Chapter 6 - The Cannery at Midnight
The old cannery stood beside the Providence River like a dead thing.
Broken windows.
Rusting metal walls.
A loading dock sagging over black water.
At eleven forty-five, Jude’s armored SUV stopped two blocks away.
Audrey sat inside with Brinley wrapped in a blanket, fast asleep against her chest.
Jude had refused to let them come.
Audrey had refused to stay behind.
“You are not bringing her in,” Jude said.
“I know.”
“You remain with Reggie. Doors locked.”
“I know.”
“If anything happens—”
“Jude,” Audrey interrupted. “I know.”
He looked at her.
For a moment, the feared man disappeared.
There was only a father who had failed once and would burn the world before failing again.
Jude reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small object.
A blue teddy bear.
Old. Worn. Carefully repaired.
“Noah’s?” Audrey asked.
He nodded.
“I found it after everything.”
Audrey looked at the bear.
Then at Brinley’s one-eyed Buttons.
“Why bring it tonight?”
Jude’s voice was almost a whisper.
“To remind myself what this is really about.”
He handed it to her.
“Keep it with Brinley.”
Before Audrey could answer, gunfire exploded near the far end of the street.
Reggie shoved the SUV door shut.
“Move!”
The driver accelerated.
Bullets struck the armored vehicle with hard metallic cracks.
Brinley woke up screaming.
Audrey pulled her close.
“It’s okay, baby. I’ve got you.”
But it was not okay.
Jude’s men returned fire while the SUV turned sharply into an alley.
Jude was outside already, moving toward the cannery with Reggie’s team.
Audrey watched through the rear window as he disappeared into the dark.
Inside the cannery, Salvatore Bellini waited.
Tristan was tied to a chair in the center of the warehouse.
His face was swollen. Blood stained his shirt.
“You came alone?” Salvatore asked.
Jude stepped into the light.
“I came for Tristan.”
Salvatore smiled.
“No. You came because you cannot bear another child being taken from you.”
Jude’s expression did not move.
“You brought my files?”
Jude held up the wooden box.
“You let Tristan go first.”
Salvatore laughed.
“You still think you get to make demands?”
A man dragged Tristan’s chair closer to the loading dock.
Below, black water moved against the pilings.
Audrey watched the scene through a remote camera feed from the SUV. Reggie had given her an earpiece, and every second felt like a knife against her skin.
“Jude,” Salvatore said, “you built your legend because you were willing to destroy anyone who hurt your family. Yet now, you hesitate.”
“I don’t hesitate,” Jude replied.
Salvatore tilted his head.
“Then prove it. Give me the files.”
Jude stepped forward and set the wooden box on the floor.
Salvatore’s men moved toward it.
Then Jude spoke.
“You made one mistake.”
Salvatore smiled. “Only one?”
“You thought I came without a plan.”
The warehouse lights burst on.
Police sirens screamed outside.
Federal agents and Providence detectives stormed the building through three entrances.
Salvatore’s men scattered.
Gunfire erupted.
Jude moved toward Tristan, using stacked crates as cover.
Salvatore grabbed the wooden box and ran toward the dock.
But inside the box was not the evidence.
It was Noah’s blue teddy bear.
Salvatore opened it, confused.
Then Jude’s voice came through the warehouse.
“The files were sent to every prosecutor who ever feared your name.”
Salvatore’s face changed.
For the first time, he looked afraid.
He pulled a gun.
Not toward Jude.
Toward Tristan.
Jude fired once.
The bullet struck Salvatore’s arm.
The gun fell into the water.
Officers rushed him.
But in the chaos, one of Bellini’s men escaped through a side door.
Toward the SUV.
Toward Audrey.
Toward Brinley.
Audrey saw him coming too late.
The rear door opened.
A stranger reached inside.
May you like
And Brinley screamed.
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