Chapter 55 Chapter 55
"You do not know who I am. Not really." He ran his hands through his hair. "I have killed people, Lisa. I have done terrible things to protect what is mine. And you are mine. Which means I will do whatever it takes to keep you alive, even if you hate me for it."
The possessiveness in his voice should have scared me. Should have made me pull away. But instead, it made something warm unfold in my chest. He loved me. Truly loved me. Enough to let the world burn.
"I do not hate you," I said softly. "I love you. But you have to trust me to do this my way."
"Your way is getting you killed."
"Maybe. But it is my choice to make." I closed the distance between us and took his hands. "I need you to let me do this. I need you to believe that I am strong enough to survive."
He pulled me close and buried his face in my hair. "You are the strongest person I know. But even strong people break. And I cannot watch you shatter."
We stood like that for a long time. Holding each other. Drawing strength from the connection between us. Outside the window, the city lights flickered and cars passed by, and the world kept turning like nothing had changed.
But everything had changed. I had crossed a line tonight. Watched a man die. Failed to save him despite trying. And some part of me knew I would never be the same person I was before.
My phone buzzed. A message from an unknown number. "We need to talk. Victor."
I showed it to Damien, and his expression darkened. "Do not respond."
"I have to. If I ignore him, it looks suspicious."
"Then tell him to go to hell."
I typed back. "What do you want?"
The response came immediately. "To discuss your relationship with Damien Kane. And why you keep feeding him information that helps him and hurts me."
My blood went cold. "He knows."
"Knows what?"
"That I have been helping you. That I am not really working for Alexander." I looked at Damien. "Victor is suspicious. If he tells Alexander I am dead."
"We leave. Right now. We get Mia, and we disappear."
"And go where? Alexander has resources everywhere. Contacts in every city. We cannot run far enough or fast enough." I felt panic rising in my chest. "This is over. He is going to expose me, and everything we worked for will fall apart."
Damien grabbed my shoulders. "Listen to me. You are not going to die. I will not let that happen. We figure this out together."
My phone buzzed again. Another message from Victor. "My man is outside your safe house. Do not bother running. We need to talk face-to-face. Tomorrow. Noon. Come alone or I tell Alexander everything."
I looked at Damien. "He has someone watching us right now."
Damien moved to the window and peered out through a gap in the curtains. "Black sedan across the street. Two men inside."
"What do I do?"
"You do not meet with Victor. We find another way."
But I knew there was no other way. Victor had me trapped and he knew it. If I refused to meet him he would tell Alexander everything. If I ran he would find me. The only option was to face him and hope I could talk my way out.
"I am meeting him," I said.
"Absolutely not."
"It is the only way to buy more time. To figure out our next move." I moved away from him before he could stop me. "Victor wants something. Otherwise he would have already told Alexander. I need to find out what it is."
Damien looked like he wanted to argue but he knew I was right. "Then I am coming with you."
"He said come alone."
"I do not care what he said. You are not walking into a trap by yourself."
We argued for another hour but eventually exhaustion won. I fell asleep on the couch with Damien sitting guard by the window. When I woke up the sun was rising and he was still there. Still watching. Still protecting me even though I had made it almost impossible for him to do so.
At eleven thirty we left the safe house. The black sedan followed us at a distance. Not trying to hide. Making sure we knew they were there. Making sure we understood that Victor controlled this situation.
The meeting place was a restaurant downtown. Public. Busy. Somewhere Victor could make a scene if things went wrong. We walked in together despite his orders and found him sitting in a booth at the back.
"I said come alone," Victor said when he saw Damien.
"And I do not take orders from you." Damien slid into the booth and pulled me in beside him. "Say what you have to say."
Victor looked at me. "I know you have been feeding information to Damien. I know you warned him about the explosives. And I know Alexander thinks you are working for him when really you are working for the man sitting next to you."
"You are wrong."
"Am I?" Victor pulled out a folder and slid it across the table. "That has photos of you and Damien together. Messages you thought were deleted. Proof that you are playing both sides."
I opened the folder, and my heart sank. He had everything. Every secret meeting. Every message. Every lie I had told.
"What do you want?" Damien asked. His voice was deadly calm.
"Insurance. A guarantee that when this war ends, I come out on top." Victor leaned back. "And to make sure I get that guarantee, I am putting someone on Lisa. Twenty-four hours a day. Seven days a week. She does not breathe without me knowing about it."