Chapter 12 - THE BRIDE AT DOCK FOURTEEN
Isabelle Hart had been kidnapped in a wedding dress.
Now, three days later, she was preparing to escape through a freight terminal wearing borrowed work clothes, sneakers two sizes too large, and the most determined expression she'd ever seen on her own face.
Voss handed her a dark jacket.
“Put this on.”
She obeyed.
He glanced toward the hallway.
“We have approximately twelve minutes.”
“Until what?”
“Shift change.”
Isabelle tightened the jacket around herself.
“Then we'd better move.”
The storage room smelled of canvas, cardboard, and machine oil.
The painting sat inside a padded crate near the wall.
Isabelle paused beside it.
Voss looked back.
“What are you doing?”
“We need the evidence.”
“There's no time.”
She stared at him.
“Sal killed my father's reputation. He may have killed my father. And he's trying to destroy Gabriel.”
Voss looked toward the door.
“Isabelle—”
“We're not leaving this behind.”
She lifted the archival sleeve containing the original backing.
The fragile material had already been documented.
She placed it inside a protective folder.
Then secured it beneath her jacket.
Voss swallowed.
“If they find that—”
“Then we'd better not let them.”
They entered the service corridor.
The lights were dim.
A ventilation fan hummed overhead.
Isabelle's pulse hammered.
Voss walked ahead, carrying a clipboard.
He had spent years moving through private galleries and warehouses.
He knew how to appear as though he belonged.
They passed one guard.
The man glanced up.
“Where are you going?”
Voss didn't stop.
“Conservation inventory.”
“At this hour?”
“Moreno wants it ready before midnight.”
The guard frowned.
Then looked away.
Isabelle kept her head down.
For one extraordinary moment, it seemed they might succeed.
Then a voice sounded behind them.
“Miss Hart.”
She froze.
Sal Moreno stood at the end of the corridor.
His face was expressionless.
Voss stopped walking.
Sal looked from Isabelle's borrowed clothes to the folder beneath her arm.
Then he smiled.
“Well.”
A long silence passed.
“I wondered which one of you would become a problem first.”
Isabelle slowly turned toward him.
Sal approached.
Two guards followed at a distance.
Voss stepped in front of her.
“Let her go.”
Sal raised an eyebrow.
“Adrian.”
“I've already sent the records to investigators.”
Sal's smile vanished.
“What?”
Voss swallowed.
“They know about Meridian.”
Sal stared.
Then shook his head.
“You stupid man.”
He looked toward Isabelle.
“You've been very inconvenient.”
She raised her chin.
“That's what happens when people ask questions.”
Sal stepped closer.
“Your father asked questions too.”
Isabelle's stomach dropped.
“What did you do to him?”
Sal studied her.
For a moment, he seemed almost amused.
“Martin Hart should've minded his own business.”
Her eyes filled.
“You killed him.”
Sal didn't answer directly.
But his expression told her enough to make her feel sick.
“Your father stumbled into something he didn't understand.”
Isabelle's hands shook.
“He was trying to protect people.”
“He was interfering.”
She stared at him.
“No.”
Her voice steadied.
“He was telling the truth.”
At that moment, Sal's phone rang.
He glanced down.
Gabriel Rossi.
Sal smiled.
“Perfect timing.”
He answered.
“Gabriel.”
A low voice replied.
“Where is she?”
Sal looked at Isabelle.
“Closer than you think.”
Gabriel's breathing changed.
“Let me speak to her.”
Sal hesitated.
Then handed the phone over.
Isabelle stared at it.
Her hands trembled as she lifted it.
“Gabriel?”
“Isabelle.”
His voice broke.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then he said, “Are you okay?”
She swallowed.
“I'm alive.”
“I know.”
“I'm at Northpoint.”
There was a sharp movement beside her.
Sal reached for the phone.
But Isabelle continued quickly.
“Dock Fourteen. He has the painting.”
Sal snatched the phone away.
His expression hardened.
Gabriel's voice remained audible.
“Sal.”
The older man looked furious.
“What?”
“If you hurt her, there won't be a deal left to make.”
Sal laughed.
“You still think you're negotiating?”
Gabriel's voice was steady.
“No.”
He paused.
“I'm giving you one last chance to let her walk away.”
Sal ended the call.
He stared at Isabelle.
“You think he can save you?”
She looked directly at him.
“I think he can stop pretending you were ever loyal.”
The words struck something inside him.
His expression darkened.
Then he ordered the guards to escort her back toward the loading dock.
Voss was taken separately.
Isabelle clutched the protective folder beneath her jacket.
For the first time, she knew exactly what Sal feared.
Not Gabriel's violence.
Not the Ferraros.
Not even prison.
He feared losing control of the story he'd spent years creating.
Outside the terminal, police vehicles moved into position several streets away.
Mara's team had already been investigating the Northpoint property.
Gabriel's call provided new information about Isabelle's location.
The authorities were coordinating their response.
Gabriel waited nearby with Dante and Michael Bell.
He wanted to run toward the terminal.
Every instinct demanded it.
But Mara had made one thing clear.
A reckless confrontation could put Isabelle in greater danger.
Gabriel stood beside the car, staring toward the lights above the cranes.
“She said she was at Dock Fourteen.”
Dante nodded.
“I heard.”
“She was right there.”
“I know.”
Gabriel closed his eyes.
Then looked toward Mara.
“Tell me what you need.”
The detective studied him.
“Stay here. Let us handle the rescue.”
His jaw tightened.
Then he nodded.
“Okay.”
Inside the terminal, Sal paced beside the loading dock.
Isabelle stood several feet away, guarded but no longer handcuffed.
A large truck idled near the open loading doors.
Sal's plans were collapsing.
Meridian's transaction had been challenged.
Voss had sent documents to investigators.
Gabriel knew his involvement.
And Isabelle had recovered the original backing.
Still, Sal believed he had one advantage.
The bride.
As long as Gabriel loved her, Sal believed he could force a bargain.
A guard hurried toward him.
“Mr. Moreno.”
Sal turned.
“What?”
“Police near the east gate.”
His expression changed.
“How many?”
“We don't know.”
Sal cursed.
He looked toward Isabelle.
For a moment, she thought he might panic.
Instead, he smiled coldly.
“Then we leave.”
He grabbed her arm.
She pulled away.
“Don't touch me.”
Sal tightened his grip.
“You're coming with me.”
Isabelle glanced toward the emergency alarm pull station mounted beside the loading door.
A small red box.
Less than six feet away.
She had noticed it when they entered.
She looked toward the guard.
Then toward Sal.
“I won't help you escape.”
He leaned closer.
“You don't have a choice.”
Isabelle's eyes narrowed.
“You keep saying that.”
Then she stepped sideways, using his forward momentum to reach toward the wall.
Her hand closed around the alarm handle.
She pulled.
A piercing industrial siren filled the terminal.
Red warning lights flashed overhead.
Sal recoiled.
“What have you done?”
Isabelle backed toward the loading platform.
“Made sure somebody hears us.”
The guards began shouting.
The truck driver opened his door.
And somewhere outside, an officer radioed that an alarm had activated inside Dock Fourteen.
Sal looked toward the loading door.
Then at Isabelle.
His face twisted with fury.
He reached inside his jacket.
Isabelle froze.
A handgun appeared in his hand.
“Enough.”
She stood completely still.
Her breathing became shallow.
Then a voice sounded from the far end of the loading area.
“Sal!”
Gabriel Rossi stood beyond the open vehicle lane, where he had arrived with an authorized police escort after the alarm and unfolding emergency brought responding officers to the dock entrance.
He was not alone.
Officers took cover nearby and ordered Sal to drop the weapon.
Sal turned.
For one terrible second, his gun remained pointed toward Isabelle.
Gabriel looked at her.
Their eyes met.
Three days of terror seemed to collapse into that single glance.
“Gabriel,” she whispered.
He took one careful step forward, stopping when the officers instructed him to remain behind cover.
“It's okay, sweetheart.”
Sal laughed bitterly.
“No. Nothing about this is okay.”
His grip tightened.
He looked from Gabriel to Isabelle.
Then shouted, “You chose her over everything!”
Gabriel's expression was filled with grief.
“No, Sal.”
He glanced toward the woman he loved.
“I chose to stop losing people because of men like you.”
May you like
A gunshot cracked through the loading dock.
And Isabelle screamed.
