Chapter 9 - THE PROTECTIVE EMBRACE
Adrian turned back toward the sidewalk. Sophia was watching him with wide, solemn eyes, holding her small paper cup against her chest.
He didn't care about the risk. He didn't care about the exposure or the political fallout within the Chicago underworld.
Adrian walked back to Sophia, leaned down, and gently lifted her off the cold cardboard box. She was extraordinarily light, her small frame shivering against his broad chest. She reached out instinctively, wrapping her thin arms around his neck, tucking her dirty face into the soft fabric of his black suit jacket.
Mark’s eyes widened in genuine shock. "Boss! What are you doing? We don't know who this kid is—this could be a setup—"
"Shut your mouth, Mark," Adrian said, his voice quiet, cold, and absolute.
He held Sophia securely with his left arm, using his broad body to shield her entirely from the view of the street and his security detail. With his right hand, he reached into his jacket and unholstered a sleek, suppressed 9mm sidearm, keeping it hidden beneath the fold of his suit coat.
"Get in the car," Adrian ordered Mark, pointing toward the front passenger seat of the middle SUV.
Mark stared at the hidden firearm outline beneath Adrian’s coat, realizing in a single, devastating instant that his decades-long cover had just been blown wide open.
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"Adrian... listen to me," Mark began, his voice dropping into a desperate whisper as he took a half-step back toward the open SUV door. "You don't understand what she represents. If the Commission finds out she's alive—"
"In the car, Mark," Adrian repeated, his eyes locking onto Mark's with lethal intensity. "Or you die right here on the pavement in front of my daughter."
