Chapter 6: The First Shot
534 Words
The rain hadn’t stopped in three days. It slicked the streets, turned the city into a reflection of itself—beautiful, broken, dangerous.
Inside the Velenza estate, Zarek loaded his gun with the same calm precision he used to kill. Each click of metal was a promise.
Lucien sat on the bed, knees drawn to his chest, watching him.
> “You’re going out there,” Lucien said quietly.
Zarek didn’t answer. He holstered the weapon and pulled on his jacket, black leather stretching over muscle and scars.
Lucien stood. “What if you don’t come back?”
Zarek paused at the door. Turned.
> “Then you stay alive. That’s an order.”
Lucien’s throat tightened. “You think I can survive this without you?”
Zarek crossed the room in two strides, grabbed Lucien’s face, and kissed him—hard, deep, desperate. When he pulled back, his voice was low enough to cut glass.
> “You’re my reason for coming back. Don’t forget that.”
And then he was gone.
---
Two Hours Later — The Docks
The night roared with gunfire. Shadows moved like wolves across the wet concrete, masked men exchanging bullets with Zarek’s soldiers. The air stank of blood, metal, and salt.
Zarek moved through the chaos like a phantom, silent and merciless. One shot, two bodies down. A blade in the dark. Another man gurgling his last breath into the black water.
Renzo appeared at his side, breath sharp. “East wing cleared. No sign of Alder.”
Zarek’s eyes burned like a furnace. “He’s here. I can feel him.”
---
Elsewhere — Velenza Estate
Lucien couldn’t breathe. The panic room felt like a coffin, no matter how many times Zarek swore it was safe.
He paced. Sat. Stood again. The silence screamed louder than the gunfire echoing faintly through the walls.
Then his phone buzzed.
Blocked number.
His heart stopped.
> Unknown: “Did you think he could keep you safe, pretty thing?”
Lucien’s fingers trembled as he typed back.
> Lucien: “What do you want?”
A minute passed.
Then:
> Unknown: “Everything he promised you.”
Lucien stared at the words until they blurred. Another message came through, slower this time, like a whisper against his skin.
> Unknown: “Do you really think you’re different from the others he broke?”
Lucien’s stomach twisted.
> Lucien: “Stop.”
> Unknown: “I can show you who Zarek really is. Just say yes.”
His hands shook as he dropped the phone onto the bed.
He didn’t notice the small camera blinking red in the corner of the ceiling.
Didn’t notice Alder watching his every move.
---
The Docks — 03:14 AM
The gunfire faded. Smoke hung heavy over the water. Zarek stood among the bodies, boots slick with blood, rain plastering his hair to his forehead.
Renzo walked up, wiping blood from his cheek. “Thirty dead. None of them Alder.”
Zarek looked out at the black horizon. His voice was pure ice.
> “He’s not hiding.”
> “Then where is he?” Renzo asked.
Zarek’s jaw tightened.
> “With him.”
- Writer
