Chapter 8 - The Shadow on the Avenue
Before their lips could meet, a sharp ping sounded from the encrypted satellite phone inside Larkin’s inner jacket pocket.
Larkin didn't move for three seconds, his grey eyes locked onto Penelope’s lips, before he reluctantly pulled the device from his pocket and tapped the screen.
His face turned instantly to ice.
"What is it?" Penelope asked, her sharp instinct detecting the sudden shift in his posture.
"Thomas," Larkin said flatly. "He escaped from the upstairs holding room fifteen minutes ago."
Penelope’s eyes narrowed. "How? Mason was guarding the door."
"Mason was hit from behind with a fire extinguisher," Larkin said, scrolling through a sequence of urgent text messages from his perimeter security team. "Thomas didn't act alone. He had help from the Chicago syndicate—the group he's been selling our dock information to."
Larkin grabbed Penelope’s hand, his broad fingers weaving tightly through hers. "We're leaving. Now."
They moved quickly down the private service elevators, bypassing the bustling ballroom, and emerged into the quiet underground parking garage beneath The Plaza.
Larkin’s private armored sedan stood waiting near the central pillar, its dark tinted windows catching the dim fluorescent light of the garage.
Standing in front of the vehicle were three men in dark raincoats, holding suppressed submachine guns.
In the center stood Thomas, his expensive suit rumpled, his face contorted in a wild, desperate mix of panic and hatred.
"Larkin!" Thomas screamed, his voice echoing off the concrete walls. "You think you can ruin me for some cheap secretary?! You think you can take my share of the company?!"
Larkin immediately stepped in front of Penelope, shielding her entire body with his broad frame, his hand reaching inside his coat for his own sidearm.
May you like
"Thomas," Larkin said, his voice terrifyingly calm. "Put the weapons down. You are making a mistake that you won't survive."
"I'm not dying in a federal prison, cousin!" Thomas yelled, pointing his finger frantically at Penelope. "She knows everything! She logged the ledgers! Kill them both!"
