The waitress leaned close enough that I could feel her breath against my ear. “You need to leave. Now.” Then I looked toward the r

The air in the panic room grew thick and heavy.

Leo giggled, completely oblivious to the sudden, suffocating tension, reaching for the silver pocket watch sitting on the table.

I stared at Eli.

My sweet, studious younger brother. The boy I had scrubbed floors and waited tables to put through college. The reason I had sacrificed my own youth.

"Mara," Eli started, his voice cracking. He stood up, backing away until his shoulders hit the steel wall. "I can explain."

"Explain what?" I demanded, standing up, the train ticket trembling in my hand. "My mother was buried in this necklace four years ago. This ticket is dated three years ago. Someone put this in here recently. Vivienne put it in here."

"I didn't know she was going to dig up Mom's grave!" Eli cried, tears welling in his eyes.

"You talked to Vivienne?" I shouted, the realization hitting me like a physical blow.

Reversal.

My brother wasn't a clueless victim.

"Three years ago, Mara!" Eli sobbed, running his hands through his hair. "I was nineteen. Mom was dead. You were dating a mob boss. And suddenly, this elegant woman cornered me outside my dorm. She said Cashion was going to get you killed. She said if I helped her, she would give me enough money to get us both out of the city."

"You made a deal with Vivienne Rourke," I whispered, sick to my stomach.

"I was trying to save you!" Eli pleaded. "She gave me that train ticket. She told me to pack my bags. All I had to do was tell her where Cashion was going to be that night."

"The restaurant," I realized, remembering the night I stole the ledger. "You told her Cashion would be unprotected at the restaurant. That’s why he was ambushed."

"But you didn't show up!" Eli cried. "You ran away with me instead. You came to my dorm, told me we had to leave immediately, and dragged me onto a bus. I never used the train ticket. I thought Vivienne just forgot about us."

"She didn't forget," I said coldly, looking at the tiny piece of paper. "She kept it. To prove to me that my own brother sold out the man I loved."

"I thought Cashion was the villain!" Eli shouted, pointing at the steel door. "Look at our lives, Mara! We are hiding in a bunker while men with machine guns try to kill us. I was right to want you away from him!"

Before I could answer, the security monitor on the wall beeped.

I looked at the screen.

The garage cameras.

Cashion and Russo hadn't left yet.

They were pinned down behind Cashion's SUV.

Two black vans had blocked the exit ramp. Heavily armed men were pouring out. It was an ambush. Vivienne hadn't trusted Russo to bring Cashion to the pier; she had sent the hit squad to finish the job right here.

"He's trapped," I breathed, watching Cashion return fire, hopelessly outnumbered.

"Mara, we're safe in here," Eli said desperately. "The doors will hold."

"Cashion won't," I said.

I looked around the panic room, my eyes landing on the small air ventilation grate near the ceiling. It was large enough for a person.

"Eli, lift me up," I ordered, dragging a chair beneath the vent.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to the security breaker room down the hall. I can trigger the building's halon gas fire suppression system in the garage. It will blind the attackers and give Cashion cover to escape."

"You'll get killed!" Eli grabbed my arm.

I looked at him, the anger and love mixing painfully in my chest.

"You made a choice three years ago to protect me, Eli. Now I’m making a choice to protect the father of my child."

I pulled out of his grip, climbed the chair, and used the heavy silver pocket watch to smash the screws off the grate.

"Lock this behind me," I ordered. "Do not open it."

I pulled myself into the dusty, cramped ductwork.

I crawled for what felt like miles, my knees scraping against the sheet metal, the sound of gunfire echoing through the building's bones. Finally, I reached the grate above the breaker room.

I kicked it out and dropped to the floor.

The room was filled with electrical panels. I found the red emergency override switch for the garage fire system.

I gripped the handle, ready to pull it.

"I wouldn't do that, Mara."

I froze.

Standing in the doorway of the breaker room, holding a sleek silver pistol aimed directly at my chest, was a stunningly beautiful woman with icy blonde hair.

Vivienne Rourke.