It was not Sophia.

It was one of her security guards, holding a rifle across his chest.

Marcus stopped, his hands raised slightly in a gesture of peace that felt entirely fake.

They began to speak, their voices muffled by the distance and the wind.

I looked at the lock on my door.

It was engaged, the small metal pin down.

“Luca,” I said again, my voice urgent.

“If you let Marcus take her down, the syndicate will fall apart anyway.”

“The police are already looking at those accounts.”

“If you help me, I can end this.”

Luca turned his head slowly, looking at me over his shoulder.

His face was tired, the dark circles under his eyes showing his exhaustion.

“How?” he asked.

“Let me go in there,” I said.

“She wants me, not just the docks.”

“If I go in, she will talk.”

“And what will you do?” Luca asked.

“I will give her what she really wants,” I said.

“An exit.”

Luca looked out the window at Marcus, who was still talking to the guard.

The tension was rising, the men shifting their weight on the snow.