Chapter Twenty One

Chapter Twenty One
A Dangerous Plan

I knew Nicholas wouldn’t let me go alone.

That’s why I didn’t tell him.

Claire had helped me track Alessandro’s movements for weeks. He was being careful, staying in the shadows, but not careful enough. He was meeting someone in two days.

And I was going to be there.

Roman wasn’t happy about it. His sharp blue eyes narrowed as he leaned against the table, arms crossed. “This is reckless.”

“It’s the only way,” I said firmly.

“You’re walking straight into their hands,” he countered.

I met his gaze. “Then I guess I’ll have to be faster.”

He ran a hand through his hair, frustration rolling off him. “This is a trap.”

“Maybe,” I admitted. “But it’s a risk I have to take.”

Claire sighed, shaking her head. “You’re not doing this alone.”

I nodded. “I don’t plan to.”

Roman let out a short, humorless laugh. “Does Nicholas know?”

I hesitated.

His eyes darkened. “You didn’t tell him.”

“He’d try to stop me.”

“Maybe because it’s a bad idea,” Roman shot back.

Claire stepped between us before things got heated. “We don’t have time for this. If we’re doing this, we need a plan.”

Roman exhaled sharply. “Fine. But if this goes wrong, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

\---

We spent the next day preparing.

Claire secured a rooftop for surveillance. Roman mapped out the escape routes. I studied Alessandro’s patterns, memorizing every place he had been spotted, every shadow he had lingered in.

We needed to move fast—act before he realized we were onto him.

But none of it prepared me for Nicholas finding out.

I barely made it out the door when his voice cut through the silence.

“Going somewhere?”

I froze.

Slowly, I turned to face him. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes told me everything. He knew.

“Nicholas—”

He cut me off. “You were going to leave without telling me.”

I squared my shoulders. “This is something I have to do.”

His jaw tightened. “And you thought sneaking off was the best way?”

“I thought it was the only way.”

He took a step closer, towering over me. “You’re wrong.”

I exhaled sharply. “I don’t have time for this.”

Nicholas grabbed my arm. “You’re not going alone.”

I pulled free. “I never planned to.”

His eyes flicked to Claire and Roman. Understanding crossed his face, followed by something else.

Hurt.

“I should have known,” he muttered.

I sighed. “Nicholas—”

“No,” he said. “If you’re going, I’m coming too.”

I frowned. “You can’t just decide that.”

“Neither can you.”

Claire cleared her throat. “We really don’t have time for this.”

Nicholas didn’t look away from me. “I’m coming.”

I hesitated. He wasn’t asking.

I exhaled. “Fine. Let’s go.”

\---

We arrived at the meeting spot early.

An abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town, its walls covered in peeling paint and rust. The air smelled of damp concrete and metal.

Claire set up her lookout from a rooftop across the street. Roman waited in the car, engine running, his fingers tapping impatiently against the steering wheel.

Nicholas and I hid in the shadows, watching.

I felt his gaze on me.

“You’re tense,” he said.

I didn’t respond.

He sighed. “What’s the plan?”

“We wait.”

“And if something goes wrong?”

I looked at him. “Then we fight.”

He shook his head. “You’re impossible.”

I almost smiled.

Then I saw him.

Alessandro stepped into the warehouse, moving cautiously. He wasn’t alone. A tall man in a dark coat followed, his posture rigid, his presence ominous.

“Who is that?” Nicholas whispered.

“I don’t know,” I admitted.

The man handed Alessandro a file. Alessandro flipped through it, nodding.

I inched forward, trying to hear them.

Nicholas grabbed my wrist. “Careful.”

I shot him a look but didn’t argue.

Then Alessandro spoke.

“Sebastian wants confirmation. If she’s alive, we will end this.”

My blood ran cold.

Nicholas stiffened beside me.

The man in the coat nodded. “She won’t make it out this time.”

Nicholas pulled me back. “We need to go.”

I clenched my fists. “Not yet.”

Nicholas’s grip tightened. “Now.”

Footsteps.

Someone was coming.

Claire’s voice crackled through the earpiece. “Get out. Now.”

Too late.

The door slammed shut.

We were trapped.

Nicholas moved first, shoving me behind a stack of crates as heavy footsteps echoed through the warehouse. My heartbeat pounded in my ears.

Alessandro’s voice cut through the silence. “I know you’re here.”

Nicholas tensed beside me.

The man in the dark coat spoke next. “You should’ve stayed dead.”

I reached for my weapon, my fingers trembling. Nicholas placed a hand over mine, a silent warning to wait.

A slow, deliberate click filled the air. A gun.

“I’ll give you one chance,” Alessandro said. “Step out, and maybe I’ll make it quick.”

I swallowed hard.

Nicholas whispered, “We need a distraction.”

I glanced at a stack of old metal pipes nearby. If I could knock them over, it might buy us a few seconds.

I nodded.

Nicholas counted down with his fingers.

Three.

Two.

One.

I kicked the pipes. They crashed to the ground with a deafening clang.

“Now!” Nicholas shouted.

We moved.

Nicholas lunged, knocking Alessandro off balance. I sprinted toward the exit.

A shot rang out.

I ducked behind a pillar, heart hammering.

Nicholas cursed, gripping his arm. Blood seeped through his sleeve.

I turned back.

Claire’s voice in my ear. “Roman’s outside. Move!”

I forced myself forward, grabbing Nicholas’s uninjured arm. He winced but followed.

Alessandro recovered fast. “Get them!”

We ran.

The exit was just ahead. Roman had the car ready, door open.

Another shot.

The bullet hit the door frame as I dove inside.

Nicholas followed, slamming the door shut.

Roman hit the gas.

I looked back. Alessandro stood in the doorway, watching us escape. His eyes met mine.

This is just the beginning.