Page 164 of Fractured Allegiance
He smiles. Doesn’t answer.
“Drazen said it was a delivery,” I press.
“It is.”
I narrow my eyes. “And?”
“And he wants you to be seen,” Dom says, shrugging like it’s the weather. “Just you. Sitting in the passenger seat. Pretty, present, unbothered.”
“By who?”
Another shrug. “Guess we’ll find out.”
I scan the bay again. The SUV’s back door is already open. In the rear seat: a single briefcase, chained to a steel loop on the floorboard.
My stomach knots.
Not because of the case.
Because this feels… orchestrated.
I turn back to Dom. “What’s in the case?”
He runs a thumb along the edge of his jaw. “That’s above your clearance.”
“You want me to ride next to something I can’t even ask about?”
“We’ve all got our parts to play,” he says. “You? You’re the reassurance.”
I laugh, dry and clipped. “Reassurance for what?”
He steps closer.
And this time, the grin drops. His voice cools. “For whoever’s watching.”
That does it.
My spine goes straight. My fingers curl.
“You think I don’t know what this is?” I whisper.
“Oh, I know you know better than most.”
Dom leans in, too close. “This whole city’s a lens, Lydia. The problem is, you never know if it’s a telescope or a scope with a trigger behind it.”
I look back at the car.
The way it’s positioned.
The briefcase, the driver, the guards—
This isn’t a delivery.
It’s bait.
I turn on my heel, already moving.
“Where are you going?” Dom calls behind me.
