The air inside the apartment turned suffocating. My pulse pounded in my ears as I stared at the image on Evelyn’s screen.
A photo. Of Clara and me.
Taken just minutes ago.
Outside our so-called safe house.
Clara’s breath hitched beside me. Marcelo muttered a curse under his breath. Evelyn’s fingers hovered over her keyboard, her usually calm demeanor shaken.
I swallowed hard. “How?”
Evelyn exhaled sharply. “I don’t know.” She tapped furiously at her screen, her frustration evident. “I ran every protocol, every encryption. No one should have been able to track us.”
“But someone did,” Marcelo cut in, his voice tight with anger. “And that means we need to move. Now.”
Clara gripped my wrist, her nails digging into my skin. “This isn’t just a message,” she whispered. “It’s a warning.”
I knew she was right.
Richard wasn’t just watching us.
He was telling us he could get to us whenever he wanted.
Evelyn packed up her gear in record time while Marcelo checked the weapons, shoving extra magazines into a bag. Clara hadn’t let go of my hand since we saw the message, and I wasn’t about to let her go either.
Leo, who had been watching silently from the corner, finally spoke. “We have two choices.”
I turned to him, exhaling sharply. “Let’s hear them.”
“We disappear again,” he said simply, “or we force him to make his move.”
Clara stiffened beside me. “You’re suggesting we let him come to us?”
Leo shrugged. “It’s what he’s already doing. The difference is, we either wait to be picked off or we set the terms of the fight.”
Marcelo scoffed. “That’s a great plan if you have a death wish.”
Leo met his gaze evenly. “And hiding has been working so well for you?”
Tension crackled between them, but I wasn’t in the mood to break up a fight.
Because, deep down, I knew Leo was right.
“Richard’s playing mind games,” I said slowly. “He’s making us paranoid, second-guessing every move. If we run now, we’ll be doing exactly what he wants.”
Clara turned to me, eyes searching mine. “So what are you saying?”
I squeezed her hand. “I’m saying we stop running.”
Marcelo sighed heavily. “Goddamn it, Bela.”
Evelyn’s fingers hovered over her laptop keyboard. “If we do this, we need a controlled environment. Somewhere we choose the battlefield.”
Leo smirked. “I know just the place.”
The warehouse on the outskirts of the city was long abandoned, an empty shell of steel and rust. It had once been a shipping facility, now left to decay.
Perfect for an ambush.
Marcelo, Leo, and I secured the perimeter while Evelyn worked her magic, making sure the bait was irresistible. The message we sent was simple: We’re done hiding. If you want us, come get us.
Clara wasn’t happy about it.
“This is reckless,” she muttered as we waited inside the darkened warehouse, the only light coming from the streetlamps outside.
“I know,” I admitted.
She huffed. “Then why are we doing it?”
I turned to her, my fingers brushing against hers. “Because I don’t want to spend my life looking over my shoulder. And I sure as hell don’t want you doing that either.”
She exhaled, her frustration evident, but she didn’t argue.
Instead, she reached up, cupping my face, forcing me to meet her gaze. “Promise me something.”
I swallowed. “Anything.”
“If this goes south, we run,” she whispered. “Together.”
I hesitated.
Clara’s fingers tightened. “Promise me, Bela.”
I let out a slow breath before nodding. “I promise.”
Even if I had no intention of keeping that promise if it meant leaving her behind.
The minutes stretched. Every creak of the metal structure, every gust of wind felt like it carried the weight of the unknown.
Then, footsteps.
Heavy. Deliberate.
Marcelo shifted in his position by the upper walkway, gun steady. Leo crouched near the entrance, his knife in hand. Evelyn barely breathed beside her laptop, eyes locked onto the security feeds.
Clara pressed closer to me.
Then we saw him.
Richard stepped into the dim light, flanked by three men. His lips curled into that same smirk I had come to hate.
“Bela,” he greeted, voice smooth. “You always did have a flair for dramatics.”
I forced a smile. “Funny, I was about to say the same about you.”
His gaze flickered to Clara. “And you… I have to say, I expected you to be long gone by now.”
Clara’s chin lifted. “You don’t know me very well, then.”
Richard let out a low chuckle. “Oh, but I do. You think this is bravery, standing beside her. But it’s just a death sentence.”
Marcelo moved slightly on the upper platform, his gun now trained on Richard.
“I don’t think you realize the situation you’re in,” I said, my voice even. “You walked right into our trap.”
Richard tilted his head, amusement dancing in his eyes. “Oh, sweetheart. Did I?”
The moment the words left his lips, my stomach dropped.
Then the gunfire started.
The first shot rang out from behind us.
My mind barely had time to process the betrayal before chaos erupted.
More of Richard’s men poured in from the shadows, their guns trained on us.
Evelyn shouted something, but I couldn’t hear her over the gunfire.
Marcelo fired from the upper walkway, taking out two men instantly.
Leo lunged with his knife, cutting through the nearest attacker.
I grabbed Clara, pulling her behind cover. “Stay down!”
She didn’t listen. She never did.
Instead, she reached for her gun, firing off a clean shot that hit one of Richard’s men square in the chest.
But it wasn’t enough.
We were outnumbered.
And Richard knew it.
He stood there, untouched, smiling like he had already won.
“You really thought this would end any other way?” he mused.
I gritted my teeth, reloading my weapon.
Richard took a slow step forward. “Bela, you have two options.”
I kept my gun trained on him. “I’m not interested.”
His smirk widened. “Surrender… or watch everyone you love die.”
Clara’s hand gripped mine.
And I knew.
We were running out of time.