Chapter 5 - The Man With the Broken Watch
“Julian?”
The man laughed softly.
Dominic snatched the phone.
“Where is she?”
A pause.
Then Julian said, “Nice to hear your voice too, brother.”
Dominic’s face changed.
Hannah took one step back.
She had seen anger before.
This wasn’t anger.
This was something colder.
“Where is my wife?”
“You should have accepted the funeral.”
“Tell me where she is.”
“You always hated unfinished business.”
“Julian.”
Another laugh.
“You know what your problem is, Dom? You think fear is loyalty.”
Dominic’s voice dropped.
“You have ten seconds.”
“And you still think counting scares me.”
The call ended.
Dominic nearly crushed the phone in his hand.
Hannah grabbed his wrist.
“Stop.”
He looked at her.
“That phone may be evidence.”
“He has Evelyn.”
“We don’t know that.”
“I do.”
“You’re angry.”
“Yes.”
“And angry people make stupid decisions.”
Dominic stared.
“You speak to me like nobody else does.”
“Maybe that’s why your life is such a mess.”
Luca coughed once, suspiciously close to a laugh.
Dominic glared at him.
Luca looked away.
Hannah searched the office.
Saint Catherine.
She tried hospitals.
Schools.
Churches.
Then Luca found something.
A shipping invoice addressed to Catherine Medical Recovery LLC.
Private care facility.
No public website.
Westchester County.
Dominic called someone.
Three minutes later he had an address.
Hannah grabbed her coat.
Dominic blocked the door.
“No.”
She stared at him.
“We discussed this.”
“This time we’re not walking into a storage unit.”
“My sister might be there.”
“And the man holding her knows your face.”
“Exactly.”
Dominic frowned.
Hannah continued.
“If Evelyn sees twenty armed men charging into wherever she’s being held, she may panic. If she sees me…”
He understood.
“She’ll think you’re her.”
“For a second.”
“A second may be enough.”
Dominic hated the idea.
That was obvious.
He also knew she was right.
Before they left, Hannah called Bellafonte.
Peter answered.
“Hannah? Where the hell are you?”
“Long story.”
“Police came asking questions.”
Dominic looked at her.
Hannah put the phone on speaker.
“What questions?”
“About Mr. Vale. They said a waitress was forced into his car.”
Dominic muttered something under his breath.
Peter continued.
“Hannah, are you safe?”
“Yes.”
“Can you leave?”
Hannah looked at Dominic.
“Yes.”
Dominic raised an eyebrow.
She ignored him.
Peter sounded relieved.
“You should come in tomorrow. Detectives want a statement.”
“I will.”
She hung up.
Dominic said, “You’re lying to the police now?”
“I said I’ll give a statement.”
“You’re learning fast.”
“I hate you.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Give me time.”
They reached the private facility at 2:13 a.m.
Saint Catherine looked more like a country house than a hospital.
No sign.
No emergency entrance.
High fences.
Private security.
Dominic studied the building from the SUV.
“Julian knows we found the place.”
“Then why hasn’t he moved her?”
“Maybe he has.”
Hannah stared at the third-floor windows.
One room had a faint light.
A woman’s shadow moved behind the curtain.
Hannah stopped breathing.
“Dominic.”
He saw it.
The woman stepped closer to the window.
Thin.
Long hair.
Hospital gown.
Her face appeared behind the glass.
Hannah stared at herself.
The woman stared back.
Then Evelyn lifted one hand.
Pressed it against the window.
Hannah began crying before she realized she was crying.
“My God.”
Dominic opened the vehicle door.
Luca grabbed him.
“Boss, wait.”
A red laser dot appeared on Dominic’s chest.
Luca yanked him down.
The window above shattered.
Gunfire erupted from the trees.
Hannah screamed.
Dominic pulled her behind the SUV.
Security men returned fire.
Upstairs, Evelyn vanished from the window.
Dominic looked toward the building.
“They’re moving her.”
Hannah grabbed his arm.
“Then move faster.”
Dominic signaled his men.
May you like
They rushed the entrance.
But twenty seconds later, every light inside Saint Catherine went black.
