Chapter 44 Trust Turned Bullets
Pierce arrived at the warehouse an hour early.
He checked every entrance, every window, every shadow. Marcus had swept it twice already, but Pierce needed to see for himself. Needed to control every variable.
The space was empty, it was an abandoned industrial building on the south side, concrete floors and exposed beams. No furniture except a metal table in the center and two chairs.
Perfect for what came next.
Pierce positioned himself with his back to the wall, gun loaded, silencer attached. He'd told Marcus to stay away. Told Leo to keep the safe house locked down. Told Derek to stay with Elena.
This was personal.
At exactly nine PM, headlights cut through the darkness outside. A car door slammed and footsteps approached.
Xander walked in, hands in his pockets, looking relaxed. Like this was just another meeting. Just another night.
"Boss." Xander nodded, moving toward the table. "Marcus said you had intel on Rodrigo's next move?"
"Sit down," Pierce said quietly.
Something in his voice made Xander pause. "Everything okay?"
"Sit. Down." Pierce's voice was firm.
Xander sat slowly, eyes scanning Pierce's face. "What's going on?"
Pierce pulled out his phone and set it on the table and pe pressed play.
Xander's voice filled the warehouse, distorted but clear. "...hotel location confirmed. Fourth floor, room 412. She'll be there tonight..."
The color drained from Xander's face.
Pierce let the recording play. Let Xander hear himself selling out Elena's location, discussing how to take her, what to do if she resisted.
When it finished, silence fell like a hammer.
"Pierce, listen..."
"Three deposits." Pierce's voice was ice. "Fifty thousand each. From shell corporations that trace back to Rodrigo's network."
"I can explain..."
"You gave him Elena." Pierce stepped closer. "You sent armed men to take her. To use her against me."
"It wasn't supposed to go down like that..."
"Then how was it supposed to go down, Xander?" Pierce's hand moved to his gun. "Enlighten me."
Xander's jaw worked and for a moment he looked like he might keep lying. Then something in him broke.
"He offered me a way out," Xander said quietly. "A way to get clear of all this. Enough money to disappear, start over somewhere Rodrigo's reach doesn't extend."
"So you sold me out for retirement money."
"I sold you out because I'm tired!" Xander's voice rose. "Tired of the violence, the constant war, watching people die for territory that doesn't even matter. Your father started this. Rodrigo's keeping it going. And the rest of us are just bleeding for a fight that should've ended years ago."
"So you chose his side."
"I chose my own side." Xander leaned back. "You would've done the same."
"No." Pierce pulled his gun, aiming it directly at Xander's head. "I wouldn't have."
Xander stared down the barrel, and something shifted in his expression. It wasn't fear, it was something else. Almost like... satisfaction.
"You should've brought backup," Xander said quietly.
Pierce's blood went cold. The warehouse doors exploded inward.
Men poured in from three different entrances, armed, tactical gear, moving with military precision. Rodrigo's crew.
Pierce dove behind the metal table as gunfire erupted, bullets pinging off concrete and steel. He returned fire immediately, taking down two men before they could get their bearings.
But there were too many.
Eight, Ten, more coming through the doors.
Xander was already moving, scrambling toward the east exit while Pierce was pinned down.
"Son of a bitch!" Pierce fired at Xander but missed, the shot going wide as he ducked incoming bullets.
More men flooded in. Pierce dropped three more, his training kicking in, he aim, fire, move, never stay still. But they kept coming, coordinated, spreading out to flank him.
This was a trap.
Xander had used himself as bait, he had known Pierce would come alone. Had set this up perfectly.
A bullet grazed Pierce's shoulder, white-hot pain searing through him. He grunted, returning fire, taking out another of Rodrigo's men.
But Xander was getting away.
Pierce made a split-second decision. He couldn't stay here, couldn't fight them all and catch Xander. Had to choose.
He chose survival. Pierce fired covering shots and sprinted toward the north exit, bullets chasing him. He burst through the door into the alley, his car fifty yards away.
Behind him, footsteps, shouts, more gunfire.
Pierce returned fire without looking, heard someone go down, kept running. His shoulder screamed with pain, blood soaking through his shirt.
He reached his car, threw himself inside, started the engine as bullets shattered the rear window. Pierce floored it, tires squealing, the car fishtailing before catching traction.
In his rearview mirror, he saw Xander emerging from the warehouse, getting into his own car.
Pierce gripped the wheel, his knuckles white, rage burning through him hotter than the pain in his shoulder.
Xander had set him up. Had walked into that warehouse knowing exactly what would happen. Had used Pierce's own planning against him.
And he'd gotten away.
Pierce pulled out his phone with his good hand, dialing Marcus.
"Boss..."
"Xander's alive. He set a trap." His voice was rough. "Rodrigo's men ambushed me at the warehouse."
"You shouldn't have gone alone, are you hurt?"
"I'm fine." Pierce's voice was ice despite the lie. "Get eyes on every exit out of the city. Airports, train stations, highways. I want Xander found. Now."
"On it. Where are you?"
"I'm heading back." Pierce checked his rearview mirror. They weren't following. Hadn't needed to. They'd accomplished what they came for, which was saving Xander.
Pierce's hands tightened on the wheel until his knuckles cracked.
Three years. Three years of trust, of missions together, of standing back-to-back against impossible odds. And Xander had been planning this the whole time. Waiting for the right moment to betray him.
Not just betraying him, but setting him up to die.
If Pierce had hesitated even a second longer, if he'd brought fewer rounds, if he'd been less prepared, he'd be dead in that warehouse right now.
And Xander would've walked away clean.
Pierce's phone buzzed with updates from Marcus. No sign of Xander yet. Checking known locations. Monitoring channels.
But Pierce knew they wouldn't find him.
Xander knew all their protocols. All their safe houses. All their surveillance patterns. He'd helped build half of them.
He was in the wind.
And he knew everything about Pierce's operation. Including where Elena was.
Pierce pressed harder on the gas, ignoring the pain in his shoulder, the blood spreading across his shirt.
He'd failed.
Failed to end Xander. Failed to protect his organization. Failed to eliminate the threat before it got worse.
And now Xander was out there, desperate, fully aligned with Rodrigo, armed with every piece of information that could destroy Pierce.
Including Elena's location.
Pierce pulled up to the safe house twenty minutes later, his shirt soaked with blood, his hands shaking with fury he could barely contain.
Leo met him at the door, eyes going wide. "Boss, you're hurt..."
"I'm fine." Pierce pushed past him. "Where's Elena?"
"Upstairs. She's been, Boss, you need medical attention."
"Later." Pierce moved toward the stairs, then stopped. "Get Derek. I need everyone on high alert. Xander's alive and he knows where we are."
Leo's face went pale. "I'll make the calls."
Pierce climbed the stairs, each step sending pain through his shoulder. He needed to tell Elena. Needed to explain that the threat wasn't over, was worse now than before.
That the man who'd tried to have her killed was still out there and coming back.
Pierce reached Elena's door and stopped, his hand hovering over the wood.
Inside, he could hear her moving around. She was awake, waiting to hear that it was over.
And Pierce had to tell her it wasn't, that he'd failed.
That they were in more danger now than they'd been this morning.
Pierce's hand curled into a fist, blood dripping onto the hardwood floor.
Xander had escaped.
And Pierce was going to make him regret it.