Chapter 68 The Corporate Siege
Aria POV
The SUV bounced violently as I navigated the rocky descent toward the infirmary, and the smell of burning pine and gasoline was so thick that I had to keep the windows rolled up just to keep from choking on the air. Grayson was holding onto the door handle with one hand and his chest with the other, and his face was twisted in a grimace of pain that told me the curse was flaring up again because of the sheer stress of seeing his home in ruins. My phone suddenly let out a sharp, rhythmic pinging sound that was different from any notification I had ever heard, and I fumbled for it in the center console while trying to keep the vehicle from sliding into a ditch filled with glowing embers.
"Who is texting you at a time like this, and how do you even have a signal when the Iron Fangs are supposed to be jamming the entire valley?" Grayson asked, his voice strained and tight as he glanced at the screen that was glowing with a series of rapidly scrolling text blocks.
"It’s a contact from the Apex server room, someone who owes me a favor from back when I used to cover their late-night shifts, and they’re saying that the security teams at the tower aren't there for a legal takeover," I replied, and I slowed the car down just enough to read the message which was riddled with typos and frantic shorthand. "Grayson, they have Delilah in the boardroom and they’ve locked down the entire executive floor, but it’s not just a detention because the message says the Syndicate is purging the payroll and making sure no one with the Hart name is left to sign any legal appeals."
"Delilah is smart enough to handle a few corporate lawyers, but she’s not equipped to deal with a hit squad that’s been given a green light to clear the floor," Grayson muttered, and he looked back toward the main hall where his men were still being pinned down by heavy fire. "I can't be in two places at once, and if I leave my people now while they're being slaughtered in the courtyard, I’ll never be able to call myself their Alpha again, but if I stay here and let my sister die in that tower, then the family legacy is gone anyway."
"You have to stay here because these people are your responsibility and they need a leader who can actually give orders and organize a counter-attack, whereas Delilah is alone in a building full of people who are essentially just following a script," I told him, and I pulled the SUV to a stop behind the smoking remains of a supply shed that gave us a clear view of the infirmary. "I’m going to the Apex tower because I have the credentials to get through the service elevators, and I’m the only one who can walk into that lobby without immediately being flagged as a threat by the biometric scanners."
"I am not letting you drive back into the city alone while there’s a paramilitary team roaming the halls of my company, especially when you’re still technically a fugitive in their system," he argued, and he tried to reach for the steering wheel but I pushed his hand away with a firm shove. "It’s suicide, Aria, and you don't even have a weapon or a way to get past the guards on the fiftieth floor."
"I have something better than a gun, because I have that silver coin we found in Nana's bed, and I have a feeling that showing that to the Syndicate's leadership is going to change their priorities real fast," I said, and I pulled the heavy silver emblem out of my pocket and held it up so the light from the fires caught the snarling wolf’s head. "If the Silverfangs are the ones behind this, then the Syndicate is playing a game they don't understand, and I’m the only one who can walk in there and tell them that they're about to be replaced by something much worse than the Harts."
"The Silverfang coin is a death warrant, not a hall pass, and if you show that to the wrong person they might just kill you on the spot to keep the secret from getting out," Grayson warned, but I could see the hesitation in his eyes because he knew I was right about him needing to stay at the clubhouse. "If you do this, you have to promise me that you won't try to be a hero, and if the situation looks too far gone, you turn around and you get as far away from this city as possible."
"I stopped being a civilian the moment I stepped into your truck, Grayson, so just get out and go save Martha and the others before those bikers get any closer to the laundry bins," I told him, and I leaned over to give him a quick, desperate kiss that tasted like smoke and salt.
He looked at me for a long second, his eyes filled with a mix of pride and absolute terror, and then he pushed the door open and stepped out into the chaotic heat of the valley. I watched him draw his sidearm and head toward the infirmary with a limping but determined stride, and I didn't wait to see if he made it before I slammed the SUV into gear and swung it around in a wide arc. I headed back up the ridge, my heart pounding against my ribs like a trapped bird, and the further I got from the burning clubhouse, the more the silence of the forest seemed to press in on me.
I drove like a madwoman, ignoring the speed limits and the debris on the road, and I kept the silver coin gripped tightly in my left hand as the skyline of the city began to grow larger on the horizon. The streets were strangely empty as I approached the downtown district, and the towering glass structure of Hart Industries looked like a tombstone against the dark sky, with only the top floors glowing with a cold, artificial light. I pulled the vehicle into a side alley a block away from the main entrance and sat there for a moment, trying to stop my hands from shaking while I stared at the silver wolf in my palm.
I knew that once I stepped through those doors, there was no going back to the life where my biggest problem was a burnt batch of muffins or a late delivery of flour. I checked the charge on my phone one last time and saw a final message from my contact at the tower, which said the "cleaning crew" had just reached the boardroom level. I tucked the coin into my inner pocket and stepped out into the rain, heading toward the service entrance with the knowledge that I was the only thing standing between the Harts and total extinction.
As I swiped my old employee badge at the heavy steel door, the light turned red for a heartbeat before flickering to green, and the sound of the lock disengaging echoed through the empty alleyway like a gunshot.