CHAPTER 16
1142 Words
WINTER POV
The car ride was too quiet.
No music.
No small talk.
Just tension.
Thick.
Heavy.
Waiting.
I sat between Dante and the door, my fingers curled tightly in my lap. Outside, the city blurred past in streaks of light and shadow—but I barely saw it.
All I could think about was one thing.
He’s coming.
Or worse—
He’s already there.
“You’re thinking too loud.”
I glanced at Kai in the front seat.
“I’m not saying anything.”
“You don’t have to,” he said.
Annoying.
Accurate.
I looked away.
Dante’s arm brushed mine slightly.
Not accidental.
Not fully intentional either.
Grounding.
Again.
“Stick to the plan,” he said quietly.
“I know the plan.”
“Then trust it.”
I let out a breath.
“I trust you.”
The words slipped out before I could stop them.
Silence.
Not awkward.
Just… heavy.
Dante didn’t respond right away.
But his hand shifted slightly closer to mine.
Not touching.
But there.
That was enough.
The car slowed.
Then stopped.
My heart picked up instantly.
“This is it,” Luca said from the front.
I looked out the window.
An empty building.
Quiet street.
Too quiet.
Of course.
“Positions?” Kai asked.
“Already set,” Luca replied. “Perimeter covered. Eyes on all exits.”
Dante opened his door first.
Then looked at me.
“Stay close.”
“I will.”
He stepped out.
I followed.
The night air hit me instantly—cool, sharp, real.
Everything felt louder now.
Every step.
Every breath.
Every heartbeat.
Kai moved ahead slightly.
Luca stayed behind.
Dante stayed beside me.
A formation.
A shield.
Just like before.
Only this time—
We were walking into it.
Inside, the building was empty.
Concrete floors.
Dim lighting.
Echoes that stretched too far.
Every sound bounced back at us.
“Clear,” a voice crackled through Luca’s earpiece.
“Clear,” another followed.
I swallowed.
“Where do we—”
A loud metallic clang echoed from deeper inside.
We all froze.
There it was.
Dante’s hand came to my lower back instantly.
Steady.
Guiding.
“Stay behind me.”
I didn’t argue.
Not this time.
We moved deeper.
Step by step.
Slow.
Controlled.
Every instinct in my body screamed.
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
Kai’s hand hovered near his weapon.
Luca’s eyes scanned everything.
Dante—
Still.
Focused.
Deadly.
Another sound.
Closer now.
A scrape.
A shift.
Then—
A voice.
“Finally.”
My blood ran cold.
Marcus.
He stepped out of the shadows like he’d been waiting there all along.
Because he had.
No panic.
No surprise.
Just that same calm, twisted smile.
“You made this easy,” he said.
Dante didn’t move.
“Drop the act,” he replied coldly.
Marcus chuckled softly.
“What act?”
“You disappearing,” Dante said. “You wanted this.”
“Of course I did.”
My stomach dropped.
No.
No no no—
“This wasn’t our trap,” I whispered.
Marcus’s eyes flicked to me.
“Smart girl.”
Everything inside me went cold.
“It was mine.”
The words hit like a punch.
“Spread out!” Dante snapped.
Too late.
Lights exploded overhead.
Blinding.
Shouting filled the space.
Gunshots cracked through the air.
Everything shattered at once.
“DOWN!” Kai yelled.
Dante shoved me hard behind a concrete pillar just as a bullet slammed into the wall where I’d been standing.
My ears rang.
My heart pounded so hard I couldn’t think.
“They’re everywhere!” Luca shouted.
More shots.
More movement.
More chaos.
This wasn’t a meet.
This was an ambush.
A full one.
And we walked straight into it.
“Stay here!” Dante ordered.
“No—”
“Stay. HERE.”
His voice left no room for argument.
Then he was gone.
Moving.
Fighting.
Kai followed.
Luca stayed just long enough to check me.
“Don’t move,” he said quickly. “No matter what.”
Then he ran too.
And just like that—
I was alone.
Gunfire echoed around me.
Shouts.
Footsteps.
Pain.
Chaos.
I pressed myself against the pillar, trying to breathe, trying to stay calm—
Don’t freeze.
I forced myself to think.
To listen.
To move if I had to.
Another shot.
Closer.
Too close.
A shadow moved across the floor.
Not one of them.
Different.
Slower.
Deliberate.
My breath caught.
“No…”
He stepped into view.
Marcus.
Untouched.
Unbothered.
Like the chaos didn’t touch him at all.
Because it didn’t.
This was his.
All of it.
“Told you,” he said softly.
My heart slammed.
I backed up instinctively.
“Stay away from me.”
He smiled.
“Still fighting,” he murmured. “I like that.”
I grabbed the nearest thing—a metal rod lying near the wall.
My grip tightened.
“I said stay away.”
His eyes flicked to it.
Amused.
“You think that’ll help you?”
“I don’t need to win,” I said, voice shaking but strong. “I just need to stall.”
Something shifted in his expression.
Interest.
Then—
He moved.
Fast.
I swung.
Hard.
He caught it.
Easily.
Twisted it from my grip—
And tossed it aside like it meant nothing.
“Still predictable,” he said.
My stomach dropped.
But I didn’t stop.
I moved again.
Different this time.
Lower.
Faster.
Just like Kai taught me—
I aimed for his knee.
Connected.
He stumbled—
Just enough.
I turned—
Ran—
A hand grabbed my arm.
Yanked me back.
Hard.
Pain shot through my shoulder.
“Not this time,” Marcus said.
I struggled.
Kicked.
Fought.
Everything I had.
But he was stronger.
Always stronger.
“I gave you a choice,” he said, dragging me closer. “Now I’m taking it.”
“No—!”
I twisted, trying to break free—
A gunshot rang out.
Marcus froze.
So did I.
His grip loosened.
Just slightly.
I turned—
Dante stood a few feet away.
Gun raised.
Eyes deadly.
“Let. Her. Go.”
The words were quiet.
But lethal.
Marcus smiled slowly.
“You won’t shoot.”
Dante didn’t blink.
“Try me.”
Silence stretched.
Tight.
Explosive.
My heart pounded so loud I could barely hear anything else.
Marcus’s grip tightened again.
Testing.
Pushing.
Dante’s finger shifted on the trigger.
I saw it.
He would.
He actually would.
For me.
Marcus saw it too.
And for the first time—
He hesitated.
Just a second.
But it was enough.
Kai came out of nowhere—
Slamming into Marcus from the side.
The gun went off.
The shot echoed—
And everything went still.
For one terrifying second…
I didn’t know who got hit.
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