The Price of a Last Name and the Bloodline We Rebuild
Outside, our SUV pulled up to the rusted chain-link fence of the storage facility.
The engine idled quietly in the rain.
“Stay here,” I told Nadia, my hand on the door handle.
“Elena, please,” she begged, holding my sleeve. “Let Greg go in first.”
“If Vance sees a man he doesn’t know, he’ll run,” I said. “He expects me. Alone.”
I opened the door and stepped out into the cold, wet air.
The rain immediately soaked through my coat, but I barely felt it.
I walked toward the side entrance of the warehouse, my heart thumping against my ribs.
The door was slightly ajar.
I pushed it open, the metal hinges groaning loudly.
The warehouse was dark, except for a single light bulb hanging near the back.
I heard voices, low and urgent, coming from the shadows.
“I have the drive,” Vance was saying, his voice high-pitched with fear. “It’s all on here. The bank routing numbers, the authorization codes. Everything.”
“And the name?” another voice asked.
It was Marco’s voice.
I froze in the doorway, my boots slipping slightly on the wet concrete.