Chapter 40 Chapter 40
Claudia's slap burned across my cheek before I even saw her hand move. The sound rang through the room, and my head turned to the side. I tasted blood where my teeth cut into my lip. When I looked back at her, tears ran down her face, and her whole body shook.
"You brought me here!" Her voice broke on every word. "You smiled at me at that party. You acted like my friend. And all this time you were working with him. With Damien."
"Claudia, please listen." I reached for her, but she pulled away as my touch would hurt her. "I did not have a choice. None of this was supposed to happen."
"You always have a choice!" She backed against the wall and wrapped her arms around herself. "I trusted you, Lisa. I told you things I never told anyone, and you gave me to a monster."
The words hurt worse than her slap. Damien stood near the door with his arms crossed and his face blank. Two of his men stood by the exit,s and their presence made the small room feel too small. I wanted to scream that this was not my fault. That I was trapped just like she was. But the truth stayed stuck in my throat because part of it was my fault. I chose to get involved, and every choice after that brought us here.
"Victor has one of Damien's men," I said quietly. "Jacob. He has a wife and two kids. Victor wants to trade you for him."
Claudia laughed but it sounded broken. "So you want me to die for a stranger? To walk into Victor's hands so some man I never met can go home to his family?"
"No." I stepped closer and this time she did not pull away. "We want you to help us set a trap. To use the trade to take Victor down. But we need you to agree to it."
"Trust you?" Her voice cracked. "How can I trust you when you are sleeping with the enemy?"
My face got hot. I had not told her about Damien and me, but somehow she knew. Maybe she saw it in the way I looked at him. "What I feel for Damien does not change what I am trying to do. I am trying to save everyone. Including you."
"By using me as bait." She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "You know Victor will not keep any deal, right? The moment he gets what he wants, he will kill Jacob anyway. And probably me too."
"Which is why we will not let him get what he wants," Damien spoke for the first time since we came in. His voice was calm, but underneath I heard something hard. "Victor thinks he is in control. He thinks I will bring you to him like a good dog. But what he does not know is that I have been planning for this moment for a long time."
Claudia looked at him with fear and curiosity mixed together. "What are you saying?"
"The warehouse where we are meeting him is ready. Every door, every exit, every shadow has one of my men waiting. The moment Victor shows his face, we take him and everyone he brought." Damien walked closer. "But it only works if you play your part. If you walk in there like you accepted your fate. Can you do that?"
She stared at him for a long moment. Then she looked at me, and I saw the girl from the party. The one who laughed too loudly and told me about her dreams of leaving this city. "If I do this and it goes wrong, promise me you will tell my mother I loved her. That everything I did was to protect her."
My throat got tight. "Nothing is going to go wrong."
"Promise me, Lisa."
"I promise."
Claudia nodded slowly. "Okay. I will do it. But not for you or for Jacob. I am doing it because Victor killed my father, and if there is even a chance I can watch him pay for it, I will take it."
The words hit me hard. "Victor killed your father?"
"Three years ago. Made it look like a robbery but I know the truth. My father worked for The Syndicate, and when he tried to leave, Victor made an example of him." Her hands closed into fists. "So yes, I will walk into that warehouse. And if your plan works, I want to be the one who makes him pay."
Damien looked at her with something close to respect. "Deal."
We left the safe house an hour before the sun came up. The city was still dark and the streets were empty. I sat in the back seat next to Claudia while Damien drove and Marcus sat in front. The silence felt heavy. Every block we passed brought us closer to the warehouse, and my heart beat so hard I thought everyone could hear it.
"Stay close to me when we get there," Damien said without looking away from the road. "Do not walk away. Do not talk to anyone unless I tell you to. And if something goes wrong, you run. You understand?"
"I understand." But my voice shook.
Marcus turned in his seat and looked back at me. "You do not have to be there, Lisa. You could wait in the car."
"No." I met his eyes. "Claudia is doing this because I asked her to. The least I can do is stand beside her."
The warehouse appeared ahead like something dead. Rusted metal and broken windows stared down at us, and the whole place smelled like oil. Damien parked the car, and we all got out. His men came out from the shadows, and suddenly we were surrounded by armed men. I counted at least fifteen.
"Positions," Damien said. His voice cut through the air, and everyone moved fast. Within seconds, they disappeared, and we stood alone in the parking lot.
Claudia reached for my hand and held it tight. Her palm was wet and cold. "Thank you," she whispered. "For trying."
Before I could say anything back, headlights cut through the dark. Three black cars pulled into the lot and parked in a line facing us. Doors opened, and men got out. I counted twelve. All armed.
Victor stepped out of the middle car. He looked exactly like his photos. Tall, with silver hair and eyes that held nothing warm. He smiled when he saw us, and the sight made my stomach hurt.
"Damien Kane," he called out. "Always so dramatic with your plans. Did you really think I would not notice your men hiding around this place?"
My blood went cold. Damien's hand went to his gun, but before he could pull it out, shots rang out from every direction. But it was not Damien's men shooting at Victor's men. It was someone else. People in black gear with weapons I had never seen before. They came from the roofs and the side streets.
"Get down!" Damien pushed me to the ground and covered me with his body. Bullets hit the concrete around us, and people screamed. I tried to find Claudia, but the smoke made it hard to see.
When the shooting stopped, everything went quiet. Too quiet. Damien pulled me up, and I looked around. Victor's cars were gone. His men were either dead or running. And Claudia was nowhere.
"Where is she?" I turned in circles, looking everywhere. "Damien, where is Claudia?"
Marcus came through the smoke with blood on his face. "They took her. The people in black. I do not know who they were."
My legs felt weak. The world tilted, and I grabbed Damien's arm to keep from falling. "What do you mean they took her?"
Damien's jaw was tight, and his eyes scanned the empty warehouse like he could make Claudia appear by looking hard enough. "The exchange was ambushed by a third party, and Claudia was taken by unknown assailants."