CHAPTER 80
CHAPTER 80
Chapter 80:
Gina’s POV
I stared at the phone where Raymond had just dropped the location of Kane’s safehouse like it meant nothing.
Like Diane hadn’t died less than an hour ago.
Like my world hadn’t cracked beneath my feet.
“You’re awfully quiet, Gina,” Raymond said, turning toward me with that smug little half-smile. “I expected more tears. Or at least a tantrum.”
I clenched my fists. My nails dug into my palm, grounding me.
“You killed her,” I whispered.
“She outlived her usefulness,” he replied coolly, brushing imaginary dust from his sleeve. “Besides, I’m the new head now. We can’t have dead weight dragging us down.”
“You think you can replace her?”
“I already have.” He gestured around the room like a man unveiling his empire. “This—this is mine now.”
Kelly stepped forward, slow and deliberate. “You’re getting sloppy, Raymond. Leaving bodies like breadcrumbs.”
Raymond didn’t even flinch. “Sloppy gets attention. Attention creates fear. Fear gives me loyalty.”
“Fear gives you corpses,” I snapped.
His eyes flicked to me, amused. “Still grieving your dear mentor?”
“She was better than you’ll ever be.”
“She was a romantic fool who thought power came from emotion,” he said. “You, on the other hand, Gina... you’re cold enough to survive this game. That’s why I want you here.”
I stared at him.
I could still see the blood on Diane’s hands. I could still feel her mouth on mine, hear her voice whispering promises in the dark. We’d hated each other. Needed each other. She’d lied to me every second we were together—and still, I grieved her like a limb I’d lost.
“You really think I’ll follow you?” I said, voice quiet.
“I think you want Kane dead,” he said simply. “And so do I.”
Kelly hadn’t moved. But I could feel the tension radiating off him.
“You going to lecture me, Kelly?” Raymond asked, eyebrow raised. “Tell me about honor and loyalty? Or are you finally ready to admit you're more like me than him?”
Kelly’s voice was a low growl. “I don’t give a damn about your pissing contest. I only care about burning everything down.”
Gina blinked. Looked at him.
Kelly met her gaze.
“Diane used people,” he said. “Raymond kills them. Kane saves them. I’m tired of playing support in everyone else’s war.”
Gina’s voice was brittle. “So what are you saying?”
“I’m saying I’ll help you kill him,” Kelly replied, eyes glinting. “Not for Raymond. Not for you. But for me.”
Gina studied him carefully. “You’d really betray your own brother?”
He didn’t hesitate. “He betrayed me first.”
Raymond chuckled from the corner. “Looks like we’re all monsters now.”
Gina turned away from both of them, heart pounding in her chest. For the first time in hours, she felt something other than grief.
Purpose.
She looked back at Kelly.
“All right,” she said. “Let’s kill a legend.”
Kelly’s POV
“You do realize he’s going to come for us too,” I said, leaning against the steel counter as Gina paced in front of the blueprint table.
She didn’t look at me. Her jaw was tight, her arms folded. “That’s why we kill him first.”
I smirked. “I like your optimism.”
She turned, sharp eyes pinning me. “Do you want Kane dead or not?”
“I do,” I replied, shrugging. “But I’m not blind. Raymond’s playing this game like he’s already won.”
“He’s not the only one with a hand in the fire,” she said, voice low. “He thinks we’re his pawns.”
“We are,” I corrected. “But we’re the pawns that know we’re pawns. And that makes us dangerous.”
A small smile tugged at her lips.
I stepped closer, resting my fingers on the edge of the table. “Here’s how I see it. We help him burn the current pieces—Kane, Caroline, the agency trash—and when he’s bleeding, we slit his throat.”
She arched a brow. “Together?”
I leaned in. “You do it. I’ll hand you the knife.”
Her eyes flicked to mine. “You mean that?”
“I don’t say things I don’t mean,” I said quietly. “Besides… Diane’s gone. And we both know she never trusted Raymond. Neither should we.”
She nodded slowly. “We’ll bide our time. Play nice. And then… we strike.”
“Right after the last body drops.”
Gina stepped back, breath shivering out of her. “He’ll never see it coming.”
“No,” I murmured. “But he should’ve.”
A long beat passed. She picked up the blueprint and rolled it tightly in one hand. “I’ll feed him a few fake ideas. Enough to keep him focused on Kane.”
“You sure you can handle playing both sides?”
“I’ve done it before.”
She turned to leave. I watched her shoulders—so much smaller now that Diane wasn’t standing behind her.
She paused at the door.
“Kelly,” she said.
“Yeah?”
“When the dust settles…” She hesitated. “What do you want?”
I stared at her.
Then answered, “I want silence.”
She nodded once.
And left.
I moved back to the window, the city stretched below me like a breathing corpse. The lights flickered. The night felt heavier than usual.
Raymond was a problem. A ticking bomb.
But he wasn’t the worst of them.
Not by far.
I reached for the whiskey Diane kept hidden in her desk. Poured two fingers. Let the burn clear my thoughts.
Then I whispered the name that still coiled in the dark corners of my mind.
Reynolds.
The old man.
The quiet puppeteer behind all of us.
I didn’t trust Raymond, but I understood him. Anger, ego, power-lust—that made sense. That was human.
But Reynolds?
He didn’t act. He waited.
He didn't fight. He watched.
He didn’t need to lead the villains. They were all dancing to a song he’d written years ago.
Why hadn’t he stopped Raymond yet?
Why hadn’t he taken the crown when Diane died?
What the hell was he waiting for?
I ran a hand down my face.
Because he’s building something bigger.
He’s watching Raymond burn the battlefield—so he can walk in and claim what’s left.
And maybe… just maybe…
He wants me to survive it.
I looked down at my reflection in the whiskey glass. For a second, I didn’t see Kane’s younger brother.
I saw a man with no name.
No allegiance.
No fear.
Just purpose.
If Reynolds wants a survivor… he might get more than he bargained for.