Chapter 36 PLANNING THE TRAP
POV: Selena
The door slammed hard enough to rattle the glass wall, and every head in the room turned toward me.
“I’ll do it,” I said, already moving forward before anyone could stop me. “I’ll be the one he talks to.”
Adrian stood up so fast his chair scraped loudly across the floor. “Absolutely not.”
I ignored him and kept my eyes on the center of the table, on the mess of files and open laptops that proved just how deep this had gone. I wanted this over. I wanted Thornton exposed. I wanted my life back.
“He thinks I’m weak,” I said, forcing my voice to stay level. “He thinks I’m scared and desperate. That’s why this works.”
Marcus leaned back, fingers steepled under his chin, studying me like I was both a solution and a liability. “She’s not wrong.”
Adrian shot him a look that could have cut glass. “You’re agreeing with her now?”
“I’m agreeing with the facts,” Marcus replied. “Thornton doesn’t take men like us lightly. He takes women like Selena lightly. That’s his blind spot.”
I felt Adrian’s anger like heat at my back, but I didn’t turn around. If I looked at him, I might hesitate. I couldn’t afford that.
Victoria spoke next, calm but firm. “The FBI needs a clean confession. Not rumors. Not circumstantial data. They need his voice.”
“And he won’t give that to an agent,” I said. “But he might give it to me if he thinks I’m alone and cornered.”
Silence settled, thick and uncomfortable.
Adrian stepped closer. “You’re talking about walking straight into a trap.”
I finally faced him. His jaw was tight, his eyes dark with something that went far beyond fear. “I’ve been in a trap since the day he decided I was disposable.”
“That’s not the same thing,” he said.
“It is to me.”
Marcus exhaled slowly. “If we do this, it has to be controlled. Full coordination with the Bureau. No improvising.”
“I won’t improvise,” I said. “I’ll listen. I’ll ask questions. I’ll let him talk.”
Adrian laughed once, sharp and humorless. “You make it sound so easy.”
“It won’t be,” I admitted. “But it’s necessary.”
Victoria met my eyes. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?”
I hesitated. Just a second. Long enough to feel the weight of the choice pressing down on my chest.
“No,” I said honestly. “But I’m willing.”
That was what tipped it.
The room shifted. Not agreement, exactly. Acceptance.
“Then we plan,” Marcus said. “And we plan fast.”
Two hours later, I was sitting in a plain room that smelled faintly of disinfectant, staring at my own reflection in a darkened window.
An agent stood behind me, adjusting a thin wire along the inside seam of my jacket. His hands were careful, professional.
“This will pick up everything within a few feet,” he said. “Try not to touch it. And don’t tap it. Ever.”
“I won’t,” I said.
Another agent slid a small device across the table. “Panic button. If things go sideways, press this.”
I picked it up. It felt heavier than it should have.
“What happens if I press it?” I asked.
“Then we move,” he said simply.
That wasn’t comforting.
They ran me through the basics. Where to sit. How to angle my body. What phrases might encourage Thornton to keep talking. What not to say under any circumstances.
I listened. I nodded. I repeated instructions back when asked.
But my mind kept drifting.
To the way Thornton’s aide had smiled at me in the hallway. To the certainty in his eyes.
He knew something.
The door opened, and Adrian stepped inside.
The agents stepped back without being told.
Adrian closed the door behind him and just stood there for a moment, looking at me like he was trying to memorize my face.
I hated that look.
“Say something,” I said, unable to stand the silence.
He crossed the room in three strides. “I hate this plan.”
“I know.”
“I hate that you volunteered.”
“I know.”
“I hate that I can’t stop you.”
I stood up. We were too close now. I could feel the tension rolling off him.
“You can,” I said quietly. “You can tell them no. You can pull your name, your resources. This all collapses without you.”
“And leave him free to destroy you later?” His voice dropped. “Never.”
I swallowed. “Then we’re doing the same thing.”
He lifted a hand, stopped himself, then finally brushed his thumb against my wrist. “If anything happens to you—”
“Nothing will happen.”
“That’s not an answer.”
I met his gaze. “I’ve survived worse than this.”
“That doesn’t mean I’ll survive it,” he said.
The words hit harder than I expected.
“I need you to promise me,” he said. “That you’ll walk away if it feels wrong. That you won’t push just to prove something.”
I opened my mouth.
Before I could speak, the door burst open.
Marcus rushed in, phone still in his hand, his expression tight. “We have a problem.”
My stomach dropped. “What kind?”
“The fast kind,” he said. “Thornton just called.”
Adrian straightened immediately. “How did he get your number?”
“He didn’t,” Marcus said. “He called mine. Asked for Selena.”
The room went very still.
“What did he say?” I asked.
Marcus looked at me. “He wants to meet. Tomorrow.”
Every part of me went cold.
“That’s too soon,” Adrian said. “We’re not ready.”
Marcus nodded. “I know.”
“He shouldn’t even know we’re thinking about this yet,” Victoria added, appearing in the doorway.
“And yet he does,” Marcus said. “Which means he’s either confident or desperate.”
“Or both,” I said.
Adrian turned to me sharply. “You’re not going.”
“Yes, I am.”
“No,” he said. “This changes things.”
“It doesn’t,” I replied. “It accelerates them.”
Marcus rubbed a hand over his face. “He suggested a private location. No aides. No security.”
“Of course he did,” I said.
The agents exchanged looks.
“That’s a hard no,” one of them said. “We don’t do uncontrolled environments.”
“Then we don’t get him,” I replied. “Thornton won’t talk if he thinks he’s being watched.”
Adrian stepped in front of me. “You’re not negotiating with him.”
“I am,” I said, my voice steady. “He called because he thinks I’m vulnerable. If I suddenly look protected, he disappears.”
Marcus exhaled slowly. “She’s right.”
Adrian stared at him. “Say that again.”
“She’s right,” Marcus repeated. “But that doesn’t mean we let her walk in alone.”
I looked between them. “I won’t be alone.”
“You will be,” Adrian said. “In the room. With him.”
“That’s the point.”
Silence pressed down on us.
Finally, Victoria spoke. “Where does he want to meet?”
Marcus glanced at his phone. “A private club. Members only. His territory.”
I nodded. “That makes sense.”
Adrian laughed bitterly. “He wants control.”
“He already thinks he has it,” I said.
I reached for my jacket, feeling the wire hidden inside.
“This is exactly what we were planning for,” I said. “We just didn’t expect him to make the first move.”
Marcus looked at me carefully. “Are you scared?”
I thought about it.
About the way my hands had shaken earlier. About the knot in my stomach that hadn’t gone away.
“Yes,” I said. “But I’m not frozen.”
Adrian closed his eyes for a brief second, then opened them again.
“If we do this,” he said slowly, “there are rules.”
“I know.”
“No heroics.”
“I know.”
“And if I say pull out—”
“I will,” I said. Then, after a pause, “Unless it’s already too late.”
He didn’t like that answer.
But he nodded anyway.
Marcus straightened. “Then we adjust the plan. Wire stays. Backup stays close. Selena controls the pace.”
The agent cleared his throat. “We’ll need to prep her again. Thornton is dangerous.”
“I’m aware,” I said.
Adrian looked at me, his expression torn between pride and fear. “Promise me you’ll come back.”
I hesitated.
Not because I didn’t want to promise.
Because promises had a way of tempting fate.
“I’ll do everything I can,” I said instead.
He didn’t argue.
As the room broke into motion again, I sat back down, heart pounding.
Tomorrow.
Thornton wanted tomorrow.
And for the first time since this nightmare began, I wasn’t reacting anymore.
I was walking straight into the fire, on purpose.