Chapter 36 - The Hard Goodbye
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The hardest part wasn't the gunfights or the car chases. The hardest part was walking back into the Sedona bunker and looking at my daughter.
Grace was sitting on the floor, playing quietly with a set of wooden blocks. When she saw me, her face lit up with a brilliant, innocent smile. I dropped to my knees and pulled her into a tight embrace, burying my face in her soft hair.
"Daddy has to go away for a little bit, Gracie," I whispered, my voice breaking. "But I promise I'm coming back. I promise."
Irene stood in the doorway of the barracks, wearing a sleek black tactical turtleneck and dark jeans. She had packed a duffel bag with encrypted laptops, lockpicks, and two suppressed handguns.
"You're sure you want to do this?" I asked her, standing up and wiping my eyes. "Julian and I can infiltrate the gala alone. You should stay here with her."
Irene walked over and placed her hands firmly on my chest. "Elias Thorne murdered my father. He hunted my family. He tried to kill my husband and my daughter. I am not sitting in a bunker while you finish this. We started this together, David. We end it together."
Julian walked into the room, holding two forged VIP invitations to the Ocean Pearl Gala. "The jet is fueled and waiting at the private airstrip. My men will lock down this bunker the second we leave. Nobody gets in or out."
I kissed Grace one last time, handing her gently to Julian’s lead guard, a scarred veteran named Marcus who swore on his life to protect her.
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As we walked out into the cool desert night, leaving the heavy steel door of the bunker behind us, I felt a piece of my heart stay behind. I didn't look back. If I looked back, I wouldn't have the strength to leave.
"Next stop, Miami," Julian said, throwing the duffel bags into the back of the SUV. "Let's go steal an empire."
