CHAPTER 111: THE ABSENCE 3

MikeI hang up. I stand. My legs can barely hold me. I stretch. I look out at the city.Somewhere, in this goddamn city, she's locked up. Somewhere, she's scared. Somewhere, she's thinking of me.Is she thinking of me? Is she angry with me? Is she scared I won't come?I'm coming, Tara. I swear it on everything I hold sacred. On the head of our child. On my own head. I'm coming.And after, we'll tell each other everything we've never dared to say.TARAI counted the hours. Not with a watch. With my heart. With my breathing. With the shifts of light under the door.How many? I don't know. A day? Two? Less?The drugs have worn off. My head is clearer. The pain in my shoulder is sharper. That's a good sign. Pain is life. Pain is consciousness.I explored the room with my eyes. As much as I could. Handcuffed with my arms above my head, I can't move. But I can see. I see the cracks in the wall. I see the dust on the floor. I see the metal door, thick, with a peephole.Warehouse. Basement. T

CHAPTER 112: THE ABSENCE 4

MikeA noise. Then her voice. Tara. My Tara."Mike? Mike, is that you?""Tara! Goddammit, Tara, I'm here, I—""Listen to me. Listen carefully. Don't come. It's a trap. He wants to kill you, he—"The line cuts off. Marek's voice returns."You see? She's alive. She's talking. She's screaming. She's perfect.""If you touch her—""I'm not touching her. Not yet. But that depends on you. Tomorrow. Midnight. Warehouse 7, Red Hook port zone. Come alone. If I see anyone else, if I smell even a hint of betrayal, I'll slit her throat. Understood?""Understood.""Until tomorrow, Mr. Donovan. Pray you make the right choices."He hangs up.I stay completely still. Her voice. I heard her voice. She's alive. She's conscious. She's fighting.And she told me not to come.She told me not to come.She wants to protect me. She wants me to live. She's ready to die so that I might live.But she doesn't understand. She doesn't understand that without her, I don't live.I turn to Viktor. He heard everything t

CHAPTER 113: THE ABSENCE 5

MIKEOne hour left.I'm in the car, parked a kilometer from the warehouse. Viktor and the teams are scattered around. Invisible. Silent. Ready to intervene if things go wrong.But if things go wrong, they'll be too far away. If things go wrong, I'll already be dead.I check the time. Eleven p.m. One hour until hell.I think about her. About Tara. About what she must be feeling right now. Fear. Hope. Rage.I think about us. About everything we've been through. The bullets, the betrayals, the sleepless nights, the lazy mornings, the violent fights, the passionate reconciliations.I think about death. Mine. Hers. Ours.If we die tonight, we die together. That's the only thing that comforts me.My phone vibrates. Message from Viktor.Teams in position. We've got you covered. Good luck, boss.I put the phone away. I get out of the car.I walk toward the warehouse. Alone. In the dark. The cold wind off the port whips my face. The sounds of the city are far away. Nothing but the lapping of w

CHAPTER 114: THE ASHES

MIKEDawn breaks. We're on the roof of our building.She's sitting on the ledge, legs dangling into the void. I'm behind her, standing, my hands on her shoulders. I can feel the tremors still running through her. The after-effects. The pain. The fear she will never show anyone but me.The night was long. The hours after our escape from the warehouse, a mix of chaos and silence. Viktor's men cleaned up. The bodies disappeared. Marek? No one knows. In the fray, he vanished. Wounded, maybe. Dead, maybe. But I don't believe it. Not yet. A guy like him always turns up again.Tara hasn't spoken since we came up here. She's watching the sun rise. Her eyes are fixed. Far away. Elsewhere.I sit down next to her. I take her hand. It's cold. I warm it between mine."Do you want to go back inside?""No."Her voice is hoarse. Roughened by hours of silence, hours of screams she held back."I want to stay here. With you. Watch the day break."We watch.The sun rises slowly behind Manhattan. The towe

CHAPTER 115: THE ASHES 2

MIKETWENTY HOURS LATERThe warehouse is in our sights. Crouched behind shipping containers, we observe. Viktor has placed shooters on all the surrounding rooftops. The men are in position. Ready to storm the place.Tara is beside me. She's holding her MPX. The one she took back from our place, cleaned, reloaded. Her eyes don't leave the target."We go in ten minutes," I say."I'm going in with you.""Tara...""Mike. He's the one who took me. He's the one who drugged me. He's the one who put his filthy hands on me. I want to be there when he falls."I look at her. I see the determination. I see the rage. I see the fear too, well hidden, but present."Okay. But you stay behind me. Always.""Always.""And you do what I say.""Of course not."She smiles. Her first smile in days. I kiss her. Fast. Hard."I love you, Tara.""I love you, Mike. Now let's go kill this son of a bitch."We go.The assault is swift. Violent. Perfect.Viktor's men neutralize the sentries silently. We enter throug

CHAPTER 116: End

MIKESIX MONTHS LATERThe house is full of people. Laughter. Music. Food everywhere.We're celebrating. What? I don't know. Life. Survival. The fact of still being here.Viktor is here, with his wife and kids. Angelo brought his new girlfriend. Even César came, with his daughter Camila. She's beautiful, the little one. She looks like her father. She has his eyes. His sad eyes that say thank you without speaking.Tara moves among the guests. She smiles. She laughs. She is beautiful. So beautiful. The wound on her shoulder has healed. A scar remains. She says she's keeping it. To remember.I watch her from the corner of the living room. A drink in my hand. Happy. For the first time in years, I am happy. Truly happy.She comes toward me. She wraps her arms around my neck."Watching me?""Always.""Being mysterious in your corner?""I'm thinking.""About what?""About how lucky I am. To have you. To be alive. To be here."She smiles. She kisses me."We are lucky, it's true. We could have