All Chapters of Between You and the Bullet: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Victor Shaw remained missing through the night.No new attack came.No new message either.Audrey knew she should have found that reassuring, but somehow the silence felt more unsettling than anything else.Even after breakfast, Nathan remained in contact with Marcus and Maya several times. He never raised his voice or showed any sign of panic, but Audrey could tell he was checking more than he had the day before.She closed her laptop.“I thought we’d be staying here again today.”Nathan ended his call and turned toward her.“Until this afternoon. After that, we’re moving. I’m not keeping you hidden here until Shaw is found.”Audrey had not expected that.“If you don’t know where he is, wouldn’t keeping me here be safer?”“There is no location I can honestly call completely safe. This place has the advantage of being unknown to him, as far as we can tell, but that’s all. The point of protection isn’t to hi

The moment they learned that an unidentified package had arrived at Sterling headquarters, Nathan’s entire manner changed.“We’re not going back to headquarters.”He said it before Audrey could object, then immediately called Daniel.“Lock down the mailroom. Move everyone who handled the package away from the area and record their names and the exact times they touched it. Nobody moves the box. Don’t let building staff clean anything around it either.”Before ending the call, he continued.“Secure the surveillance footage from the loading dock, main reception, and the route to the mailroom. Two hours before and after delivery. Copy it before anything gets overwritten, and store it separately from the building system.”Then he looked at Audrey.“And tell Sterling she has no plans to return to headquarters. If anyone asks, nobody gives out her location or her next movement.”Only then did he end the call.Audrey remained s

Audrey’s next trip outside came the following afternoon.The bank providing the primary financing for the Lower Manhattan redevelopment had requested an in-person meeting with senior representatives from both Sterling and Ashford.The joint project was already moving into renegotiation.But once final approval had been placed on hold, the bank had reason to determine whether this was simply a matter of revising contract terms—or whether something more serious had developed between the two companies.Technically, the discussion could have happened online.Still, on a multibillion-dollar redevelopment, the absence of Sterling’s expected successor from a meeting like this could create speculation of its own.“I think I need to go.”When Audrey told Nathan that morning, he did not begin by arguing.He had already reviewed the bank’s attendees, building access, meeting room, and emergency routes.“At this point, it’s manageab

Multiple surveillance screens lined the walls of the crisis-management room, displaying major areas of the building and the underground garage.Audrey’s attention settled on one of them.The white van.Security officers stood well back from it, leaving the vehicle isolated in the middle of the space.The bank’s security director checked the latest report before speaking.“So far, there’s no indication of hazardous material. But the plate doesn’t match the vehicle registration. We also reviewed the access record. It entered through the loading side at twelve fifty-eight and was processed as a temporary facilities vehicle.”Nathan kept his eyes on the screen.“Who approved it?”“The system shows facilities management. But there’s a problem with the authorization number. It belongs to a work order that expired yesterday.”Audrey slowly looked toward Nathan.

Several minutes had passed since the explosion, but the tension inside the crisis-management room had not eased at all.The fire in the west service area remained localized, with no sign yet that it was spreading toward the upper floors. The blast, however, had knocked out part of the surveillance network and disrupted sections of the access-control system, forcing some areas of the building onto emergency power. On the remaining monitors, evacuees were being directed toward the east stairwell while bank security teams moved through different floors checking conditions.The building itself was not in danger of collapsing.But the security structure they had relied on no longer existed in its normal form.Nathan continued sorting through the incoming information, checking each update from the fire department and bank security as it arrived. A pressure dressing from the emergency kit had finally been secured over his right shoulder. He had tried to put it o