Chapter 32

A week and a half later, Shannon’s call brought forth the thrilling news we’d been waiting for. Matthew finally gave in to her false inquisitiveness of learning the mechanism of the business.

I had my cars ready and the boys on toes, impatiently waiting for this moment. If I played my cards right, everything would go easy peasy and maybe some of the guilt that had been eating me up would diminish, granting me the strength to move on from a reality I could never go back to reverse.

After meeting up with the boys to go over the plan once more, I drove to Kayleigh’s house. Shannon was already there, muttering to herself as she paced back and forth. When her gaze landed on me, she froze, a whimper escaping her lips. “I may or may not die tonight.”

“Don’t say that. Nothing will happen to you, okay?”

“How do you know that?” Her tone was sharp, pausing my steps towards her.

Silence.

“See, you know you can’t protect me now, no one can,” she cried out.

“I know I can’t guarantee that all will go smooth but if we both put our best foot forward, we’ll be rejoicing in the end.” I covered the gap between us. “You’re a strong woman, I’m positive you will know what to do if anything were to go wrong.”

She sighed, taking deep breaths to steady her nerves. “You’re right, I shouldn’t let my paranoia overtake my focus. I’m just scared of the what-ifs playing in my mind.”

I understood her fears as being in her position was nerve-racking and required more than bravery. I wished there was a way I could go in her place or with her. It would have quelled the ache in my chest and the jitters in my bones. I couldn’t envisage losing her too.

Gently taking her hand in mine, I led her to the couch. “My men and I will be right behind you, okay? We’ll do everything we can to secure your safety.”

She nodded, her lips curling to a small smile. I could only visualize the turmoil she was going through. She was too good for this. I couldn’t help but wonder how many more innocent people had to face such vicious and unnecessary crises.

“I don’t have much time, I have to get back to the apartment before he does. His meeting should be over in no more than an hour,” she alerted me.

“Alright, let’s go over the details,” I started, taking my map out and spreading it on the table. “I will be parked here, a few blocks from the apartment but with good vision of the target. Once you come out, don’t look around for me, just act normal and get in the car. I’m sure he will blindfold you, making you even more anxious so I got you this earpiece. You will connect it to your phone and listen to some music.”

“Will I be able to listen to your progress?”

“Yes, I will keep you updated but I cannot guarantee it will last long. It seems like he has some sort of signal compressor that works slowly but effectively. By the time you’re halfway through wherever you’re going, the signal will be long gone,” I explained.

“Alright, I can work with that.”

“Okay. My men and I will take turns following you to the final destination. Your father and his colleagues will land in a chopper about two to five minutes after your arrival and raid the place. This can be a crucial moment because a shootout may occur and knowing Matthew, he must have an escape route somewhere and will want to go with you. Don’t for anything in the world agree to that cause we may never locate him nor you again.

So I’ll need you to start a timer from when you enter the gate and once it clocks two minutes, excuse yourself to the washrooms but go looking for a safe room to hide. Keep away from the windows and doors. Your father or I will come to find you once the criminals have been apprehended.”

She puffed her cheeks out and leaned back in her seat. Her eyes were trained on the ceiling, probably trying to let my words sink in. It was only a matter of time before she would be led to a life or death situation and I didn’t want to imagine getting news of the latter because I would never recoup from it.

Once I was certain she had everything figured out, I escorted her to the taxi waiting outside. Kayleigh was still nowhere to be seen, reducing Shannon to tears. She yearned to envelope her best friend in a hug before embarking on a mission she wasn’t guaranteed to return from.

I don’t know who did what but we were flush against each other within a blink of an eye, embracing like we’d never get the shot to do so again. If she hadn’t let go, I wouldn’t have found the courage to let her take off to a probable death sentence.

Her smile as she waved goodbye till I was out of her sight dwelled in my mind throughout the ride to the meeting point the boys and I agreed on.

* * *

It took two hours for Matthew and Shannon to emerge from the building my binoculars were trained on tirelessly. Pedro and I couldn’t see anything from the tinted windows but we could hear them converse. As expected, he covered her eyes before driving off and it wasn’t long before we lost the signal of her mike.

Pedro kept a good distance from Matthew's Land Rover, allowing two or three cars to come between us at intervals. Once the corner in the map came to view, we took it, alerting Luke and Calvin that he was heading towards them on the next junction. Calvin was quick to notify us when Matthew drove past them unbeknownst to the cars trailing him.

Twenty-five minutes into the pursuit, Andrew and Hugo’s call that their car had broken down and was no longer in sight of Matthew shook me. The declaration that the tire couldn’t be fixed in time had Pedro and I zooming off with the hopes that we would catch up to him on the highway a few minutes away.

From a distance, I spotted their car taking a left on a different lane from where we were and let out a sigh of relief. With no way to get to them, we spun around, ignoring hurls from angry drivers paving way for us while we rammed into the other lane, speeding after them.

After another round of swapping cars and driving through deserted roads, Matthew's car pulled to a stop in front of a gate similar to the one Shannon depicted. We drove past him so as not to arouse suspicion, keeping an eye on the car till it disappeared into the gates before making a call to Shannon’s father.