Chapter 72

Chapter 72:

Maybe I was the traitor.

Or maybe I was just stupid.

Because even now, with my feet deep in enemy territory, surrounded by people who would slit my throat the moment I failed them, my thoughts kept circling back to her.

Caroline.

Her laugh. Her stubbornness. Her belief in me — even when I didn’t believe in myself.

I stared at the cracked mirror above the sink in the lair’s guest quarters. My face looked the same. But it wasn’t. Not anymore.

“You can still fix it,” the voice in my head whispered.

But I knew better. I had already made the choice when I gave Diane that information. When I showed up here in the black coat she’d given me. When I stood still and watched Robertson bleed out without blinking.

A door opened somewhere down the hall. Heavy footsteps.

I straightened, brushed my hair behind my ears, and walked into the war room. The others weren’t back yet. I had time to pretend I wasn’t suffocating in my own skin.

Until he walked in.

Kelly.

My heart stuttered before I could stop it. He looked the same — slightly disheveled hair, a smirk that was too easy, and eyes that saw everything. Too much.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, folding my arms. My tone came out harder than I intended.

Kelly strolled in like he owned the place, hands in his pockets, gaze sweeping the room.

“You missed me?”

I rolled my eyes. “You disappeared for days.”

He smirked. “Didn’t realize you were keeping track.”

“I wasn’t.” Lie.

He stepped closer, the easygoing front slipping a little. “So what’s your deal now, Gina? Full villain mode? Got the boots and eyeliner to match?”

I stared at him, lips pressed tight. “I made a choice.”

He tilted his head. “Did you?”

“What do you want?” I snapped.

“Just checking on Diane’s new pet,” he said casually, but there was an edge beneath it. “She said you’re handling Caroline.”

“She’s my problem.”

His eyes sharpened. “No. She’s your friend. Or was. You sure you’re ready to put a bullet in her if Diane says the word?”

“I don’t need to explain myself to you.”

“You do if I think you’re going to screw this up.”

I took a step forward, voice shaking now. “You think I’m soft?”

“No. I think you’re scared,” he said, blunt and brutal. “Scared that when the moment comes, you won’t pull the trigger. And Diane? She’ll burn you alive for it.”

I hated that he was right.

Before I could say anything else, the door opened again. Diane walked in, her red hair gleaming under the fluorescent lights, followed by two masked men wheeling crates.

“Kelly,” she greeted, eyes narrowing. “Didn’t expect you back so soon.”

He turned slowly. “Didn’t like the idea of missing the grand finale.”

Diane’s smile was all teeth. “We’re close. Jayson’s laid out the next phase. Gina will handle Caroline.”

“She sure about that?” Kelly asked, still watching me.

Diane looked my way. “She doesn’t have a choice.”

I forced a smile. “I’m ready.”

Kelly gave me one last look. “Hope so.”

Diane approached the table, sliding open a folder filled with photos and schematics. “We hit Kane where it hurts next. I want Caroline on her knees before the week ends. And if Gina fails…”

She didn’t finish the sentence.

She didn’t have to.

Kelly leaned over the table, his voice low. “You’re getting sloppy, Diane. Don’t underestimate Kane. Or Caroline.”

She shot him a glare. “I don’t.”

Kelly’s smirk returned. “Good. Because if you do… you’ll be dead before you know you’ve lost.”

Then he turned and walked out.

I stayed frozen, staring at the folder.

I wasn’t sure who scared me more.

Diane.

Or him.

“You’re both acting like you’ve already won,” I muttered, arms crossed as I leaned against the edge of the table. “But Kane and Caroline are still breathing.”

“And?” Diane’s voice was syrupy sweet with venom beneath. “So was Robertson. Now he’s fertilizer.”

Kelly stood a few feet away, silent, tense. Always watching. Like a lion waiting for a reason.

Before I could respond, the lair’s door swung open with a metallic groan.

“Speak of the devil,” Diane drawled with a smile. “And he walks in like he owns the place.”

Jayson stepped in with that maddening swagger—calm, sharp-eyed, that black coat brushing behind him like a cape. His presence immediately shifted the air. Heavy. Tense.

He didn’t look at her first. He looked at me.

“Well, well, Gina.” His lips curled into a half-smile. “You’re still alive. Diane didn’t strangle you in your sleep yet?”

“Not for lack of trying,” I muttered under my breath, then louder, “You’re late.”

“I’m fashionably dramatic,” he replied, striding closer. “And besides, someone had to keep Reynolds from breathing down my neck. The old man wants results.”

“You mean Kane,” Kelly said quietly.

Jayson turned to him, his smile cold. “Among other things.”

He walked over to the map spread across the table and traced his gloved finger down Kane’s photo. “He’s not the priority yet, but soon. We just need to make him desperate.”

He tapped Caroline’s face next.

“She's the leverage.”

Diane leaned back, arms folded. “You underestimate her. She’s slippery.”

“I don’t underestimate anyone,” he said. “That’s why I win.”

He glanced between Diane and Kelly before returning to me.

“You've been quiet, Gina.”

I met his gaze evenly. “Not quiet. Watching.”

“Still loyal?”

“To the mission,” I replied. “That’s what matters, right?”

His smile deepened. “Good girl.”

Kelly shifted slightly at that, and I noticed the flick of tension in his jaw. Diane saw it too.

Jayson stepped between us all now, voice cooler, measured.

“I want Caroline to see a familiar face before we ruin her little fantasy of safety. Gina, you’ll be that face.”

I stiffened. “What are you planning?”

He chuckled. “To remind her that even the people she loved the most can be bought, broken, or turned.”

“You already did that,” I said flatly.

“Not enough.” His eyes darkened. “I want her shattered.”

Kelly finally spoke. “What’s your real goal, Jayson?”

Jayson turned, slowly.

“You know what it is,” he said. “Take down Kane, use Caroline, finish off Reynolds when the time is right. I’ll be the one standing when the ashes settle.”

His tone was matter-of-fact. Ruthless.

But the flicker in his eye told me the truth—he didn’t just want the throne.

He wanted to burn every piece of the past that mocked him.

And I had a sinking feeling... that included us too.