Chapter 4

Asher stared at me, his eyes churning with emotions too dark and tangled for me to decipher.

I didn't care anymore.

He reached out. Instead of taking the gun, he viciously slapped my hand away.

CLATTER!

The gun crashed to the marble floor.

"Jill, this is your final warning."

"If you ever touch Chloe again, I won't care if you're carrying my child. I will ruin you."

With that, he wrapped his arm around Chloe and led his men away, leaving me behind.

The hallway felt freezing.

As cold as the night ten years ago when Asher and I plunged into the freezing harbor to escape a hit squad. The water was icy, but he held my hand so tight it bruised, whispering:

"Don't be afraid, baby. I swear I'll get you out alive."

My phone vibrated in my pocket.

An anonymous text:

[Chloe is moving against her father’s orders. Tomorrow night, 1:30 AM, Pier 42.]

A second later, a ping from Sammy:

[Boss's Lady, a massive shipment is arriving at the docks. I've locked down the perimeter. See you tomorrow at 1:30 AM.]

It was time.

I looked out at the pale moonlight filtering through the skylight, whispering into the emptiness:

"Goodbye, Asher. Jill is about to die."

No one answered.

The following night. 1:25 AM. My black sedan pulled into Pier 42.

"Lady Jill, this way."

Sammy led me toward the deep end of the warehouse row.

I followed him a few paces into the dark before coming to an abrupt halt.

"Sammy, this isn't the way to the dry docks."

"The unloading bay is on the other side."

Sammy stopped. He didn't turn around, his voice muffled:

"Boss Pierce’s orders... shortcut. The drop changed."

I instantly backed away, my hand sliding under my trench coat, leveling my barrel at the back of his head:

"Something’s wrong with you. What are you doing?"

A rustle broke out from the shadows above.

ZIP! ZIP! ZIP!

Silenced rounds whistled past, tearing into the rusted shipping containers behind me with heavy metallic thuds.

Floodlights on the warehouse ceiling slammed on, bathing the concrete in harsh white light.

Chloe walked out from behind the crates, flanked by a dozen heavily armed mercenaries.

The barrel of her Beretta was still smoking.

"Impressive reflexes, Lady Jill."

"Too bad... starting tomorrow, that crown belongs to me."

I whipped my head toward Sammy, my voice raspy with simulated fury:

"Sammy... you sold me out?!"

Sammy let out a sleazy, mocking laugh:

"Can you blame me, Ma'am?"

"Everyone with eyes knows who holds Pierce’s heart now. Miss Belmont pays in hard cash, not your empty promises. Your reign in this city is over."

Chloe savored the shock on my face, her grin spreading wide.

She tossed an extra pistol to Sammy, nodding toward me:

"Here. You said you wanted to prove your loyalty."

"Put a bullet in her. Do it, and you're the fourth-in-command of the Belmont syndicate."

Sammy took the weapon, a groveling smirk plastered across his face.

He turned toward me, sneering:

"Don't hold it against me, Lady Jill. You only have your own uselessness to blame!"

Just as his finger tightened on the trigger—

Our eyes locked in the briefest fraction of a second.

Now!

I threw myself violently to the right!

BANG!

The shot rang out.

The bullet grazed my left arm, slamming into the steel barrel behind where I had stood!

He deliberately pulled the shot!

Chloe erupted in fury, kicking Sammy hard in the ribs:

"Useless idiot! You can't even hit a pregnant woman?!"

Sammy groaned, apologizing frantically as he raised the gun again.

BANG!

This one tore through my right forearm.

Agony flared. I gasped, blood soaking my sleeve crimson.

"Hunt her down! Don't let her leave this dock alive!" Chloe screamed.

Clutching my arm, I sprinted into the labyrinth of towering cargo containers. Gunfire chewed at the metal behind me, accompanied by the frantic stomping of boots.

My stamina was bleeding out with every heartbeat.

Just as my knees began to buckle—

WHOOSH!

Two blinding halogen high beams cut through the black night, striking me straight in the face.

Tires screeched violently against wet asphalt.

It was Asher’s Maybach.

What was he doing here?

He wasn't supposed to be here.

Asher kicked the door open. When he saw me drenched in blood, his pupils shrank to pinpricks. He sprinted toward me in sheer panic.

"Jill! You—"

Behind me, Chloe’s voice shrieked in deranged triumph:

"She stopped!"

"SHOOT HER! KILL HER!"

BANG!

A final gunshot ripped through the night air.

The bullet tore clean through my lower back, bursting out through my abdomen.

The kinetic force slammed me forward.

Hot blood sprayed from my lips.

As I collapsed, the warm mist splattered across Asher’s pale, horrified face.

His arms caught my falling body.

Trembling like a frightened child, his hands hovered over my face, wiping away the blood in desperate, frantic strokes:

"Jill... Jill... look at me, baby, look at me..."

I parted my lips, wanting to tell him something. But all that came was a surge of blood, choking every sound.

I really wanted to tell him...

My name was never Jill.

I am Serenity Vance.

And I really was a cop.

My hand slipped from his chest, falling limp to the cold gravel.

Jill Vance would never wake up again.