Chapter 1114
Skye placed the warm red device in his palm.
He turned it over, inspected it, and smiled.
“Pleasure doing business.”
Gabriel tucked the Ruby Drive into his pocket and lowered his voice. “You know, Sterling, your husband’s father — Dominic — he never disappeared. He just found a position that doesn’t require standing in the sunlight.”
Skye’s blood ran cold.
Gabriel smiled. “Don’t worry. You’ll see him soon enough.”
He pressed the detonator.
BOOM.
Not Alistair’s car.
The bridge leading to the lighthouse exploded in a cascade of fire and stone. The road collapsed into the sea below.
They were cut off.
“You said safe passage,” Skye hissed.
“I lied,” Gabriel said. “The Master wants loose ends tied up. And you, Ms. Sterling — you are a very loose end.”
He raised his hand. His men raised their rifles.
Alistair’s car screeched to a halt just before the crumbling edge of the road. He threw it into reverse, spinning the car around to use it as a shield.
He jumped out, firing.
The firefight was chaotic. Skye dove behind a rock. Bullets chipped away at the stone inches from her face.
Alistair was a one-man army, but he was outgunned.
“Give it up, Thorne!” Gabriel shouted from behind an armored van. “You’re out of ammo!”
Alistair crouched beside Skye and checked his magazine. Empty.
“Well,” he panted. “This is a bad date.”
“I’ve had worse,” Skye said, her shoulder burning like fire.
“Really? Worse than being pinned down by a kill squad at a lighthouse?”
“I was married to Liam Kensington,” Skye deadpanned.
Alistair let out a short, sharp laugh. He looked at her, and in that moment something settled in his eyes — something that looked almost like peace.
“I love you, Skye Sterling.”
“Don’t you dare say that like it’s the end,” Skye said.
“It’s not the end,” a voice said over the radio in Alistair’s car.
It wasn’t Ethan. It wasn’t the police.
It was Liam.
“Liam?” Skye grabbed the handset through the open window. “How — you’re in federal custody!”
“I cut a deal,” Liam’s voice crackled, calm and arrogant as ever. “The Feds want Ouroboros more than they want me. I traded my freedom for a chance to blow these bastards up.”
“Duck,” Liam said.
A low hum filled the air. Rising. Getting louder.
From the sea, a massive dark shape crested the cliff edge — a helicopter. A military-grade extraction chopper, painted black, the Kensington Global logo barely visible on the tail.
A spotlight flooded Gabriel’s men.
The minigun spun up. Brrrrrrt.
A line of bullets tore up the ground in front of the assassins, scattering them in every direction.
“Get in the car!” Liam’s voice crackled. “I’m clearing a path!”
“Since when does Liam have a gunship?” Alistair shouted, grabbing Skye.
“Since he liquidated his assets this morning and bribed the Department of Defense!” Skye shouted back.
They scrambled into the car. Julian and Victoria were already in the back, heads down.