Back to the Ember Room

Back to the Ember Room


I made the decision without asking Cole. Waiting would kill the story. If Tyler knew something, I had to hear it from him directly. The Ember Room was loud enough to hide us, dangerous enough that Cain’s people would not hesitate to watch it.

I slipped through the door, hood pulled low. The air was heavy with smoke and sweat. In the far corner, Tyler hunched over a glass, his eyes restless, scanning the room like every shadow wanted him dead.

I slid into the booth across from him. “You called me. Now talk.”

His voice was low and sharp. “You should not have come.”

“You made it sound urgent.”

“It is. Kyle’s reach is not local. Offshore accounts. Cayman, Panama, Zurich. Shell companies tied to his name. That is how he holds the city. Judges, cops, politicians, all paid through him. The money moves like blood through veins.”

My grip tightened on the table. “You have proof?”

He slid a folded napkin across. “Numbers. Accounts. Follow them and you will see how wide it spreads. But you need to move before Cain wipes it. He is already watching the same lines.”

I pressed the napkin into my fist. “Why give this to me?”

“Because I cannot carry it anymore,” Tyler muttered. “And because if you lose, I lose too.”

Before I could answer, a shadow blocked the booth. A tall man in a dark jacket, eyes flat, posture controlled. His hand rested casually near his side.

“Evening,” he said.

Tyler stiffened. His voice cut tight. “We were just leaving.”

“Sit down,” the man ordered. The glint of a badge flashed when his jacket shifted.

Police. But his eyes said Cain.

Tyler shoved the table into him. Glass shattered, drinks spilled. “Run!”

The man grabbed for his gun, but Tyler lunged, knocking him sideways. I bolted through the noise, shoving past bodies. Chairs toppled. People cursed. The music swallowed the chaos.

I hit the back door, bursting into the alley. Tyler followed, yanking me against the wall. He shoved the napkin into my hand again. “Do not lose this. Whatever happens, hide it.”

“Come with me.”

He shook his head. “They will catch me before you. If they catch you, it ends here.”

Boots pounded behind us. Voices barked.

“Go!” Tyler pushed me and sprinted the other way. Shots cracked. My scream stuck in my throat as he disappeared into the dark.

I ran the opposite direction, gripping the napkin so hard it tore at the corners. Sirens wailed somewhere nearby.

A man lunged from the shadows. I swung my elbow into his jaw, teeth clacking on impact. He staggered, gun flashing.

I dove behind a dumpster as bullets sparked against metal. My phone buzzed in my pocket. I yanked it out with shaking hands. A message glowed on the screen.

Cynthia: Verify the numbers now. Cain will erase them.

Another shot rang out. I scrambled low, ducking behind trash bags, then bolted through a side gate into a narrow lane.

“Stop!” someone shouted.

I pushed harder, lungs tearing, shoes slipping on wet pavement.

The napkin burned in my hand.

Another buzz. Cynthia: No uploads. No signals. Physical proof only. Cain sees everything online.

I turned a corner and nearly collided with the officer from the bar. His gun came up. “End of the line.”

My chest seized.

Then glass shattered behind him. He spun toward the noise. I darted past, slamming into his arm. The gun went off, deafening. The shot seared past my ear.

I sprinted across the street. Tires screeched, a horn blared. A car swerved, nearly clipping me.

I cut into another alley, breath ragged, body shaking. My phone buzzed again. Cynthia: If Cain scrubs those accounts, Kyle stays untouchable. Hurry.

I crouched, forcing air into my lungs. I opened my hand. The napkin was soaked with sweat, the ink smudged but still legible.

Numbers. Offshore. A trail.

Light swept across the alley. A flashlight beam. Boots on wet pavement.

“Found her,” a voice said.

I shoved the napkin into my jacket and bolted again.

The chase was relentless. Every step echoed like a countdown.

I cut through a chain link gap into a loading yard. The officer vaulted the fence after me, gun still raised. He shouted into a radio. “She has it. Moving east.”

Cain’s voice crackled faintly through the static. “Do not lose her.”

I pressed myself against the wall, pulse pounding. My phone buzzed again. Cynthia: Use the numbers. Bank trace. Do it before Cain shuts it down.

I pulled the napkin out. My hands shook as I copied the numbers onto my phone, heart hammering. Each digit burned like fire.

Shouts rose. Boots stomped closer. The officer’s light swept the yard.

I hit send.

Nothing.

The message froze. A red error flashed. No signal. Cain was blocking me.

The radio crackled again. Cain’s voice, smooth, calm. “She is in the yard. Close the exits.”

I crumpled the napkin back into my pocket and ran again, cutting between crates. The flashlight beam swept past. A bullet sparked against metal.

“Stop!” the officer shouted.

I dove behind a stack of pallets, chest heaving. My phone buzzed again. Cynthia: He is jamming the network. Keep the numbers safe. Do not let him destroy them.

I closed my fist around the napkin. Tyler had risked his life for this. If I lost it, everything was gone.

The officer’s footsteps grew louder. Closer.

The flashlight beam cut across my face.

I froze.

He raised the gun.

The night split open with another sound. Tires screeching. A car barreling into the yard. Headlights blinded the officer. He spun, cursing.

Cole’s voice roared from the driver’s seat. “Get in!”

I bolted, legs burning, every step tearing. The officer fired again. Sparks showered off the hood.

I dove into the passenger seat. Cole slammed the car into reverse, the engine screaming. The officer leapt aside, shouting into his radio.

The car fishtailed, tires spitting gravel.

I clutched the napkin to my chest, heart pounding.

Cole’s eyes cut to me, cold and sharp. “What the hell did you do?”

I opened my hand. The napkin lay torn and smudged, numbers barely readable.

“They know,” I whispered. “Cain knows I have it.”

Cole’s jaw tightened. His foot pressed harder on the gas.
“Then we are already dead if we do not move fast.”

Behind us, red and blue lights flickered in the distance.

The chase was not over.