Chapter 12 - Dawn Over the Docks
The predawn air smelled of salt, diesel, and wet concrete as the black sedan rolled to a stop near the commercial shipping district. Through the rain-streaked window, the cavernous corrugated-metal warehouses loomed like rusted monoliths against the gray morning sky. Roman sat beside me in the back seat, his bespoke black suit immaculate despite the damp atmosphere, his left wrist flashing the familiar silver watch as he adjusted his cuffs.
"Why bring me here?" I asked, keeping my voice steady while my right hand instinctively touched the leather support strap beneath my sleeve. The wrist throbbed faintly, a dull reminder of the injury that had started this entire chain of events.
"Because you need to understand what you're a part of," Roman said without looking at me, his gaze fixed on a pair of heavy trucks idling near loading bay four. "The men who stole from your restaurant didn't just pad payroll. They used the Gilded Palate's delivery manifests to smuggle unauthorized cargo through city checkpoints. When you dropped that water, you disrupted a six-month surveillance operation."
I stared at him, the pieces of the puzzle violently snapping together. "I wasn't just a clumsy waitress. I was sitting in the middle of a trap."
"You were an innocent bystander who happened to have sharp eyes and a terrible boss," Roman replied, finally turning his head to meet my gaze. His dark eyes were piercing, stripped of the aloof distance he maintained at the estate. "The floor manager who tried to fire you? He was the primary contact for the transit leaks. That's why he panicked when I intervened. He thought I knew about the contraband."
"And did you?"
Roman offered a faint, humorless smile. "I know everything that enters this city, Paige. The only question is what we do with the debris."
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Before I could process the gravity of his admission, the passenger door swung open. Marcus leaned in, his face grim. "Mr. Gallow, the harbor commissioner is arriving. And our guests from the south are watching from the corner diner."
Roman stepped out into the chill rain, pausing with one hand on the car door frame. He looked back at me through the open window, his voice cutting through the wind. "Stay in the car, Paige. Lock the doors. When I return, we finish this."
