Chapter 8 - THE SECURE PERIMETER
Before Rue could argue, the rear door of the center Escalade creaked open, and the lead paramedic stuck his head out.
"Mr. Voss!" the paramedic called out urgently. "Belle's oxygen levels are stabilizing, but her core temperature is still dangerously low. She's calling for her coat. She's calling for the woman who held her."
Harlan turned his head toward the vehicle, his dark features softening for a fraction of a second. Then he looked back at Rue.
"She wants you," Harlan said simply. "Get in."
Rue looked at the imposing black SUV, then at the pale little girl visible through the tinted glass, tucked under heavy heated blankets with a medical monitor humming beside her. Her compassionate heart, which had been her greatest weakness and her greatest strength her entire life, won out over her pride.
Rue let out a sharp, exhausted breath and walked past the two guards, stepping up into the luxurious, leather-lined interior of the massive vehicle.
The interior was immaculate, smelling of fine leather, cedar, and sterile medical supplies. The ambient lighting was a soft, warm amber. Belle was secured in the center captain's chair, which had been reconfigured into a medical recliner. The moment Rue stepped into the cabin, Belle's small hand reached out from beneath the heated blankets, her glassy brown eyes finding Rue instantly.
"Rue..." Belle whimpered softly through her oxygen mask.
Rue immediately sat in the adjacent leather chair, sliding her small hand into Belle's grip. "I'm right here, sweetie. I'm right here."
Harlan stepped into the SUV right behind her, his large frame filling the doorway. He shut the heavy, soundproof door with a solid, metallic thud, cutting off the roaring wind and the hum of the parking garage entirely. He sat in the facing leather seat, his long legs nearly touching Rue's knees, his dark eyes watching the interaction between his daughter and the waitress with intense, silent fascination.
The vehicle smoothy pulled away, the powerful V8 engine humming as the convoy rolled out of the garage and onto the dark, rain-slicked streets of Detroit, flanked front and rear by the other two black Escalades.
Harlan reached for a built-in satellite phone mounted on the leather console beside him. He pressed a direct speed-dial button.
"Viktor," Harlan spoke into the handset, his voice dropping into a razor-sharp, lethal register. "I want the security feed from the Meridian Theater garage wiped immediately. Destroy the servers if you have to. Then I want every man who was on Belle's transport detail brought to the estate's lower level by midnight."
May you like
He paused, his eyes drifting over to Rue, who was gently stroking Belle's hair as the child finally drifted into a peaceful, warm sleep.
"And Viktor?" Harlan added softly. "Run a total background check on the Callaway family archives. Everything from 1974 to tonight. Find out who leaked Belle's medical route to the street."
