Chapter 309 The Chase
Author
Yardley and his team had been hiding in the thick woods near Highway 16 since 4 AM. They crouched behind the big pine trees in Blackwood Mountains, muscles sore but eyes sharp.
--
Nancy drove Elara to Crescent Park at seven sharp. Her hands gripped the steering wheel tight.
Another SUV with pack fighters followed them from three blocks away. Close enough to help, far enough to stay hidden.
When 8 AM got close, Elara climbed out of the car. She pulled two huge rolling suitcases from the trunk.
Ten million dollars in cash was heavier than she thought it would be.
Nancy grabbed her arm and squeezed. "You don’t need to be brave today. Just come home safe."
Elara’s throat felt dry. "I will."
Right at eight o’clock, her phone rang.
"See that green dumpster by the south gate?" Jack sounded cold and businesslike. "Put the bags next to it. Then walk back to your car."
Elara’s voice cracked with desperation. "Wait! I need to know he’s alive. Let me talk to my husband."
Jack cursed under his breath. "Fine. Make it quick."
She heard his heavy footsteps, then a hard kick. "Talk."
Dominic’s voice came through rough but steady. "Hey baby, I’m okay. You know, this place smells just like that seafood restaurant from our first date. Remember how much you hated it?"
Jack’s boot connected again. "Enough!"
The line went dead.
Elara’s hands shook as she grabbed the suitcase handles. The metal felt cold and slippery with her nervous sweat.
She dragged both heavy bags across the park.
Every step felt like walking through quicksand.
Parents were starting to bring their kids to the playground. Normal people living normal lives while hers was falling apart.
She put them right next to the dumpster like Jack said.
Her phone buzzed with a text. [Good. Now walk away. Don’t turn around.]
She fought every instinct to scan the trees, to look for where Jack might be hiding. Her hands were shaking so bad she almost dropped her phone.
She looked around the park one more time. The pack warriors by the pond gave her a tiny nod. Time to leave.
She was halfway back to Nancy when everything exploded into chaos.
Two skinny guys in dark hoodies burst out of the bushes. They moved like they were shot out of cannons.
They moved fast like runners. Each one grabbed a suitcase and sprinted toward the parking garage.
They dodged between cars like they had practiced this exact plan.
The wheels on the suitcases screamed against the asphalt.
The pack warriors closed in from three sides, but the runners were quick. Too quick.
They reached the dead end of Morrison Alley and didn’t slow down. They just threw both suitcases over the tall brick wall.
Someone was waiting on the other side for sure. The thud of the bags hitting something soft told them everything they needed to know.
The first runner got tackled hard by warriors. He didn’t even fight back. Just curled up and waited. Like he’d been paid to be a punching bag. Like he knew this would happen. Like he was supposed to get caught.
The second guy disappeared completely. Vanished like smoke. Like he knew every alley and escape route in a five mile radius.
Elara’s heart pounded so hard she thought it might explode.
They lost Jack again. That meant Alpha Dominic was still out there in danger.
--
Across town, Jack’s burner phone buzzed with a text.
[Money’s in hand. Your debt’s cleared plus fifty K bonus as agreed.]The message was from Isaac, the loan shark Jack owed his life to.
Jack had been smart about this whole thing. He knew he couldn’t pull off a ten million dollar ransom on his own. Too much heat, too much risk.
So he’d made a deal with the devil.
Isaac would provide the muscle, the logistics, the clean escape route.
In exchange, Jack’s gambling debts would disappear, and he’d walk away with fifty grand to start fresh somewhere tropical.
It was a sweet deal, considering six months ago Isaac’s boys were threatening to break his kneecaps.
While Yardley wasted time searching mountain cabins, Dominic was chained up in an abandoned warehouse right by the water. The perfect misdirection.
"Finally," Jack muttered, shoving the phone in his pocket. Time to tie up loose ends and disappear forever.
Jack checked his gun and kicked open the basement door. The smell of mold and river water hit him in the face.
Empty chains. Empty room."Son of a bitch!"
An engine roared to life outside.
"No way!" That was his car. His goddamn car starting up in his driveway.
His car keys were gone from the kitchen table. They’d been sitting right next to his empty beer bottles.
That bastard had actually escaped.
Jack didn’t waste time swearing. He could hear the car tires spinning in the gravel, could see the taillights already hitting the main road.
He jumped on his dirt bike and gunned it after the taillights.
The bike roared to life like an angry beast. This wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.