The Enforcer's Truth

The Enforcer's Truth

Maya's POV

Marcus let go of my wrists like I was on fire.
He scrambled backward so fast he hit the wall.
"What?" he whispered.
"You heard me."
"Maya, I don't know what you think you know, but—"
"I know you killed my mother."
Marcus stared at me with wide eyes. His face had gone completely white.
"I never met your mother."
"Liar."
"Maya, I swear to you, I never—"
"Luca told me everything."
"What did he tell you exactly?"
I sat up slowly, my whole body aching from our fight.
"He told me someone betrayed her. Someone close to the families. Someone who sold her out to Isabella Romano."
"That wasn't me."
"He told me she was getting too close to the truth."
"Maya, please—"
"He told me one of you four was there when she died. He saw her face right before it happened."
Marcus ran his hands through his hair.
"Maya, listen to me very carefully. I have never killed an FBI agent. I have never betrayed anyone to Isabella Romano. And I never met your mother."
"Then why do you look so scared?"
"Because I think someone is lying to you. And I think they want us to turn on each other."
I got to my feet carefully. My ribs hurt from when we fell.
"You're just trying to save yourself."
"No, I'm trying to save all of us."
"From what?"
"From whatever game someone is playing with your head."
"This isn't a game! My mother is dead!"
"I know she's dead. But I didn't kill her."
"Then who did?"
"I don't know. But Maya, think about this. Why would Luca tell you something like that?"
"Because he was being honest for once."
"Or because someone told him to tell you."
That stopped me cold.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean Luca doesn't know anything about your mother's death. None of us do. So where did he get this information?"
"He was there. He saw—"
"He saw what? Maya, your mother died two years ago. Luca was in prison two years ago."
The words hit me like a punch.
"What?"
"Luca was in jail for eight months. Drug charges. He got out six months ago."
"That's not possible."
"It is possible. And it's true."
I felt like the ground was moving under my feet.
"But he said—"
"He said what someone told him to say."
"Who would do that?"
"Someone who wants you to distrust us. Someone who wants to break us apart."
Before I could answer, something exploded outside.
The whole building shook.
Marcus grabbed my arm to keep me from falling.
"What was that?" I asked.
"Nothing good."
Another explosion. Closer this time.
The lights flickered.
"We need to get to the others," Marcus said.
"I'm not going anywhere with you."
"Maya, whatever you think about me, we need to stick together right now."
"Why?"
"Because someone is trying to kill us."
Gunshots rang out from the street below. Lots of them.
"Get away from the windows," Marcus said.
But I was already moving toward them.
"Maya, no!"
I looked down at the street.
Black cars everywhere. Men with guns running toward our building.
"Who are they?" I asked.
Marcus looked over my shoulder.
His face got even more pale.
"FBI."
"What?"
"Federal agents. Lots of them."
"How do you know?"
"See those jackets? The ones that say FBI in big letters?"
He was right. I could see at least twenty men in FBI jackets.
"What do they want?"
"Probably us."
"Why now?"
"I don't know. But Maya, we need to find the others."
"What if I don't want to find the others?"
"What if you want to stay alive?"
Another explosion shook the building.
This time plaster fell from the ceiling.
"They're not just arresting us," Marcus said. "They're trying to bring the building down."
"With us in it?"
"With everyone in it."
I thought about all the innocent people who lived here. Families. Children.
"We have to warn them."
"There's no time."
"Marcus—"
"Maya, look at me."
I turned away from the window.
His eyes were serious. More serious than I'd ever seen them.
"I know you don't trust me right now. I know you think I killed your mother. But right now, none of that matters."
"It matters to me."
"If we don't get out of here in the next five minutes, we're all going to be dead. And then it won't matter who killed who."
He was right. I hated that he was right.
"Where are the others?"
"Dante's office. Top floor."
"The elevator?"
"Probably not working."
"Stairs?"
"If they're not blocked."
We ran toward the stairwell.
Behind us, I heard glass breaking. Lots of glass.
"They're coming through the windows," Marcus said.
"How?"
"Ropes. Ladders. Who cares how? They're coming."
We reached the stairs and started climbing.
My legs were already tired from fighting with Marcus, but I pushed myself harder.
"Maya," Marcus said as we ran.
"What?"
"About your mother—"
"Not now."
"I need you to know something."
"Later."
"There might not be a later."
I stopped running and turned to face him.
"What?"
"I didn't kill your mother. But I think I know who did."
My heart stopped.
"Who?"
"Someone we all trusted. Someone who had access to everything."
"Tell me."
"Not here. Not now. But Maya—"
Another explosion cut him off.
This one was inside the building.
Smoke started pouring up the stairwell.
"Move!" Marcus shouted.
We ran faster.
By the time we reached the top floor, we could barely breathe.
The smoke was everywhere now.
"Where's Dante's office?" I asked.
"This way."
We stumbled through the hallway.
Everything was getting dark.
"There!" Marcus pointed to a door at the end of the hall.
We reached it just as it opened.
Luca stumbled out, coughing.
His nose was still bleeding from where I'd hit him.
"Marcus!" he gasped. "Maya! Thank God!"
"Where are the others?" Marcus asked.
"Inside. But we have a problem."
"What kind of problem?"
"Look for yourself."
We followed him into the office.
Dante was standing by the window with binoculars.
Adrian was at a computer, typing fast.
"What's the situation?" Marcus asked.
"Bad," Dante said without turning around. "We're surrounded."
"How many?"
"Too many to count."
"Any way out?"
"Working on it."
Adrian looked up from the computer.
"Helicopter on the roof in ten minutes."
"Where's it going?" I asked.
"Away from here."
"Away where?"
"Does it matter?"
I guess it didn't.
"Maya," Luca said quietly. "About what I told you earlier—"
"You lied."
"I didn't lie. I just—"
"You were in prison when my mother died."
Luca's face went red.
"Who told you that?"
"Marcus."
"Marcus is right. But Maya, what I told you was still true."
"How can it be true if you weren't there?"
"Because someone told me what happened. Someone who was there."
"Who?"
"Isabella Romano."
The room went dead silent.
"What?" Dante said, finally turning around.
"Isabella told me about Maya's mother. She told me everything."
"When?" Adrian asked.
"Yesterday. Right before you all came back from the restaurant."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Dante demanded.
"Because she said not to. She said Maya needed to figure things out for herself."
"Figure what out?" I asked.
"Who really killed your mother."
"And who was that?"
Luca looked around the room at all of us.
"She said it was someone in this room."
Everyone stared at everyone else.
The silence stretched on forever.
Finally, Adrian spoke.
"She's playing games with us."
"Maybe," Luca said. "Or maybe she's telling the truth."
"There's only one way to find out," Dante said.
"How?"
"We ask her ourselves."
"She's not here," I said.
"Actually," a new voice said from the doorway, "I am."
We all spun around.
Isabella Romano stood in the doorway, smiling.
But she wasn't alone.
Behind her were three men with guns.
And behind them was someone I never expected to see again.
Vincent Chen.
My fake father.
The man who had sold me out.
The man who had tried to get me killed.
The man who was supposed to be dead.
"Hello, sweetheart," Vincent said to me. "Miss me?"