Chapter 8 - Central Park Ambush
The wind whipped across Central Park's grand plaza.
The streetlamps flickered to life, casting long, shivering shadows across the damp pavement.
The grand fountain was nearly dry, its basin filled with autumn leaves and rainwater.
Tamson pulled her wool cap down and kept her hands deep inside her coat pockets.
She checked her watch: 8:02 PM.
She was two minutes late.
She scanned the surrounding walking paths.
Joggers had long since gone home.
Tourists had fled the cold.
Only a few figures huddled under distant oak trees.
"You came," a voice murmured from directly behind her.
Tamson spun around, her muscles tensing for a fight.
Standing three feet away was a man in his late fifties.
He wore a worn tweed jacket and a fedora pulled low over his forehead.
He had a deep scar running from his left ear down to his jawline.
"Who are you?" Tamson asked, her voice sharp.
"A friend of your father's," the man replied. "Name's Marcus. I used to run logistics for the Rallo transport division before Evander took over."
Tamson eyed him suspiciously.
"If you worked for them, you're the enemy."
"I used to work for them," Marcus corrected, stepping closer and keeping his voice low.
"I left the night Abel died. I saw what happened to the others."
"The other drivers," Tamson whispered. "The ones who vanished."
Marcus nodded slowly.
"They didn't resign, Miss Hollis. They were eliminated. Just like your father was supposed to be."
"Why?" Tamson demanded. "What did they know?"
"Evander's uncle was laundering money through the transport fleet," Marcus explained, glancing nervously over his shoulder.
"Abel stumbled onto a ledger he wasn't supposed to see. He threatened to go to the authorities."
"So they staged a crash?"
"They didn't just stage it," Marcus said, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper.
"They rigged the steering column. Your father didn't lose control in the storm. The car was disabled remotely."
The words hit Tamson like a physical blow.
She staggered backward, catching herself against the stone rim of the fountain.
Murder.
It wasn't a tragic accident.
It was cold-blooded assassination ordered by the Rallo family.
"Where is the proof?" Tamson choked out.
"In a safety deposit box at the Union Trust downtown," Marcus said, pulling a brass key from his pocket and holding it out.
"The original ledger. Your father gave it to me for safekeeping just hours before he died."
Tamson reached out her hand to take the key.
At that exact moment, the night air shattered with the scream of squealing tires.
Two black town cars roared off the park road, jumping the curb and cutting off all exits from the plaza.
Headlights blinded them instantly.
Car doors flew open.
Four armed men in tactical gear swarmed out of the vehicles.
Marcus cursed loudly.
"They tracked us!"
Before Tamson could move, a heavy hand grabbed her shoulder from behind.
A second man tackled Marcus to the pavement, pinning him with a brutal knee to the spine.
Sabine Lockidge stepped out from the lead vehicle, adjusting his cuffs with slow, terrifying calm.
He looked down at Tamson, who was struggling helplessly in the grip of the enforcer.
"You really are a persistent girl, Miss Hollis," Sabine said smoothly.
"Hand over the key, Marcus," Sabine commanded, looking down at the pinned man.
Marcus spat blood onto the pavement.
"Go to hell, Sabine."
Sabine nodded once to the guard holding Marcus.
A heavy blow landed with a sickening thud.
Marcus went limp.
"No!" Tamson screamed, thrashing against her captor.
Sabine stepped forward, his eyes cold as winter ice.
May you like
"Take them both," Sabine ordered.
"Mr. Rallo wants a family reunion."
