Page 109 of Hearts Of Darkness

I don’t have the capacity for rational thought anymore. I don’t give myself the chance to be frightened. I can only think of reaching him before it’s too late. But, then what?

We need back up.

We need an extraction plan.

Steeling myself, I kneel down next to another corpse. Keeping my eyes fixed on anything other than the bloody mess of his face, I rifle through his front pockets—trying hisjacket first, and then moving down to his pants. I find what I’m looking for right away. Yanking out the cell, I punch in a number, cutting across the polite welcome.

“Ace’s Nightclub. South Beach area.”

“Sure thing ma’am. Can I put you through?”

“Yes!”

The call rings and rings. I almost lose hope until some guy answers, sounding stressed out.

“Is Mr. Sanders there?” My words spill out in a breathless rush.

There’s a pause. “I don’t know anyone here by that name.”Of course, he doesn’t.“Can I take a message, and get someone to call you back?”

“Yes!” I cry again, reading between the lines. “It’s Eve Miller. Tell them it’s super urgent.”

I have to take a leap of faith. I have to believe that Rick is still on Dante’s side. Onourside.

“Okay. Hang on… I think there’s someone here who can help.”

The next few minutes last an eternity. I’m crouching down for cover behind the rear of one of the SUVs. In the background, the gunfire is starting to trail off.Please can Dante be alive, please can Dante be alive…

“Eve?” Rick Sanders’ drawl cuts through my silent pleas.

“R—?” I stop myself just in time. “Oh God, you have to help us!”

“Eve, stop. This is an unsecured line.”

“The package has re-emerged,” I babble. “Here in Miami.”

There’s a pause. “Where?”

“Docks. Southside. Manuel…my apartment.” I can’t hold back my tears any longer, not when I think about my friend and bodyguard lying dead on my living room floor.

“I need you to breathe, sweetheart. Keep to single words and short phrases.”

“Outnumbered.”

“Fuck. I’m sending a present right away. What’s your location?”

A chorus of sirens sound in the distance. Dockside crew must have raised the alarm that the mother of all shoot-outs is going down out here. If what Emilio said was true, Dante’s been exposed. If he gets captured, he’ll never get out of prison alive.

“Cops,” I sob. “Getting closer.”

“Good.” Rick sounds relieved. “We can track your location through them. I need to go.”

“But how will you—?”

“Remember Helen of Troy, sweetheart?”

My mind goes blank.She was beautiful, she caused a war, she launched a thousand ships… Ships.Rick is sending a boat. “Yes, yes I do!”

“Good. Relay the message.”

---