“If you hadn’t acted pathetic in that restaurant—”
The penthouse intercom buzzed.
Both of them froze.
The doorman sounded nervous.
“Mr. Hayes… there are federal agents downstairs asking for you.”
Bradley’s face emptied completely.
“What?”
“They have a warrant.”
Alice stared at him in shock.
Bradley moved instantly.
Laptop.
Desk drawer.
Phone.
Panic erupted beneath his polished exterior.
A hard knock thundered against the condo door.
“Federal Bureau of Investigation!”
Alice stepped backward.
Bradley looked around wildly.
Another knock.
“Open the door immediately!”
Bradley turned toward Alice.
For one horrifying second, she thought he might grab her.
Use her.
Blame her.
But then his expression shifted.
Calculation.
Cold and sharp.
He walked close enough that only she could hear him.
“If I go down,” he whispered, “I’m taking everybody with me.”
The pounding grew louder.
Alice’s pulse roared.
Bradley opened the door.
Six federal agents flooded the penthouse.
“Bradley Hayes, you are under arrest for securities fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice.”
Alice stared in disbelief.
Bradley slowly raised his hands.
One agent began reading the warrant.
Another seized Bradley’s laptop.
A third moved toward the office.
Bradley never took his eyes off Alice.
Hatred burned there now.
Pure.
Unmasked.
As agents cuffed him, he smiled.
And somehow that smile frightened her more than his anger ever had.
“Tell Castelli something for me,” Bradley said quietly.
No one answered.
But Bradley kept smiling.
“He should have killed me.”
—
An hour later, the penthouse sat in stunned silence.
Drawers hung open.
Documents covered the marble floor.
Alice stood alone near the windows, arms wrapped around herself.
She should have felt relieved.
Instead she felt numb.
Freeing yourself from fear, she realized, did not immediately remove it.
A soft knock interrupted her thoughts.
Alice turned.
One of the FBI agents stood near the doorway.
“There’s someone downstairs asking to speak with you.”
Her stomach tightened.
“Who?”
The agent hesitated briefly.
“Dominic Castelli.”
—
The black sedan waited beneath the glow of the building entrance.
Rain streaked softly across the windows.
Alice approached slowly.
A bodyguard opened the rear passenger door.
Dominic sat inside alone.
“Miss Fitzgerald,” he said.
Alice remained standing outside the car.
“Why did you do this?”
Dominic regarded her calmly.
“Because your husband was careless.”
“That’s not an answer.”
A faint shadow crossed his expression.
“You looked like someone waiting for permission to survive.”
The words hit harder than she expected.
Alice looked away.
“You ruined his life.”
“No,” Dominic said quietly.
“He ruined his own life years ago. I simply removed the illusion that he was untouchable.”
Rain tapped softly against the car roof.
Alice studied him.
“You had the FBI investigating him?”
“I had information.”
That answer told her enough.
Dominic reached into his coat and handed her a slim envelope.
Inside was a key.
“A townhouse in Lincoln Park,” he said. “Temporary. Secure. Staffed.”
Alice immediately shook her head.
“I don’t want charity.”
“It isn’t charity.”
“Then what is it?”
Dominic looked out into the rain briefly.
“A precaution.”
Alice frowned.
“He’s in federal custody.”
“Yes.”
Something in Dominic’s tone made cold unease creep through her.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
Before he could answer, Silas stepped from the front passenger seat holding a phone.
His expression had changed.
That alone was alarming.
Dominic took the phone.
Listened.
His eyes sharpened almost imperceptibly.
Then he hung up.
“What happened?” Silas asked quietly.
Dominic looked toward Alice.
“For reasons I’m still trying to understand,” he said calmly, “your husband was apparently laundering money for the Moretti organization.”
Alice blinked.
Chicago’s most violent emerging crime family.
Even she knew the name.
Silas spoke carefully.
“The Feds arrested Hayes too early. Moretti’s people think he cooperated.”
A terrible silence settled.
Then Dominic looked directly at Alice.
“And now,” he said, “they’re looking for anyone connected to him.”
In the distance, thunder rolled across the city.
Alice slowly tightened her grip on the key in her hand.
Because for the first time since meeting Bradley Hayes…
the danger around her had become something far larger than one cruel man.
And somewhere downtown, inside a federal holding cell, Bradley Hayes was still smiling.
