Chapter 1 - THE MAN EVERYONE FEARED
Adrian Vale had arrived.
And for the first time that night, the three men surrounding me looked more frightened than I felt.
The black sedan stopped ten yards away.
A driver stepped out first.
Then Adrian.
I had seen photographs of him.
They had not prepared me.
He was thirty-six, tall enough to make the men beside him look smaller, dressed in a black overcoat that probably cost more than my car. Dark hair. Calm expression. No visible weapon.
He did not need one.
Adrian Vale controlled restaurants, construction firms, security companies, and enough questionable partnerships that half of Chicago whispered his name carefully.
Vanessa Crowe hated him.
Which meant I had absolutely no idea whether his arrival was good news.
Adrian looked at the bald man holding my arm.
“Remove your hand.”
Nobody moved.
Adrian repeated himself.
“I won’t ask a third time.”
The bald man released me.
The man in gray straightened.
“This is Crowe business.”
Adrian glanced at him.
“You’re standing in a freight yard owned by a company in which I hold twenty-eight percent.”
My head snapped toward him.
What?
Nobody at Lakefront had ever mentioned Adrian Vale as an investor.
The man in gray swallowed.
“We were told to bring Ms. Bennett in.”
“Plans changed.”
“Vanessa won’t like that.”
Adrian stepped closer.
“You’re assuming I care.”
The three men left.
Not immediately.
Not happily.
But they left.
I should have thanked Adrian.
Instead, I turned toward him.
“How did you know I was here?”
His gaze settled on my face.
“Get in the car.”
“No.”
One eyebrow lifted.
Apparently people did not tell Adrian Vale no very often.
“I’m not going anywhere with another dangerous stranger tonight.”
Something almost resembling amusement moved through his expression.
“You think I’m dangerous?”
“I’m not stupid.”
“No. You aren’t.”
He looked toward my tote.
“And that’s precisely why Vanessa sent three men instead of one.”
My stomach tightened.
He knew.
Maybe not everything.
But enough.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Adrian moved closer until his voice could not carry.
“You found the false manifests eighteen months ago.”
My breath stopped.
“You copied the offshore payments eleven months ago.”
I stared at him.
“You created an encrypted ledger containing shipment numbers, account transfers, bribery records, and names.”
The snow suddenly felt colder.
“How do you know that?”
“Because Vanessa isn’t the only person watching Lakefront Cargo.”
My hand slipped toward my phone.
Adrian noticed.
“Your transfer is scheduled for midnight.”
That destroyed the last of my composure.
“No one knows that.”
“I do.”
“Why?”
His expression changed.
Not softer.
More serious.
“Because the person you scheduled that ledger to reach works for me.”
My heart slammed against my ribs.
I had believed I was sending everything to an independent federal investigator.
Adrian opened the back door of his sedan.
“You have three hours before Vanessa realizes her men failed.”
“I still don’t trust you.”
“You shouldn’t.”
That answer frightened me more than reassurance would have.
Then Adrian said:
“But if you stay here tonight, Claire Bennett, you won’t survive until midnight.”
I hesitated.
He looked directly into my eyes.
“And if Vanessa discovers who your brother really is, neither will Ethan.”
My blood turned cold.
May you like
Because there was only one problem with Adrian’s warning.
Ethan wasn’t actually my brother.
