Chapter 389

Daren's thick fingers clenched around the photograph,his gaze fixed so tightly on it that his cloudy eyes seemed ready to bore a hole through the paper. His voice rasped, sharp with disbelief. "When the hell was this taken?"

"Three days ago," Sheppard replied, tone flat,almost careless.

"Three days ago?" Daren spat, hurling the photo onto the table. His head snapped up, the folds of his neck straining as he glared at Sheppard. "Impossible! My people swore the docks were clean!"

Sheppard didn't flinch. He tapped a finger against the glossy print with deliberate weight. "As your goods crossed the high seas, our man inside the police sent this back. Now every trash can on Coastal Road has ears, and even the old street vender on the corner is one of the cíty's shiny new agents."

The mention of Coastal Road made Daren's throat tighten. That was supposed to be his and Sherwood's transaction ground-safe,agreed upon.

He swallowed hard, but his Adam's apple barely moved beneath the rolls of flesh.

He knew Luis' reach; planting eyes and ears where no one expected was child's play for him. It was that very sharp thoroughness that had secured Luis' standing in Ochrerayd years ago.

If Luis confirmed the docks were compromised,then the threat was real.

And yet Luis wanted his deal. Their handsome profits depended on it. Which meant the cargo had to move.

Daren stared at the photograph, fury seething just below the surface.

He tried to choke it back, but rage flooded out of him in a sudden roar.

With a violent shove, he overturned the coffee table.Crystal glasses shattered across the floor, the sound knifing through the silence.

The bodyguards lurking in the shadows stiffened, their hands twitching,breaths held.

Daren clawed at the collar of his serpent-print shirt,his face blotched red, spittle flying as his alcohol-stained breath filled the room. "Fuck! My men have been creeping like mice-changing the time, shifting the place. Even the cargo ship circled the high seas three damn times. And we still get tailed?" Sheppard only narrowed his eyes, voice calm and precise. "That's why Mr. Sampson sent me. Change the site to the abandoned steel mill by Horizon Bridge.But keep the transaction time."

Daren wheezed, sweat glistening along his temples."Why not change both? If we stick to the time,we're still laying ourselves bare!"

Sheppard toyed with the strap of his wristwatch,the metal glinting under dim light. "That's exactly the point."

Daren blinked, confusion flashing across his beady eyes. Sheppard leaned in with a ghost of a smile."At the original location, there'll be other 'transactions'-ones the police can't touch. While their eyes are fixed there,ours will pass unnoticed."

Realization dawned, and Daren slapped his thigh,his meaty hand making the sofa creak. "Ha! Brilliant!That's bloody brilliant!"

His double chin trembled as laughter burst from him."Mr. Sampson truly is a master. A perfect bait-and-switch! I've prowled these streets for over twenty years and thought I'd seen everytrick in the book, but this...this is flawless!"

But just as suddenly as it came, his laughter died. The folds of his sagging face stiffened into hard lines, his piggish eyes narrowing with suspicion.

After a long pause, he said slowly, "Go tell Mr.Sampson I understand. The goods will move on schedule."

He let the silence stretch, and then added with weight,"But his promised final payment had better not disappoint me."