Chapter 14 · The Baby in the Tape

They let me sit in the corner like I'm not bleeding through my shirt.

Devin's got his hand wrapped in gauze. The bullet grazed him when I shoved Locke out of the way. He won't look at me. Just keeps his eyes on the Deputy Director's desk like if he stares hard enough he can rewind the last hour.

I can't.

Because every time I blink I see her. Elena Gates. Locke's mother. Holding a baby in the back of that van fifteen years ago. The same van my dad got shot in. The same night Tom Cash died and the Irongate office went up in flames.

Vito said she gave the order. Said she killed Tom. Said she staged the bombing so Locke would grow up hating the family that "murdered" his mother.

And then Locke beat Vito's face into the floor until the feds dragged him off.

Devin finally speaks. His voice comes out flat. "You jumped in front of a gun."

"Yeah."

"For him."

I don't answer. My ribs hurt where Locke landed on me. My hands won't stop shaking.

Devin leans back in his chair. "You know what that looked like? To everyone in that room?"