Chapter 56 FORMIDABLE OPPONENT
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
KANE'S POV
I sat in the driver’s seat of the black SUV, tablet balanced on my thigh, watching grainy feeds from the security cams I’d hacked twenty minutes earlier. Men moved like ants across the docks…..loading crates, checking manifests, pretending this was just another night of legitimate shipping.
But I knew better. Every container here carried something that didn’t belong on any official ledger. Women. Lives packaged and sold. Savy’s empire.
He’d killed one of my men a week ago. Clean shot through the head. Another was still in the hospital with a bullet lodged in his femur. That kin
Tonight I would burn his whole operation to ash. Lure him out of whatever hole he was hiding in. Then I’d find his sister, make sure she never walked again. Sweet. Simple till I finally execute him the way I want for ruining my life.
I waited for the ladies to be loaded, wouldn't want to endager their lives. Some of my men would take by sea and rescue the girls.
I killed the tablet screen and stepped out into the humid night. My boots hit gravel.
Immediately I felt the red dots dancing across my chest, laser sights from the gate towers. Armed guards stiffened, fingers tightening on triggers. I didn’t flinch. Didn’t slow. My men were already in position: snipers on the rooftops, Abel inside the main warehouse overriding their systems, flash-bangs ready. They could drop every one of these bastards before the first scream finished echoing.
I walked straight toward the gates like I owned the place. Because tonight, I did.
Then I heard it, low growl of a motorcycle engine cutting through the night. Fast. Precise. I glanced over my shoulder.
A black bike tore around the corner of the container yard, rider leaning hard into the turn. She carved a perfect circle in front of me, tires screaming, kicking up dust and gravel. The bike stopped sideways, blocking my path just enough to force attention.
Helmet came off in one smooth motion. Long dark hair spilled free, catching the sodium lights like oil on water. Sharp cheekbones, full lips, eyes the color of storm clouds. Beautiful in the way a blade is beautiful.
Eliana.
My mother had brought her to the house once. Said something cryptic about alliances and old bloodlines. I hadn’t cared then. I barely cared now.
I looked away and kept walking.
“Hey!”
She was following.
I didn’t stop.
“It’ll thrill you to know Savy planted a bomb in the main building,” she called. “Five minutes from now it blows. Whole place goes up.”
I stopped.
Turned slowly.
She stood maybe ten feet away, arms loose at her sides, expression calm. Too calm.
“He knew you were coming,” she said. “He’s been waiting.”
I studied her for a moment. Then pulled out my phone and opened the secondary feed, the one I’d ignored earlier because I was so damn sure everything was under control. The camera angled at the rear loading bay showed it clear as day: a black duffel tucked beneath a stack of pallets. Red light blinking. Steady and counting.
My jaw clenched.
I lifted the phone to my ear. “Abel. Pull everyone out. Now. No hesitation.”
“Copy, boss. Moving.”
Eliana watched me, one brow arched slightly. “Told you.”
I turned back toward the gates. Still walking.
“You’re going to die,” she said, falling into step beside me. Voice low, almost gentle.
“Seriously.”
The first gunshot cracked the night open.
I dropped low, dragging her down with me behind the nearest shipping container. Bullets pinged off metal, sparks flying. My pulse stayed even, training, not fear. I drew my Glock, returned fire in controlled bursts. Two guards at the gate tower went down. Another appeared from the shadows to my left. I put two in his chest before he could aim.
Behind us, closer now, a different sound. High-pitched. Beeping.
I glanced over my shoulder.
The beeping was coming from my own SUV.
The one I’d left idling twenty yards away.
Bomb. They’d wired my damn escape.
Rage flared hot in my throat.
“Boss, you good?” Abel’s voice in my earpiece.
“Yeah. Get clear. I’ll handle myself.”
“We’re already out. Copy.”
Eliana was already moving, crawling toward her motorcycle, which had skidded to a stop nearby. She grabbed the spare helmet strapped to the back and tossed it at me.
“Put it on.”
I caught it one-handed. Stared at her.
“You’ll die if you don’t,” she said.
I laughed, short, bitter. “I can’t die.”
She dropped to one knee beside me, eyes flashing. “I know it’s about your stupid ego. But right now your ego is about to get both of us blown to pieces.”
She slammed the keys into my palm.
I looked down at them. Then at her.
Then at the SUV, beeping faster now.
I shoved the helmet on, swung my leg over the bike. She climbed on behind me without hesitation, arms sliding around my waist, grip firm. Not clinging. Trusting me to get us out.
I twisted the throttle.
The bike roared to life.
We shot forward, weaving between containers as gunfire chased us. Bullets whined past my ear. One grazed the mirror, shattered glass sprayed. Eliana ducked lower, chin tucked against my shoulder blade. Her heartbeat hammered against my back through the leather.
I took the corner hard, rear tire sliding, then straightened out onto the access road. Behind us the warehouse erupted.
The second blast followed seconds later. My SUV disappeared in a fireball that painted the night red.
I didn’t look back.
We rode in silence for miles.
Eventually the port lights faded. I pulled off onto a deserted stretch of coastal road, killed the engine. The sudden quiet was deafening.
I yanked the helmet off. Sweat stung my eyes.
Eliana slid off the bike, stepping around to face me. Hair wild from the ride. Cheeks flushed. Breathing steady.
“You’re welcome,” she said.
I stared at her. “How’d you know?”
“About the bombs?” She shrugged one shoulder. “I pay attention. Savy’s been bragging in the wrong circles. Thought someone should warn you before you walked into a coffin.”
“Why?”
She tilted her head. “Because your mother asked me to keep an eye on you. And because… I don’t like seeing good men die stupidly.”
I snorted. “I’m not a good man.”
“Maybe not.” Her gaze didn’t waver. “But
you’re not done yet.”
Something twisted in my chest, anger, gratitude, suspicion, all tangled together. I didn’t know what to do with it.
“Savy’s stronger than I thought,” I muttered, more to myself.
She nodded slowly. “He is.”
“The stronger the better” i chuckled..she looked at me and shook her head.
“You are one tough lady” I gave it to her.
“You’re staying?” I asked.
She gave a small, dangerous smile. “Only if you stop being an idiot long enough to let me.”
I didn’t answer right away.
“I must tell you…I'm taken already” I said starting the motorcycle
“So i can never look at you that way”