Chapter 10 - Gideon’s Impossible Choice
Agent Price wanted the flash drive immediately.
Ruby gave it to her.
She did not ask Gideon’s permission.
She did not warn him about what might be inside.
That was important.
If their relationship was ever going to become something real, Ruby could not become someone who protected Gideon from consequences simply because she loved him.
Gideon understood.
At least he said he did.
They sat in a small conference room at Gallagher Freight after federal agents left.
“You handed it over,” he said.
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Ruby searched his face.
“You don’t know what’s on it.”
“No.”
“You could be implicated.”
“Yes.”
“And you’re saying good?”
Gideon leaned back.
“I spent thirty years making decisions I knew carried legal risk.”
“That is an elegant way to describe crime.”
“I’m trying to improve my vocabulary.”
Ruby almost smiled.
Then became serious.
“If they arrest you?”
“Then they arrest me.”
She hated how calmly he said it.
“You wouldn’t run?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because running would destroy every legitimate company tied to me and leave hundreds of people exposed.”
Ruby stared.
Six months ago, Gideon Rossi had seen employees as numbers in acquisition documents.
Now he spoke about protecting them.
“Was that always how you thought?”
“No.”
“Then what changed?”
Gideon looked at her.
Ruby sighed.
“Stop saying me.”
“You keep asking questions with the same answer.”
She looked away.
The room became quiet.
Gideon stood.
“I should go.”
“Where?”
“Meeting attorneys.”
“Of course.”
He reached the door.
“Gideon.”
He turned.
Ruby hesitated.
“Do you regret burning the contract?”
“No.”
“Even now?”
“Especially now.”
She swallowed.
He left.
That evening, Agent Price called.
The flash drive contained extensive records.
Salvi.
Caruso.
Three port supervisors.
Two customs contractors.
Bank accounts.
Payments.
Encrypted messages.
And Gideon.
Ruby gripped the phone.
“What about Gideon?”
“His name appears repeatedly.”
Her heart sank.
“In what context?”
“I can’t discuss evidence in detail.”
“Then why tell me?”
“Because you may be interviewed.”
Ruby closed her eyes.
“Is he a target?”
Pause.
“Yes.”
She sat in silence afterward.
At nine, Gideon knocked on her apartment door.
Ruby opened it.
“You know.”
“Yes.”
He entered.
She crossed her arms.
“How bad?”
“I don’t know.”
“That means bad.”
“It means complicated.”
“There’s that word again.”
Gideon removed his coat.
“Marcus recorded commission transactions going back years.”
“Yours?”
“Some.”
“Illegal?”
“Yes.”
Ruby appreciated the honesty even while it hurt.
“What kind?”
“Payments for labor cooperation. Port access. Protection.”
“Bribes.”
“Yes.”
“Anything violent?”
Gideon’s face hardened.
“Not on my order.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
“No.”
Ruby studied him.
She believed he was telling the truth.
That scared her too.
“What happens now?”
“My attorneys negotiate.”
“For immunity?”
“For cooperation.”
Ruby stared.
“You’re going to cooperate with federal investigators?”
“If necessary.”
“Against the commission?”
“Yes.”
“That could put you in danger.”
“I’m already in danger.”
Ruby paced.
“This is insane.”
“Probably.”
She stopped.
“You sound like the night you proposed marriage.”
Gideon smiled faintly.
“Another successful negotiation.”
“That one is under review.”
His smile disappeared.
Ruby looked at him.
“Why cooperate?”
“Because Salvi won’t stop.”
“You could fight him another way.”
“Yes.”
“The old way.”
“Yes.”
Ruby understood what he meant without details.
She shook her head.
“No.”
“I agree.”
That surprised her.
Gideon continued.
“Six months ago, I would have handled Salvi differently.”
“What changed?”
He raised an eyebrow.
Ruby sighed.
“Right. Me.”
“Yes.”
She walked to the window.
“You make that sound romantic.”
“It isn’t.”
“No?”
“No.”
Gideon joined her.
“You forced me to notice how many people pay for decisions made by powerful men who never see them.”
Ruby looked at him.
He continued.
“I’m tired of being one.”
For the first time since finding the file, Ruby reached for him.
She took his hand.
Gideon stared down at their fingers.
He did not move.
Ruby whispered, “That doesn’t mean I forgive everything.”
“I know.”
“It doesn’t mean I’m coming home.”
“I know.”
“It doesn’t mean—”
“I know, Ruby.”
She looked up.
His eyes softened.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then somebody knocked.
Leon.
He entered without waiting.
“We have a problem.”
Gideon released Ruby’s hand.
“What?”
“Salvi knows about the drive.”
“Of course.”
“He also knows Gideon is considering cooperation.”
Ruby’s stomach tightened.
“How?”
Leon looked angry.
“We have a leak.”
Gideon’s expression became cold.
“Where?”
“In my operation.”
Ruby almost laughed.
“Welcome to my week.”
Leon ignored her.
“There’s more.”
He placed an envelope on the table.
Photographs.
Ruby leaving Gallagher Freight.
Ruby entering her apartment.
Ruby eating lunch.
Ruby meeting Agent Price.
Surveillance.
A note.
Withdraw cooperation or she becomes the cost.
Gideon went utterly still.
Ruby read the note.
Then looked at him.
“No.”
He had not spoken yet.
“No,” she repeated.
“Ruby.”
“You are not backing out.”
“This changes things.”
“It changes nothing.”
“They’re threatening you.”
“They threatened my company. They took my father. They burned my warehouse.”
Her voice rose.
“I am done letting dangerous men decide what I do because they know you care about me.”
Gideon’s jaw tightened.
“This is not pride.”
“Neither is mine.”
“They will hurt you.”
Ruby stepped close.
“Then teach me how to protect myself without disappearing.”
He stared.
“Don’t put me in a house behind armed guards and call it love.”
Gideon looked away.
That was exactly what he had planned.
Ruby knew it.
“Fight beside me,” she said.
His eyes returned.
“Not in front of me.”
Gideon said nothing.
Then slowly nodded.
“Beside you.”
The next morning, Gideon Rossi entered the federal building voluntarily.
News cameras captured everything.
Boston exploded with speculation.
The commission reacted immediately.
Three Rossi businesses were cut off from financing.
Two executives resigned.
A warehouse lease was terminated.
By sunset, Gideon had lost another quarter of his empire.
Ruby watched the news from Gallagher Freight.
Her phone buzzed.
A message from Gideon.
Still worth it.
Ruby stared at those words for a long time.
Then typed:
Come to dinner when you’re done.
His reply came thirty seconds later.
Your apartment?
Ruby smiled.
Public restaurant.
A pause.
Still don’t trust me?
Ruby typed:
I trust you enough to order dessert.
Gideon answered:
Progress.
For the first time in weeks, Ruby laughed.
But across Boston, Viktor Salvi received a call from the leak inside Gideon’s organization.
And the voice on the other end belonged to someone Gideon had trusted since childhood.
May you like
Someone even Leon had never suspected.
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