Chapter 31 Pressure points
The shelter came back online within the hour.
Lucy stood in the command room, sleeves rolled up, hair pulled back, eyes sharp as screens flickered to life around her.
Locations.
Names.
Emergency check-ins.
Every girl accounted for.
Alive
A collective breath was released—but the relief was fragile.
What would the do next, what would be their next move, their next target.
“They wanted to scare us,” Lucy said quietly. “Not destroy the shelter. Not yet.”
Lucas stood behind her, arms crossed, watching her take control with a mix of pride and worry. “D’Angelo was testing response time. Seeing how fast we’d scramble.”
“And how much leverage he has,” she added.
“Had,” Lucas corrected. “That shelter’s fortified now. No more soft targets.”
Lucy turned to him. “Then he’ll shift tactics.”
Lucas stared at her, thinking hard about the whole bigger picture of this, where it would finish, what was the end result they wanted. Lucy and Lucas were getting closer, that much was obvious and rattling the whole line of traffickers which would mean things might go quiet for a while.
Lucas nodded once. “Which means we hit him before he does.”
By nightfall, Lucas had mobilized his most trusted lieutenants.
The plan was surgical—quiet hits on D’Angelo’s inner circle.
No chaos.
No headlines.
No warning.
Lucy watched the map as red markers appeared one by one.
“Lieutenant Marco — intercepted,” a voice reported.
“Financial courier detained.”
“Warehouse in Queens secured.”
Lucas’s world moved fast and hard, but Lucy noticed something new.
He kept checking on her.
Not hovering.
Not controlling.
Just… present.
“You don’t have to stay up,” he said quietly when midnight passed.
She shook her head. “If you’re fighting, I’m here.”
He studied her for a moment, then nodded. “Okay.”
That was it.
Trust.
No-one had ever trusted her like this and she had never trusted anyone like she trusted him.
After her sister was taken by traffickers, her family drew back from her silently blaming her. She blamed herself, for those 10 minutes they were seperated out shopping. Running out of time Lucy went to the toilet whilst Jessie went to go grab them both a doughnut from across the road.
Jessie just vanished, they only proof it was traffickers was cctv from a shop over the road catching the van screeching to a halt in front of her and 2 men jumping out to grab her.
Two minutes was all it took for her to be taken.
Taken and never heard from or seen again.
Lucy didn’t know if it was worse to not know if she was still alive or live in the hope that she was still alive.
The guilt she carried everyday was immense,
if only they hadn't split up,
If only they werent running behind.
To this day 2 years, 3 months and 4 days later still no one knows where she is.
She lived in hope to one day find her. Really hoping that day was getting close and closer.
An hour later, a feed came through—grainy footage from a hidden camera.
A man sat bound to a chair, bloodied but alive.
D’Angelo’s lieutenant.
“He’s talking,” Lucas said grimly.
Lucy leaned forward as the man spoke, voice shaking.
“D’Angelo doesn’t stay in one place. But tomorrow night—he’ll be at the old Bellini estate. It’s… symbolic to him.”
Lucy’s breath caught. “That’s outside the city.”
Lucas’s eyes narrowed. “And isolated.”
Lucy looked at him. “He wants us to come.”
Lucas didn’t deny it. “Yes. But wanting doesn’t mean winning.”
Finally there might be an end to all of this and a chance to find Jessie, she shouldn't get too hopeful, anyhting could change between now and tomorrow, anything
Later, in the safe house bedroom, the noise finally faded.
Lucy sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing her head.
The exhaustion hit all at once. All of the recent events spinning around in her head.
Lucas closed the door behind him and crossed the room.
“You held it together out there,” he said softly.
She let out a shaky breath. “I was terrified.”
He sat beside her. “So was I.”
That surprised her.
“You never look afraid,” she whispered.
He turned to her, eyes unguarded. “Because if I let myself feel it… I wouldn’t let you out of my sight. And that would break you."
Her chest tightened.
She reached for his hand. “You don’t have to be made of steel all the time.”
He squeezed her fingers. “Neither do you.”
They leaned into each other, foreheads touching, breathing in sync.
Tomorrow would be dangerous.
Tomorrow could change everything,
But for this moment, they were just two people holding on.
Lucas spoke quietly. “Tomorrow night, we end this.”
Lucy lifted her head. “Together?”
His answer was immediate. “Always.”
Outside, the city slept—unaware that a war was about to reach its breaking point.