Chapter 5 - Revenge on the Docks
The storm outside had turned into a full-blown hurricane. Gray waves crashed violently against the concrete pillars of the private boathouse. Marisol, drenched to the bone and shivering, carried Teddy through the dark tunnel, emerging onto the wooden pier.
Suddenly, a flashlight beam blinded her.
"Well, well. Look what crawled out of the sewers," a mocking voice called out.
It was Mikhail. He walked out from behind an armored SUV, his gun pointed directly at Marisol’s chest. He had anticipated that Rain might try to flee via the water.
"Where is my cousin, Marisol?" Mikhail sneered, stepping closer. "Did he die in his bed like a dog, or is he hiding behind a woman's skirts?"
"He's right behind you, Mikhail."
The deep, booming voice echoed from the entrance of the boathouse. Rain stood there, his white shirt soaked in blood, but none of it was his own. He held a heavy assault rifle, his eyes radiating pure, unadulterated death. He wasn't alone; Branco, bleeding from a shoulder wound but very much alive, stood beside him with a dozen loyal Volkov soldiers.
Mikhail spun around, his face draining of color. "How... how are you standing? You were supposed to be a corpse by now!"
"You forgot one thing, cousin," Rain said, stepping onto the pier, his boots crunching against the gravel. "You hired doctors and mercenaries. I hired loyalty. You killed Leo Ramirez because he was an honest man. You tried to kill me because you are a parasite. It ends tonight."
Desperate, Mikhail swung his gun back toward Marisol and Teddy. "Drop your weapons, Rain! Or I'll blow this bitch and her brat to hell!"
Before Mikhail’s finger could squeeze the trigger, Teddy did something unthinkable. She broke free from Marisol's grip, ran forward, and threw her yellow plastic horse directly at Mikhail’s face. The toy struck him square in the eye.
Mikhail cried out in pain, flinching back. That split second was all Rain needed.
A single, precise shot echoed through the boathouse. Mikhail gasped, his gun falling from his hand as a bullet pierced his shoulder, spinning him around. He stumbled backward, losing his balance, and fell over the edge of the pier into the churning, freezing black waters of the Baltimore bay. The current instantly swept him beneath the concrete foundations. He was gone.
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Rain dropped his weapon and rushed forward, falling to his knees and pulling Marisol and Teddy into his massive, protective embrace. He held them so tightly it felt as though he were trying to fuse their souls together.
"It’s over," Rain whispered, his voice shaking with emotions he hadn't felt in a lifetime. "It’s over. You're safe. I have you."
