Chapter 5 - The Shadow over Harbor & Ash
Emma walked quickly toward the hostess station, keeping her eyes fixed on the rear corridor near the kitchen.
Five minutes passed.
Daniel stood up from Table 17, lifting a sleepy, fully satisfied Lily into his arms. The little girl wrapped her arms around her father's neck, holding her stuffed rabbit loosely in one hand.
"Emma," Daniel called out softly as he walked toward the elevator bank leading up to the third-floor suites. "Thank you again for the hospitality."
"Rest well, Mr. Calloway," Emma smiled warmly, holding the private elevator door open for them. "If you need anything at all, press button three on the room intercom."
"We will," Daniel smiled, stepping into the wooden cab. The brass doors slid shut smoothly.
The moment the elevator began its ascent, Emma turned around and walked briskly toward the back service corridor.
The service hallway led out toward the private loading dock and parking garage behind the restaurant. It was dimly lit, smelling of rain, trash, and damp concrete.
As Emma turned the corner near the ice machines, she heard low, muffled voices coming from behind the heavy metal fire door leading to the alleyway.
She pushed herself flat against the cinderblock wall, easing the door open a fraction of an inch to look outside into the pouring rain.
Viktor, Julian Vance’s head of security, was standing in the narrow alley beside a dark grey sedan. He was holding a phone to his ear, his heavy voice raspy over the sound of falling rain.
"He’s inside," Viktor was saying into the phone. "Everett gave him the key to the third-floor suite. He’s staying the night."
A pause as the person on the other end answered.
"No," Viktor snapped quietly. "We can't touch him inside the building. Everett’s got his private security detail on the floor. We wait until the investor summit finishes at midnight. When the power grid switches over for maintenance at 1:00 AM, I’ll clear the security cameras on the third floor."
Emma’s breath hitched in her throat. She clamped her hand tightly over her mouth to stop herself from gasping.
"Julian wants the flash drive Daniel brought from upstate," Viktor continued coldly. "If Daniel resists, make it look like a break-in gone wrong. Nobody cares about a disgraced executive anyway."
Viktor ended the call, slipping his phone into his heavy leather jacket, and turned back toward the rear service door.
Emma pulled her head back instantly, letting the heavy door click shut softly, and sprinted down the hallway toward the executive stairs.
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Her stomach was churned with terror. The dress code was the least of her worries now.
A conspiracy was unfolding inside Harbor & Ash, and Daniel and little Lily were directly in the crosshairs.
