Chapter 191 – Into the Trap

Chapter 191 – Into the Trap
POV: Lila

“Stay down,” Dante’s voice cut through my earpiece again, sharp and controlled. “Do not move until I say so.”
Another shot echoed across the empty street.
A body dropped somewhere to my left.
My pulse was pounding so hard it felt like it was shaking my entire body.
I stayed crouched for a second longer, trying to slow my breathing, trying to think.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.
I was supposed to walk in.
Make the trade.
Get Vivian out.
Simple.
Dangerous, yes—but controlled.
This?
This was chaos.
And chaos meant one thing.
Someone else was playing their own game.
“Lila,” Dante said again, his voice tighter now. “Answer me.”
“I’m here,” I whispered, keeping low behind a rusted car near the edge of the lot.
“Good. Stay there. My team is two minutes out.”
“No,” I said immediately.
Silence.
Then, dangerously quiet, “What did you just say?”
“I said no,” I repeated, my voice steadier this time. “I’m not waiting.”
“You don’t get to decide that right now.”
“I already did,” I said.
Another shot rang out, closer than before, and I flinched instinctively.
“They’re still moving,” I added. “If I stay here, I lose my chance.”
“You don’t have a chance,” Dante snapped. “Not like this.”
“Then I’ll make one.”
Before he could respond, I moved.
“Lila—”
I pulled the earpiece out.
I couldn’t listen to him right now.
Not when every second mattered.
—
The building loomed in front of me, dark and quiet, like it was waiting.
Watching.
I stepped forward carefully, every sense on high alert.
Gunshots still echoed behind me, sharp and precise.
One by one.
Not random.
Calculated.
Whoever that sniper was…
They weren’t missing.
And they weren’t stopping.
Good.
That meant I still had a window.
I reached the entrance and paused for just a second.
Think.
Trap.
Of course it’s a trap.
But Vivian is inside.
That was all that mattered.
I pushed the door open slowly.
It creaked, the sound louder than it should have been in the silence.
Inside was dim, shadows stretching across broken walls and dusty floors.
Empty.
At least, it looked empty.
“Hello?” I called out, my voice steady despite everything.
No answer.
I stepped inside.
The door closed behind me with a soft click.
Too soft.
Too controlled.
My stomach tightened.
Wrong.
Everything about this felt wrong.
And then—
A voice echoed from deeper inside.
“You’re early.”
I turned toward the sound.
The same man from before.
The one who showed me the video.
He stepped out from the shadows, his arm now bandaged, but his expression calm again. Like the chaos outside didn’t matter.
Like he expected this.
“You’re persistent,” he said.
“Where is she?” I demanded.
“Safe,” he replied.
“I want to see her.”
“And you will,” he said. “Soon.”
I didn’t move closer.
Not yet.
“You said bring me,” I said. “I’m here.”
“And you came alone,” he added, a faint smile forming. “That was… brave.”
“Or stupid,” I said.
“Sometimes those are the same thing.”
A faint sound echoed behind me.
A step.
I turned instinctively.
Nothing.
But I knew.
They were here.
More than before.
Hidden.
Waiting.
“You walked into this knowing it was a trap,” the man continued.
“Yes.”
“And you still came.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
The question caught me off guard.
But only for a second.
“Because you have something that belongs to me.”
His smile widened slightly.
“Interesting.”
Another step.
Closer this time.
I didn’t turn.
I didn’t need to.
I could feel them now.
Circling.
“You’re surrounded,” he said calmly.
“I figured.”
“And yet you’re still standing there like you think you’re in control.”
“I don’t need control,” I replied. “I just need her.”
A pause.
Then—
A slow clap.
“Impressive,” he said. “Truly.”
My grip tightened at my sides.
“Enough talking,” I said. “Where is she?”
His eyes flickered slightly.
Then he nodded once.
“Bring her.”
Two men stepped out from the shadows behind him, dragging someone between them.
Vivian.
Her head was tilted, her body limp, but she was conscious now, her eyes half-open.
“Vivian,” I breathed.
Relief hit me fast and sharp.
She’s alive.
That’s all that matters.
“She’s fine,” the man said. “For now.”
“What do you want?” I asked.
“I told you,” he replied. “You.”
“I’m here.”
“Yes,” he said. “But not yet.”
The words made my stomach twist.
“What does that mean?”
“It means,” he said slowly, “we’re making sure you don’t try anything clever.”
A sudden movement.
Fast.
Cold metal pressed against the back of my neck.
A gun.
“Drop anything you’re carrying,” a voice behind me ordered.
I stayed still.
“I’m not armed,” I said.
“Turn around.”
I did.
Slowly.
Two men.
Close.
Too close.
This is it.
This is where it ends.
Or begins.
“Search her,” the man in front said.
One of them stepped closer.
Reaching—
A gunshot exploded.
The man in front of me jerked backward, dropping instantly.
The one behind me barely had time to react before a second shot took him down.
Silence.
For half a second.
Then everything broke.
“Sniper!” someone shouted.
Gunfire erupted from every direction.
Loud. Chaotic. Fast.
I dropped to the ground instinctively, covering my head as bullets tore through the air above me.
But the pattern—
The pattern was clear.
One shot.
One kill.
Every time.
No hesitation.
No missed targets.
The men around me started falling one by one.
Before they could even aim.
Before they could even understand what was happening.
The man who had been talking to me backed away, his calm finally cracking.
“Find him!” he shouted. “Find the shooter!”
Another shot.
He flinched, ducking behind a pillar.
Too slow.
The bullet hit the edge of the concrete inches from his head.
Precise.
Deliberate.
A warning.
Or maybe a miss.
No.
Not a miss.
This sniper didn’t miss.
They were controlling this.
Controlling everything.
I pushed myself up slightly, my eyes scanning the chaos.
Bodies on the ground.
Men scrambling for cover.
No clear direction.
No clear target.
Just fear.
And then—
Another shot.
Another man dropped.
Closer now.
Too close.
Whoever it was…
They were moving.
Closing in.
“Get her!” someone yelled.
Hands grabbed at me again, rough and desperate.
I twisted, trying to pull free—
A shot rang out.
The man holding me collapsed instantly.
I stumbled back, my breath coming fast.
This wasn’t luck.
This wasn’t coincidence.
This was protection.
Focused.
Intentional.
For me.
“Lila!”
Dante’s voice crackled faintly from the earpiece I’d shoved back in without thinking.
“Get out of there. Now!”
“I can’t,” I said, my voice tight. “Vivian’s still—”
Another shot.
The men holding Vivian dropped.
She slumped forward, barely conscious.
No one else was near her.
My chance.
I ran.
Crossing the distance in seconds, dropping to my knees beside her.
“Vivian,” I said quickly, shaking her gently. “Can you hear me?”
Her eyes fluttered.
“Lila…” she whispered weakly.
“I’ve got you,” I said.
More gunshots.
Closer now.
Right outside.
“They’re all down!” someone shouted from deeper in the building.
Panic.
Real panic.
“They’re picking us off!”
I pulled Vivian’s arm over my shoulder, trying to lift her.
“Come on,” I urged. “We need to move.”
Another shot.
Another body.
Silence followed.
Heavy.
Final.
I froze.
Everything went quiet.
Too quiet.
The kind of silence that comes after something ends.
Or right before something worse begins.
“Is it over?” Vivian whispered weakly.
I didn’t answer.
Because I didn’t know.
Slowly, carefully, I looked up.
The man who had been leading them?
Gone.
The others?
On the ground.
Every single one.
My heart was still racing.
But the gunfire had stopped.
Which meant—
Whoever was shooting…
Was done.
Or waiting.
A slow creak echoed from above.
I looked up instinctively.
The rooftop access door.
It moved slightly.
Then—
Opened.
A figure stepped out.
Tall.
Steady.
Weapon still in hand.
My breath caught.
Because even from this distance—
Even in the dim light—
I knew that presence.
That stance.
That way of moving.
Not random.
Not unfamiliar.
Something inside me tightened.
“Lila,” Dante’s voice came again, urgent now. “Talk to me. What’s happening?”
I didn’t respond.
I couldn’t.
Because the figure on the rooftop stopped.
And slowly—
Turned their head.
Looking straight at me.
Like they’d been watching me this whole time.
Like this had always been the plan.
My grip on Vivian tightened.
Because in that moment—
I realized something that made my chest go cold.
This wasn’t just someone protecting me.
This was someone who had been waiting for me to walk into the trap.
And now that I had—
They were finally stepping out of the shadows.