“Adrian!” I shout, my ears ringing.

“We’re fine,” he replies, his voice sharp. “It was a decoy. Reyes isn’t here.”

The words send a surge of fury through me. Reyes had planned for this, leading us into a trap while he moved elsewhere.

Eva pushes herself up, her face pale but determined. “We have to go after him.”

“We will,” I say, my voice like steel. “But first, we regroup.”

As we exit the building, Adrian’s phone buzzes. He answers it quickly, his expression darkening with every word.

“What now?” I demand.

He hangs up, his jaw tight. “Reyes is on the move. He’s heading to the docks.”

“The docks?” Eva asks, her voice laced with confusion.

Adrian nods. “It’s his last stronghold. If we don’t stop him there, we may lose him for good.”

I glance at Eva, her face a mix of fear and determination. “Then we don’t stop,” I say, my tone resolute.

The SUV roars to life as we race toward the docks, the weight of the night pressing down on us.

This isn’t just about ending Reyes anymore. It’s about survival.

And I’ll do whatever it takes to protect Eva.

Even if it costs me everything.

29

_____

Eva

I sit on the edge of the bed in Dominic’s penthouse, knees drawn to my chest, staring at the muted city lights glowing beyond the window. My body feels like a frayed wire—tense, brittle, ready to snap at the slightest pressure. The events of the last twenty-four hours replay over and over in my mind: the high-speed chase, the masked man’s gun aimed at us, Conrad slipping through our fingers.

But the worst part? The gnawing realization that I’ve been a pawn in this game from the start.

I trusted Dominic—trusted that he had my back, that he’d tell me everything. Now, the cracks are starting to show, and I don’t know how much of what we had was real.

The sound of Dominic’s footsteps pulls me from my spiral. His presence is impossible to ignore—every step deliberate, the weight he carries into a room palpable. He enters slowly,his usually impeccable suit rumpled, shirt collar undone, and tie missing. Even Dominic, the man who always seems untouchable, is fraying at the edges.

“Eva,” he says softly, his voice gravelly with exhaustion. “Talk to me.”

I glance at him briefly before turning away. My pulse pounds in my ears, drowning out his words. Anger bubbles inside me, mixing with something I can’t quite name—something that feels a lot like heartbreak.

“You knew,” I whisper, the words escaping before I can stop them.

Dominic freezes, his posture taut. “What?”

I stand, clutching the printouts I’ve been poring over for hours. Emails, leaked files—proof that Conrad had been using me all along. And worse, proof that Dominic might have known about the backdoor in his system long before I stumbled into this mess.

I shove the papers at him, my hands shaking. “This. You knew about Conrad’s access. Maybe not everything, but enough to know something was wrong.”

Dominic takes the papers, his blue eyes scanning the pages. With every line he reads, his jaw tightens. When he finally looks up, his expression is unreadable, his eyes stormy.

“It’s not what you think,” he says, his voice low and careful.