Chapter 74 Chapter 74
Hands in the air, I turned around to find Alexander's enforcer, Ivan, standing there. Shit! I cursed under my breath.
I thought I had been careful enough. I looked to his side and found his own communication phone. That was my one shot at warning Damien.
"Back up slowly and come with me. Did you really think it would be that easy to escape?" Ivan asked.
"I wasn't exactly expecting company on my trip," I said as I stepped in front of him. I saw the only opportunity I had in the split second and rammed my body into his, throwing his gun out of his hand, and as he reached out to stop me from escaping, I headbutted him.
I grabbed his phone without his knowledge and started to make a run for it.
"Fucking bitch!" I heard him yell, right before his pounding steps sounded behind me. I ran as fast as I could across the wide landscape, keeping the stone building in view.
I ran around the tall building as soon as I got to it, until I came across an open shed. I rushed into it and crouched behind the door. From the smell of dust and chipped wood filling the atmosphere, I could tell it was a place where carpentry work was done.
Slipping the phone out, I quickly typed out another coded message to Damien, deleting it and tossing the phone away.
I shut my eyes, hoping silently that he deciphered it and prepared for the battle coming his way.
Sweat perspired across my forehead, and my heart beat heavily. There was a small window in the shed, but it was only open slightly. I heard pounding footfalls outside as a couple of Alexander's men ran past it.
"Check the other way, make sure the gates are closed, she doesn't get away." That was Ivan's voice. I crouched lower behind the door. The shed was mostly dark; if he walked in, I was certain he would not see me.
I searched around me for something to use as a weapon, and my hand caught what felt like a cut piece of wood. So, I grabbed it and held it up in place, ready to attack anyone who attacked me.
Shortly after, Ivan walked in. "Here, Kitty kitty kitty. Lisaaaa, I know you're in here somewhere. Come out now, and we can talk this out without foul and offense. I just want to talk to you about that headbutt.
I heard the sound of his gun cocking.
"I mean, that was a really brave and foolish thing you did." His voice sounded just beside the door. I held my breath and tightened my grip on the base of the wood, bracing myself, while my heart thumped away heavily.
He continued to move stealthily as if that made me any less aware of his presence in the room. I moved backwards slowly, trying to put as much distance between myself and the door.
"Listen, I know you're in here. I just know. I know all about your double agent role and how you played both sides for Damien Paulo and Victor. How you tried to sleaze your way through our ranks to get Alexander to trust you."
"And you did a great job! Actually, you did a perfect job, and I waited for you to make a mistake." I heard him move away from the door and further into the shed. My breathing was labored now. I had to be cautious, or just the mere sound of my panicked breathing would draw his attention to where I was.
I kept backing away from his voice, moving past the tables of carved wood, rubber gloves, and leather.
My hand grazed the top of the table as I nearly came in contact with a static roller blade. The impact left me injured, but I placed my hand over my mouth to muffle the sound of my pain.
"I promise you, Lisa, I'll take a page from Alexander's book. I know he finds you useful. His voice sounded distant, and so, I kept moving.
But just as I rounded another table to hide behind the pile of wood in the shed, a generator came on, and all the lights turned on. I was exposed.
I froze as I stood face to face with Ivan, his gun angled expertly for my forehead; it would be hard to miss.
"I'll give you an ultimatum: come back to work for Alexander, or face your own execution."
DAMIEN'S POV
As the men prepared to head out, another encrypted text entered my phone. It was from a different number. It read that Alexander had a mole among my men and was planning to attack, along with a secret rendezvous point.
I looked around, unable to trust anyone, not even Marcus, he had already shown that he could not be trusted. Who else dared to betray me?
"What's wrong?" Victor's voice asked from behind me.
"Nothing, are the men ready to leave?" I asked in return. He nodded, watching me speculatively. Marcus walked into the room.
"Plans have changed. Have some of the men head to the dock and find out their new location for the drop. The rest of us will stay here and guard the base. Alexander is planning to attack." I stared at Victor.
He nodded, unmoved by the information. Marcus, on the other hand, looked prepared to move the men out. I had no idea which of them was feeding Alexander our every move.
"You think there's a mole here, don't you?" Victor asked, and the room paused its motion. Marcus turned to look at me as if wondering when I intended to share that bit of information with him.
"No, not at all, but he is getting information somehow. I mean, he is quite prepared and has a countermeasure every time we make a move."
"Or perhaps he caught your little spy and has discovered you already know. Alexander is no fool; we established that already. No matter, we will figure out his game before he gets here. What is important is that we are prepared when he gets here." Victor replied.
"You, I know, are very capable of betraying me. So, if I find out that you had anything to do with it, let's just say you won't like how I'll respond." I said and walked away.