Chapter 192: Pushing

Draco’s POV

“Fuck.”

The word came out slower this time, heavier, settling into the room as I stared at the screen over Bella’s shoulder. There was no mistaking what he was doing now. This wasn’t a probe. This wasn’t curiosity. He came in loud, pushed, then pivoted the second he didn’t get what he wanted.

“The nerve of that sick fuck,” I said, my voice steady but edged. “Coming onto Echo’s board like he owns the place, talking about deals like he actually earned one.”

Nico leaned back in his chair, arms spreading slightly. “Confidence is impressive,” he said.

“It’s not confidence,” I replied. “It’s borrowed weight. He hasn’t done anything himself.”

Gino didn’t look up from his screen. “He’s acting like he has leverage.”

“He doesn’t,” I said. “And now he thinks he can threaten Echo on top of it.”

That part didn’t sit right with me at all.

You don’t touch that space unless you understand what it is. What it holds. Who moves through it.

“He just put himself on the list,” I added quietly.

Bella shifted slightly in my lap, her attention locked on the screen, her fingers hovering but not moving yet. She wasn’t reacting emotionally. She was reading, processing, calculating, and that was exactly what I needed from her right now.

“Cara mia,” I said, my tone lowering just enough to cut through everything else, “pull me a location.”

“I’m already working on it,” she answered without looking up.

Gino’s keyboard picked up pace beside her, the rapid, precise taps filling the room as both of them dug into it from different angles. Two minds working the same problem, each coming at it their own way.

A few seconds passed.

Then Gino exhaled. “I’m getting multiple pings,” he said, his brows pulling together. “All over the place.”

Bella nodded slightly. “Same,” she said.

I leaned forward, resting my forearms against my knees, watching both screens closely.

“Can you narrow it,” I asked.

“I’m trying,” she said, her tone tightening with focus.

I studied the patterns for a second, then shook my head slightly. “No,” I said. “Those are planted.”

Gino glanced up briefly. “You’re sure?”

“Yes,” I answered without hesitation. “It’s too clean. Too spread. That’s not sloppy work, that’s intentional misdirection.”

Bella’s fingers moved faster now, filtering, isolating, stripping out noise.

“He’s trying to scatter us,” I continued. “Send us chasing ten different directions while he sits somewhere else watching.”

“Or moving,” Nico added.

Another message hit the screen.

Then another.

Then another.

They stacked fast enough to draw all attention back to Bella’s laptop.

Gino leaned slightly closer. “He’s not giving you space to think.”

“He doesn’t want me to,” Bella said quietly.

“Read it,” I told her.

Her eyes moved quickly across the screen. “He’s pushing,” she said. “Saying time’s running out.”

Nico huffed a quiet laugh. “He just got here.”

“He wants urgency,” I said. “If you rush, you slip.”

Another message came through.

Bella’s posture shifted just slightly, not enough for anyone else to notice, but I felt it.

“What,” I asked.

“He’s asking where you are,” she said. “What you’re doing. Who you’re with.”

“Fishing,” Gino muttered.

“Badly,” Nico added.

“Desperately,” I corrected.

Because that’s what it was. He didn’t have what he needed. And that made him dangerous.

Another message flashed. Bella didn’t read it out loud right away. That was enough to tighten something in my chest.

“Bella,” I said.

She exhaled softly. “He says if I don’t respond, he’s going to act without information.”

I leaned back slowly, my gaze sharpening.

“That’s not pressure,” I said. “That’s impatience.”

“And impatience gets people killed,” Gino added.

Bella’s fingers hovered over the keys. “He wants me to answer,” she said.

“He expects you to answer,” I replied. “That’s different.”

She glanced up at me. “What do you want me to say?”

I held her gaze for a second, then nodded slightly toward the screen. “Take control back,” I said. “Don’t give him what he asked for. Give him something he didn’t expect.”

Nico smirked. “I like this part.”

Bella didn’t smile. She turned back to the screen and started typing.

Not rushed. Not reactive.

Every word placed with intent.

She let it sit for a second before sending it, just long enough to remind him he wasn’t the one dictating the pace.

The message went through.

The dots appeared almost instantly.

“He’s glued to it,” Nico said.

Of course he was.

The dots flickered. Stopped.

Came back.

Gino leaned back slightly. “He’s thinking now.”

“He’s recalculating,” I corrected.

The reply came through.

Bella read it silently, her expression tightening just slightly.

“What did he say,” I asked.

She didn’t answer immediately. That was worse than anything. Then she looked up at me.

“He said he doesn’t need information anymore,” she said.

The room went still.

“He said he found something better.”

A quiet tension settled in, sharp and immediate.

“And?” I pressed.

Bella’s eyes dropped back to the screen. Her voice was steady when she spoke again.

“He said while I’ve been sitting here stalling…”

She paused for half a second. Then finished it.

“he’s already inside the game.”