Chapter 2 - THE MAN EVERYONE FEAREDSix men entered the warehouse.
Gabriel recognized four of them.
That was unfortunate for them.
The man in front was Detective Aaron Pike, a seventeen-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department who had somehow managed to purchase a lake house, three luxury cars, and a condo in Miami on a detective’s salary.
Pike stopped when he saw Gabriel.
The confidence vanished from his face.
“Voss.”
“Detective.”
Pike looked past him.
Helena had been moved behind several wooden crates with Victor standing nearby.
“We’re looking for someone.”
“So am I.”
Pike forced a smile.
“This doesn’t concern you.”
“That sentence usually means it concerns me.”
One of Pike’s companions stepped forward.
“Move.”
Victor actually laughed.
Gabriel didn’t.
Pike raised a hand.
“Easy.”
Then he lowered his voice.
“Gabriel, this is family business.”
“Whose family?”
“The Cross family.”
Gabriel’s expression revealed nothing.
“We received information that Mrs. Cross is experiencing a psychiatric episode. Her husband is extremely worried.”
Helena heard every word.
Gabriel knew because he heard her breathing change behind him.
“She needs medical treatment,” Pike continued.
“Interesting.”
“What?”
“I’ve met frightened people before.”
Gabriel took one slow step closer.
“They usually fear the person who hurt them. Helena Mercer appears terrified of the people supposedly trying to rescue her.”
Pike’s eyes sharpened.
“You spoke to her?”
“I did.”
“Then you understand she isn’t thinking clearly.”
Gabriel examined him.
“How much is Damian paying you?”
Silence.
Pike’s jaw clenched.
“Be careful.”
“You came into my building with five armed men.”
Gabriel glanced around.
“Perhaps you should be careful.”
Technically, the warehouse did not belong to Gabriel.
Nobody corrected him.
Pike tried another approach.
“There are legal documents concerning Mrs. Cross’s guardianship.”
“Guardianship?”
“Temporary medical authority.”
“Signed by whom?”
“A judge.”
Gabriel smiled faintly.
“I’d like the name.”
“That’s confidential.”
“Then leave.”
Pike’s hand moved toward his belt.
Four red laser dots immediately appeared across his chest from the catwalk above.
His men froze.
Gabriel hadn’t brought six men.
He had brought fourteen.
Pike slowly lifted both hands.
“You’re making a mistake.”
Gabriel looked bored.
“You came onto private property without a warrant and attempted to remove an injured woman against her will.”
“You want to play lawyer now?”
“No.”
Gabriel’s eyes went cold.
“I want you to leave while I’m still willing to let you.”
Pike stared at him for several seconds.
Then he backed away.
But before turning, he called toward Helena.
“Your father wants you home, Mrs. Cross.”
Helena began shaking.
Pike saw it.
And smiled.
Gabriel saw that too.
It was the smile that ensured Detective Pike would regret coming there.
After the cars disappeared, Gabriel immediately moved toward Helena.
She had folded herself into a corner, knees pulled to her chest.
“They’ll come back.”
“Yes.”
“You shouldn’t have stopped them.”
“Why?”
“Because now they know you’re involved.”
Gabriel shrugged.
“They already knew.”
“You can’t beat my father.”
Gabriel studied her.
“This isn’t about beating anyone.”
“What is it about?”
“Finding out what happened.”
“And then?”
“Then we decide what happens next.”
Helena laughed bitterly.
“You say that like the world is fair.”
“No.”
Gabriel crouched beside her.
“I say it like evidence matters.”
That surprised her.
“You?”
“I’ve been accused of many things, Helena.”
He looked toward the doorway where Pike had been standing.
“Being careless isn’t one of them.”
Dr. Evelyn Shaw arrived twenty minutes later.
She had spent fifteen years in emergency medicine before opening a discreet private practice for clients who valued privacy above insurance paperwork.
Her reaction when she examined Helena told Gabriel everything.
Evelyn was rarely visibly angry.
Tonight, she was furious.
“Bruising in different stages of healing,” she said quietly after Helena had been taken to Gabriel’s townhouse. “Possible cracked rib. Dehydration. Malnutrition. And marks on both wrists consistent with restraints.”
Helena sat beneath a blanket.
Gabriel stood near the window.
“How long?”
Evelyn glanced at Helena.
Helena answered herself.
“Six months.”
Gabriel turned.
“What?”
“The first time was six months ago.”
Her voice was flat now.
As though describing someone else’s life.
“Damian apologized afterward. Flowers. Jewelry. Tears.”
Evelyn’s expression tightened.
Helena continued.
“Then it happened again.”
She looked down.
“And again.”
Gabriel had known men like Damian Cross.
Men whose reputations depended on behaving beautifully in public and monstrously in private.
“Why didn’t you leave?”
The question came from Victor.
He immediately regretted asking it.
Helena didn’t become angry.
That made it worse.
“I tried.”
She lifted her eyes.
“Three months ago.”
“What happened?”
“My father sent me back.”
Gabriel went still.
Helena described driving to her parents’ estate in Lake Forest at two in the morning.
She had shown Charles Mercer the bruises.
Begged him for help.
Her father had poured himself a drink and listened.
Then he called Damian.
“He told me marriage required sacrifice,” Helena whispered.
Gabriel’s face remained unreadable.
“My mother cried. She begged him not to send me back.”
“And he did?”
Helena nodded.
“Damian arrived thirty minutes later.”
“What happened after?”
She looked at Gabriel.
“He punished me for embarrassing him.”
No one spoke.
Rain tapped against the townhouse windows.
Finally Gabriel asked:
“What documents did they want signed?”
Helena hesitated.
“My grandmother left me controlling shares in Mercer Infrastructure.”
Gabriel knew the company.
Construction.
Transportation.
Government contracts.
Billions.
“My father runs the company,” Helena continued, “but I own thirty-one percent through a trust. Damian wanted power of attorney. Dad wanted me to sign voting authority over to him.”
“Why now?”
“Because something is wrong with the company.”
Gabriel narrowed his eyes.
“What?”
“I found payments.”
Victor stepped closer.
“What kind?”
“Millions sent through consulting firms that don’t exist.”
Gabriel and Victor exchanged a glance.
Helena continued.
“I asked our CFO about them.”
“And?”
“Two days later he died.”
Gabriel’s expression changed.
“How?”
“His car went into Lake Michigan.”
That changed everything.
This was no longer domestic abuse hidden behind a wealthy family.
It was potentially murder.
“When did you disappear?”
“The next morning.”
Gabriel walked toward her.
“Where are the records?”
“I copied them.”
“Where?”
She looked straight at him.
“Somewhere Damian will never find.”
Gabriel waited.
Helena’s hands tightened beneath the blanket.
“My grandmother’s church.”
Victor frowned.
“A church?”
“There’s a memorial plaque dedicated to her. Behind it is an old wall safe she used when she served on the church foundation board.”
Gabriel grabbed his coat.
“We go tonight.”
Helena immediately stood.
“I’m coming.”
“No.”
“You don’t know where it is.”
“Tell Victor.”
“No.”
Her voice strengthened for the first time.
“I’m done letting men make decisions about my life.”
Gabriel stopped.
Slowly, something resembling approval appeared in his eyes.
“Fair enough.”
An hour later, three vehicles moved through the rain toward St. Catherine’s Church.
None of them noticed the motorcycle following two blocks behind.
And none of them saw Detective Pike making a phone call.
“She’s taking him to the church,” he said.
A man answered on the other end.
Damian Cross.
“Then get there first.”
Pike hesitated.
“And Voss?”
May you like
Damian’s answer came quietly.
“Make sure Gabriel Voss never leaves.”
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