CHAPTER 73 — SHADOWS IN THE WATER

CHAPTER 73 — SHADOWS IN THE WATER
VIOLET’S POV

I feel the cold stone of the bridge pillar in my palms as I pressed my hands  against it, trying to steady myself. Across the river, the warehouse door open and there she was, Eleanor Lancaster. 
My mother. The woman I’d spent years thinking that she had left us for good.

She stood there in the doorway, dark hair pulled back so tight it made her cheekbones stand out, she's wearing clothes that looked expensive and well-cared for. Not like someone who’d been locked away or held against their will. 
She looked… calm. In control. Like she belonged right there, standing beside Marco Moretti Sr,  the man everyone swore had burned to death in that warehouse  years ago.

I felt Donovan’s hand start to move toward my shoulder but I twisted away before he could touch me, pressing myself deeper into the pillar, I  wouldn’t let her see me or give her the satisfaction of knowing I’d come all this way just to watch her stand with the people who wanted to destroy everything we had.
I just whispered her name so quiet I wasn’t even sure I’d said it out loud.

“Mom.”

Donovan’s grip tightened on my arm firmly enough to keep me from moving. 
Don’t,” he said quietly, his voice low enough only I could hear. “Not now. Let’s see what she’s planning first  and make sure we know what we’re walking into.”
“We need to stay hidden,” he said again, his voice low. 
“My father’s handling things.”

I peered around the pillar again, my heart hammering so hard against my ribs.
Marco stepped forward, flanked by six guys in dark suits who looked like they’d been pulled straight out of a spy movie. 
Every single one of them held weapons.

“Einstein!” Marco called out, his voice clear across the water even with the wind whipping up off the river. 
“You came alone, just like we agreed. I’m actually surprised you kept your word, your old man never could stick to a deal.”

Donovan’s father stepped out from behind the bridge’s central arch, hands stuffed in his pockets like he was just out for an evening stroll along the river.

“Unlike you, Moretti, I keep my promises,” he called back. 
“But I see you didn’t bring the people you said you were holding hostage. Where are they?”

My mother moved forward then, walking to the  edge of the dock.

“Your men are good, Einstein,” she said, her voice calm. “But not as good as you think they are. We’ve been watching them for months, studying their patterns, their routes, who they’re loyal to and how much it’ll cost to change that.”

That’s when everything went to hell in a hurry.

A gunshot rang out from somewhere in the buildings behind us, up high where the windows looked out over the river. I saw one of Donovan’s security guys go down hard, blood spreading across his black jacket before he even hit the ground. Before anyone could shout a warning, more shots followed, three, four, five in quick succession, each one finding its mark.
I saw Marco raised his hand signaling his men to attack, but before they could move a muscle, Donovan’s security team was already in motion. Shots rang out across the river.
I ducked behind the pillar as bullets whizzed past us  so close. I watched as Carlo went down with blood spreading across his light blue shirt. Another fell right beside him, still firing his weapon as he hit the ground. 

“Contact!” someone yelled over the radio crackling in Donovan’s pocket.
“We’ve got shooters in the north building, they’re picking off our men from the third floor windows!”

Donovan pulled me down hard behind the pillar as bullets whizzed past our heads, cracking against stone and sending little chips flying everywhere.
His men moved fast,  dropping into cover, firing back where they could, but they were caught completely off guard. Two more went down before they could even get into proper positions.

“Dammit!” Donovan cursed, pulling out his own gun and returning fire at the windows above us. 

“Your men aren’t as loyal as you believe,” Marco laughed. “We’ve been turning them one by one for weeks now. Every single man you trust has a price, Einstein. Even your very best.”

I watched in sick horror as one of Donovan’s guys – someone I’d seen around the house every single day, who’d held doors open for me and always called me “ma’am” with a smile suddenly spun around and pointed his gun at his own team. He fired three shots before another security man managed to take him down, but not before he’d hit two more of our guys in the chest.

“Traitor!” Damien roared from his position further down the bridge. “I’ll kill every last one of you bastards!”

Alistair was already moving too, crawling on his stomach across the bridge to drag wounded men to cover.
“We need to pull back!” he shouted, pressing his hands over one guy’s bleeding shoulder. “We’re outnumbered and we’re sitting ducks out here!”

Fall back!” Donovan yelled, pulling me toward the cars parked at the edge of the bridge. His men formed a solid wall around us, firing cover shots as we made our retreat while more bullets flew through the night air. We could hear Marco laughing across the water, a rough sound that made my skin crawl. “Your men aren’t as strong as you think they are, Einstein!”
We scrambled into the SUV and pulled away fast, tires screeching against the wet pavement. Through the back window, I saw my mother still standing on the dock, looking right at where we’d been hiding like she’d known all along I was watching her.
I leaned my head against the window with tears burning hot behind my eyes but I refused to let them fall. My father was still stuck in his coma, my mother was standing with people who wanted us dead, and good men had lost their lives tonight. Donovan reached for my hand and this time I let him hold it tight, needing something solid and real to hold onto when everything else felt like it was falling apart.

“Carlo didn’t make it,” one of the men said quietly from the front seat. His voice was tight, like he was holding back tears too and Rico’s critical, we’re taking him to the hospital now, as fast as we can.”

Donovan’s jaw tightened so hard I could see the muscles working under his skin. “Get him to Alistair immediately. I don’t care what it takes, we don’t leave our own behind.”