“Cut the containment seals,” he replies. “They’re designed to detonate under specific conditions. Disabling the seals will render them inert, but you’ll need to be careful—any sudden movement could trigger them.”

Careful. Right.

Eva’s Discovery

While I work on disabling the barrels, Eva’s voice crackles through the comm. “Dominic, I found something.”

“What is it?” I ask, my focus never wavering from the delicate work in front of me.

“It’s a ledger,” she says, her tone laced with urgency. “Shipping logs, payment records—it’s all here. This proves Reyes is behind the operation.”

“Good,” I say, relief flooding through me. “Secure it and get back to the exit.”

“Not yet,” she replies. “There’s something else—”

A loud crash cuts her off, followed by the sound of shouting. My blood turns to ice.

“Eva?” I demand, my voice sharp. “What’s happening?”

“Guards,” she says, her breathing ragged. “They found me.”

The Cliffhanger

I don’t hesitate. Leaving the barrels behind, I sprint toward the sound of her voice, weaving through the maze of containers.My pulse is deafening in my ears, every second stretching into eternity.

I round a corner just in time to see Eva struggling against two armed guards. One of them raises a weapon, and instinct takes over. I fire twice, the shots ringing out like thunder in the cavernous space. The first guard drops instantly, while the second scrambles for cover.

“Eva, run!” I shout, covering her as she bolts toward me.

The remaining guard fires back, the bullets ricocheting off the metal containers around us. I grab Eva’s arm, pulling her behind a stack of crates as we catch our breath.

“Are you okay?” I ask, scanning her for injuries.

She nods, her eyes wide but focused. “I got the ledger,” she says, holding up a small flash drive.

“Good,” I say, my voice grim. “Now let’s get out of here.”

The sound of reinforcements echoes through the warehouse, and I know we’re out of time. Reyes’s men are closing in, and the only way out is through them.

As we make our move, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Reyes knows we’re coming for him, and this battle is only the beginning. But as I glance at Eva, her determination unwavering, I know one thing for certain:

We’re not going down without a fight.

39

_____

Eva

The hum of the city outside feels like an unspoken reminder of the chaos we’re trying to unravel. Dominic’s voice carries low and sharp from the adjoining room as he speaks to Adrian, his words clipped and deliberate. The discovery of a sleeper agent within Kane Enterprises has left a bitter taste in all of this. Betrayal from within—it cuts deeper than Reyes’s external attacks ever could.

I sit at the dining table, Lena’s files spread in front of me like a chaotic mosaic of possibilities. Each email, report, and document hints at something larger, yet the threads refuse to form a cohesive picture. My frustration mounts as I scan through the same notes again and again.

Dominic enters the room, his tie loose and shirt sleeves rolled up. He looks every bit the man I first met—poised, confident, intense—but there’s a shadow in his eyes now, a weight that wasn’t there before.

“Adrian’s narrowed it down,” he says, stopping at the edge of the table. “Whoever’s feeding Reyes information has been doing it for months. It’s someone with access to high-level projects—someone I trusted.”

I look up, the weight in his voice matching the ache in my chest. “Do you think it’s someone close to you?”