Chapter 9: The Truth Breaker Carried for Eighteen Months
The train thundered past the station without stopping.
Its windows flashed like a row of cold white eyes.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Maya turned toward Breaker.
“You were there.””
He didn't deny it.
“Yes.””
Her voice cracked.
“The night Daniel died?””
“Yes.””
“Were you the one who killed him?””
Breaker looked at the ground.
“No.””
Victor Hale smiled.
“That's not what happened.””
Breaker turned sharply.
“You weren't there.””
Hale's smile disappeared.
“I didn't need to be.””
The two armed men behind him raised their weapons.
Breaker moved in front of Maya.
Rebecca stepped beside him.
“You're too late, Victor.””
Hale looked at her.
“No, Rebecca. I'm exactly on time.””
He lifted one hand.
The men surrounding the station tightened their positions.
There were more than Maya had realized.
In the windows.
Behind the ticket counter.
Near the tracks.
They had been surrounded before they ever arrived.
Hale looked at Maya.
“Give me the ledger.””
“No.””
“You don't understand what you're holding.””
“I understand enough.””
“You're holding evidence that could destroy half this county.””
“Good.””
Hale smiled again.
“Daniel said the same thing.””
Maya stepped forward.
“You killed him.””
“No.””
“He was afraid of you.””
“Yes.””
“Then why didn't you kill him?””
Hale stared at her.
“Because your husband was useful.””
The answer made Maya's stomach turn.
“He discovered an account.””
Hale continued.
“An account connected to every operation I had built.””
Breaker said, “You mean every crime.””
Hale ignored him.
“Daniel copied the records. He thought he could expose me.””
“What happened?””
“He contacted someone.””
Breaker stiffened.
Maya looked at him.
Hale noticed.
“You see? He remembers.””
“Stop talking about him,” Breaker said.
Hale's voice became colder.
“Daniel called Breaker first.””
Maya turned.
Breaker said nothing.
“Why?””
Breaker finally looked at her.
“Daniel told me he was in trouble.””
“Then what happened?””
“I went to get him.””
“And?””
“I found him at the warehouse.””
Hale interrupted.
“And found my men waiting.””
Breaker continued.
“There was a firefight.””
Maya's face drained.
“Daniel was shot?””
“No.””
“Then how did he die?””
Breaker swallowed.
“He was already bleeding when I reached him.””
“From what?””
“He'd been beaten.””
Maya closed her eyes.
Breaker continued.
“I got him out.””
“And then?””
“We drove toward the river.””
“Why?””
“Because the police were compromised.””
Hale laughed quietly.
“Still protecting the lie.””
Breaker stared at him.
“You don't know what happened after that.””
“I know everything.””
Maya looked between them.
“Tell me.””
Breaker didn't answer.
“Tell me!””
His jaw tightened.
“Daniel gave me the ledger.””
Maya froze.
“You had it?””
“For a few minutes.””
“What did you do with it?””
“I hid it.””
“Where?””
Breaker looked at the ledger in her hands.
“Not where you think.””
Maya's breathing became shallow.
“Did Daniel survive?””
Breaker closed his eyes.
“For about twelve minutes after we reached the river.””
Maya covered her mouth.
“He spoke?””
“Yes.””
“What did he say?””
Breaker looked at her.
“He said your name.””
Tears filled Maya's eyes.
“What else?””
“He told me not to let them find you.””
Hale interrupted.
“He also told you to destroy the ledger.””
Breaker shook his head.
“No.””
“You expect her to believe you?””
“I don't care what she believes.””
Hale stepped forward.
“You made a choice that night, Cole.””
Breaker looked at him.
“You chose her over him.””
Maya stared.
“What does that mean?””
Breaker remained silent.
Hale smiled.
“Ask him what happened when Daniel asked him to stay.””
Maya looked at Breaker.
“Did you leave him?””
Breaker’s eyes filled with something close to shame.
“I had to.””
“You left my husband?””
“I had to get you and the children out.””
“He was dying!””
“I know.””
Maya stepped backward.
The words hurt worse than anything Hale had said.
“You left him.””
Breaker nodded.
“Yes.””
The station seemed to spin.
Hale watched her carefully.
“And that is why your husband died alone.””
Breaker suddenly moved.
He crossed the space between them and struck Hale across the face.
Hale crashed against the ticket counter.
The armed men raised their weapons.
Gunfire erupted.
Breaker tackled Maya.
Rebecca pulled the children behind the steel wall.
Bullets punched through the wooden panels.
Glass shattered.
The room became chaos.
Maya crawled toward Grace and Ethan.
“Stay down!””
Ethan pointed.
“Mom!””
A man was moving toward them.
Maya grabbed the ledger and threw it at him.
It struck his face.
He staggered.
Breaker appeared behind him and knocked him unconscious.
“Run!””
They sprinted through the side door.
Snow whipped across Maya's face.
Bikers were fighting near the motorcycles.
Rebecca grabbed her hand.
“Follow me!””
They reached an old maintenance shed.
Rebecca opened the door.
“Inside!””
Maya pushed the children through.
Breaker arrived moments later.
He slammed the door.
“They've got the station surrounded.””
“Then we're trapped,” Maya whispered.
Breaker looked at the ledger.
“No.””
He opened it.
Several pages had been cut out.
Maya stared.
“What's missing?””
Breaker turned to the final section.
“The account numbers.””
Hale had taken them.
“No,” Maya whispered.
Breaker suddenly smiled.
Not happily.
With recognition.
“What?””
He looked at her.
“Daniel didn't keep the account numbers here.””
Maya stared.
“Then where?””
Breaker looked at the children.
“That's what Hale has been trying to find.””
Grace suddenly spoke.
“Mom?””
Everyone turned.
The little girl was holding something.
A small brass key.
Maya stared.
“Where did you get that?””
Grace pointed toward Ethan.
“He gave it to me.””
Ethan looked confused.
“I don't know where it came from.””
Breaker took the key.
A tiny number was engraved on it.
*17.*
The old station.
Maya looked toward the tracks.
Then at the key.
“Station 17.””
Breaker shook his head.
“No.””
He flipped it over.
On the other side was a symbol.
A blue house.
Rebecca gasped.
“The second location.””
Maya stared at the key.
And suddenly understood.
The blue house wasn't the house.
It was a code.
A location inside the station.
A place Daniel had hidden in plain sight.
Outside, Hale shouted.
“You cannot hide from me forever!””
Breaker looked at Maya.
“Tonight we stop running.””
May you like
He handed the key to her.
“You open the door.””
