”
“I know.”
“He wants you moving without support.”
“I know.”
She grabbed my arm before I could walk away.
“Then act like you know.”
I looked at her.
“Luis is sitting in a chair because my wife’s family used my command.”
“No. Luis is sitting in a chair because criminals kidnapped him.”
“That distinction won’t matter if he dies.”
Rebecca released me.
“Good. Anger is fine. Just don’t let it make decisions.”
We enlarged the image.
Industrial building.
Concrete floor.
Rust streaks on a corrugated wall.
A yellow safety stripe.
Luis’s chair was military surplus.
There was a clock behind Marcus.
9:17.
No obvious location marker.
But Marcus had made a mistake.
Behind the chair, barely visible, was a white shipping container marked with partial lettering.
…RIDGE
Aster Ridge Logistics.
One of Claire’s shell companies.
Rebecca’s team searched property databases.
Aster Ridge leased three facilities in Georgia.
One near Savannah.
One near Brunswick.
One abandoned inland.
We didn’t know which one.
Then Eli walked into the operations room.
“You’re looking at Savannah.”
Rebecca turned.
“How do you know?”
“That yellow stripe.”
We waited.
“My father requires every Blackwood-controlled warehouse to use different floor markings for internal insurance audits. Savannah is yellow. Charleston is blue. Brunswick is green.”
Rebecca immediately dispatched surveillance.
I looked at Eli.
“You sure?”
“I spent summers being dragged through those warehouses because Dad wanted me to learn the family business.”
For the first time, Victor’s obsession with control helped us.
We received another message.
MIDNIGHT. COME ALONE.
Attached coordinates pointed to a river access road twelve miles from Savannah.
Not the warehouse.
A transfer point.
Rebecca smiled without humor.
“Marcus thinks he’s clever.”
“He is.”
“Not clever enough.”
We built a plan.
I would go.
Rebecca hated it.
But Marcus had requested me specifically, and a tactical team approaching first could get Luis killed.
So I wore a transmitter.
Body armor under civilian clothing.
Two tracking devices.
And enough federal agents hidden nearby to start a small war if necessary.
Before leaving, I went to Claire.
She was stronger.
Still badly injured.
Still unable to move much.
But stronger.
I didn’t tell her everything.
She looked at my clothes.
“You’re going.”
I smiled slightly.
“You always knew when I was lying.”
“You’re bad.”
“Only with you.”
Her eyes moved toward my vest beneath the jacket.
“Marcus?”
I nodded.
She closed her eyes.
“Luis.”
“You remember him?”
“You talk about him… constantly.”
“That’s because he’s irritating.”
Claire almost laughed.
Then she caught my hand.
“Don’t trade.”
I knew what she meant.
“Claire—”
“No.”
Her voice was stronger than before.
“Don’t give drive.”
“He may kill Luis.”
“He’ll kill him anyway.”
I hated that she was right.
Marcus had helped beat his sister nearly to death.
He had participated in moving restricted technology.
He had kidnapped a military officer.
There was no moral barrier left.
Claire squeezed my hand.
“Think.”
I kissed her forehead.
“I always do.”
She stared at me.
“No. You attack.”
Fair.
“Rebecca thinks.”
Also fair.
I kissed her again.
“Then I’ll listen to Rebecca.”
Midnight came cold and wet.
I drove alone down the river access road.
Fog rolled off the water.
My headlights illuminated an abandoned boat ramp.
Marcus stood twenty yards ahead.
Luis knelt beside him.
Hands bound.
Blood dried down one side of his face.
Dr. Keller stood behind them with a pistol.
Marcus smiled.
“You actually came.”
I stepped out.
“You sound surprised.”
“I thought generals sent other men to die for them.”
Luis lifted his head.
“Ethan…”
“Still ugly, Luis.”
He laughed weakly.
“Good to see you too.”
Marcus pressed a gun against his neck.
“Drive.”
I held up a duplicate.
We had copied the data.
The original sat in federal custody.
“You let him go first.”
Marcus shook his head.
“That isn’t how this works.”
“It is tonight.”
Keller shifted nervously.
He was scared.
Marcus wasn’t.
That difference mattered.
“Where is Harris?” I asked.
Marcus laughed.
“You came for Moreno, not conversation.”
“Maybe I’m curious.”
“Detective Harris became unreliable.”
Meaning dead.
Keller looked sharply toward Marcus.
There.
Something.
Keller hadn’t known.
I filed it away.
“Your father let you run.”
Marcus’s smile disappeared.
“He didn’t let me do anything.”
“You sure?”
I took one step closer.
“Victor is sitting comfortably with attorneys while you’re kidnapping soldiers beside a river.”
“Shut up.”
“He stayed visible. You disappeared.”
“Shut up.”
“He’s sacrificing you.”
Marcus pressed the gun harder against Luis.
Luis winced.
Keller looked increasingly uncomfortable.
I continued.
“Victor always needed one son smart enough to work and stupid enough to take the fall.”
Marcus’s face changed.
That hit.
I had guessed correctly.
“You know nothing about my father.”
“I know he didn’t come with you.”
Silence.
I held out the drive.
“Luis walks to me. You get this.”
Marcus nodded toward Keller.
“Bring him halfway.”
Keller pulled Luis up.
They approached.
Ten yards.
Eight.
Six.
I saw movement in the trees behind Marcus.
Rebecca’s team.
Almost ready.
Keller suddenly whispered something to Luis.
Then shoved him toward me.
“Now!”
Gunfire exploded.
I tackled Luis.
Marcus fired toward Keller.
Keller dropped behind a concrete barrier.
Federal agents flooded the area.
“FEDERAL AGENTS! DROP THE WEAPON!”
Marcus ran toward the river.
I cut Luis’s restraints.
“You hit?”
“No.”
“Stay down.”
“Go.”
I chased Marcus.
He reached a small motorboat hidden beneath the dock.
Before he could start the engine, I jumped onto the stern.
He swung the pistol.
I knocked his wrist away.
The gun flew into the water.
Marcus hit me.
Hard.
I hit back.
He had size.
I had training.
But training didn’t make anger disappear.
He struck my ribs.
I drove him into the boat rail.
“You broke her jaw.”
He punched me.
I barely felt it.
“You killed my child.”
I drove him down.
He laughed through blood.
“You think Claire was innocent?”
I stopped.
“What?”
“She knew what our father was.”
He smiled.
“She kept quiet for years.”
“That’s a lie.”
“Ask her about twenty nineteen.”
Something in his tone bothered me.
He used the moment to reach for a knife.
I trapped his wrist and slammed it against the deck.
Rebecca arrived with two agents.
“Enough!”
I released him.
They cuffed Marcus.
He smiled up at me.
“Ask your wife what happened in 2019.”
I wanted to break every tooth in his mouth.
Instead I stepped away.
Rebecca took Marcus.
Keller surrendered.
Luis was transported to a hospital with a concussion and two cracked ribs.
He would recover.
At dawn, I returned to Claire.
She saw the bruises on my face.
“Luis?”
“Alive.”
Relief.
“Marcus?”
“Custody.”
More relief.
Then I sat down.
“Claire.”
She saw something in my face.
“What?”
“Marcus told me to ask you about 2019.”
All the color drained from her face.
There it was.
A secret.
Not Victor’s.
Not Marcus’s.
Claire’s.
“What happened in 2019?”
She looked away.
I waited.
May you like
Finally she whispered:
“That was the first time Dad killed someone.”
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