Page 40 of Cause of Doubt
“I need you to pull up everything you can on a woman named Sophie Long. She’s around five feet five inches, long dark hair, brown eyes, early thirties.”
“Got her. She worked as a stripper at The Silver Orchid. She was busted two years ago for drug possession, and CPS took away her kid.”
“Thanks, Gabriel.” I tapped my earpiece. “What do you mean by Elias forced you into this?” I asked.
“Mommy, is that lady going to shoot us?” her son asked.
“No, baby.” She held him tightly. “She just wants some answers. Elias was a frequent flyer at the strip club and took a personal interest in me. He found out about my son being taken away and promised he could get him back. All I had to do was agree to be in a relationship with him and change my name to Marian Bennet. At first, he was so sweet and gentle. He promised to give me anything I wanted. Then shortly after, things took a bad turn. He became controlling and violent. I tried to leave once, and he put me in the hospital for two weeks. He told me that no one leaves him, and he owns me. He said if I ever tried it again, he’d kill my son. You don’t understand. He’s a very dangerous man. I don’t know where he is, but I can find out.”
“How?”
“I turned on his location share one day while he was in the shower, so I knew when he was on his way here. Things had to be perfect. I had to be perfect. And if it weren’t, he’d let me know by beating me. My phone is over there.” She pointed to the table.
With my gun still pointed at her, I grabbed her phone, held it up to her face, and unlocked it, tracking his location to a warehouse on East 6thStreet near the bridges.
“Let’s go.” I waved my gun.
“Where?” she asked.
“I’m taking you somewhere safe. You won’t have to worry about Elias anymore.”
We climbed into my car, and I drove them to Gabriel’s Airbnb, which I stayed at when I first arrived in Los Angeles. Checking her phone, Elias was still at the warehouse.
“You’ll be safe here. Keep the doors locked and the windows shut. And whatever you do, do not go outside. Understand?”
“Yes.” She nodded.
“There’s plenty of food in the cabinets. Once I get Elias, I’ll be back.”
I left the house. Could she be trusted? I had no idea. But the one thing I did know was that she was frightened for her life.
“Gabriel, I need you to pull up a warehouse on East 6thStreet near the bridges.”
“What do we have here?” he said. “The warehouse looks abandoned on the outside, but Elias has it set up like a military compound. The front entrance is a trap. You’ll have to go in through the back. There are five cameras outside. I can take care of those. Let me know when you get closer.”
After parking down the street, I opened my bag and retrieved a military-grade explosive.
“Cut the cameras, Gabriel,” I said.
“Done.”
Running around to the back, I carefully opened the door, noting the two levels. I tightened my grip on my gun as I quietly slipped inside. Following the voices in the distance, I hid behind the white van that was parked inside and set the explosive in place. Peering around the corner, Elias was scrolling on an iPad, while two of his men stood next to him. Pointing my gun, I aimed for the first guy’s head and fired. He dropped, and the second guy and Elias both pulled their guns. I fired again, hitting the second man in the head, and watched as his body dropped to the ground. Before showing myself, I fired at Elias. The bullet ripped through his hand, causing his gun to fall to the ground. His screams echoed throughout the space. I slid across the floor and kicked his gun clear across the concrete.
“You bitch!” he screamed, holding his hand.
“This ends now. You lost, Elias. Your crew is dead, your business is dead, and now you’re dead.” I shot a bullet into his leg, and he dropped to the ground. “That was for hunting Parker and shooting his father.” I shot another bullet into his abdomen. “And that was for the children you kidnapped.”
A sinister laugh erupted from him. “This goes higher up than you could ever imagine. You have no idea the people you’re dealing with.”
“And they don’t have any idea who they’re dealing with.”
“You kill me and think it’s over? It won’t be. It’ll just be the beginning.”
“I’ll take my chances.” I fired my gun and shot him in the head.
I noticed several crates with the word “Explosive” on them. Pushing the button on the explosive, I hightailed it out of there as fast as I could and dropped to the ground. The warehouse exploded. The ground shook as glass shattered and fiery debris fell from the sky. As I stared at the roaring fire, I let out a breath.It was over. Heading to my car, I grabbed my phone and called Simon.
“Paige, where the hell are you?”
