WAYNE

CHAPTER 5

The warehouse smelled like smoke, metal, and blood.

Cold.

Empty.

Dangerous.

Exactly the way Travis preferred it.

Rain hammered heavily against the rooftop while large containers were unloaded near the docks, men moving quickly through the darkness with practiced precision. Trucks waited nearby with engines running low, headlights cutting through the stormy night as guards patrolled every corner of the property with rifles strapped across their shoulders.

Nobody relaxed around Travis Wayne.

Not fully.

Even the men loyal to him understood one thing clearly—Travis rewarded loyalty generously, but mistakes? Mistakes were deadly.

Tonight, he stood near one of the open containers silently inspecting a shipment while rainwater dripped slowly from the ends of his dark hair. Black gloves covered his hands as he checked through the contents carefully, expression calm enough to fool weaker men into thinking he was approachable.

He wasn’t.

Not even close.

“Everything checks out,” Tobi said as he walked toward him, tablet in hand. “Last shipment arrived an hour ago.”

Travis gave a slight nod before shutting the container himself.

“Security?”

“Clear.”

“Routes?”

“All covered.”

Only then did Travis finally look away from the shipment.

The docks stretched endlessly around them, surrounded by darkness and crashing waves. Most people feared places like this at night.

Travis didn’t.

This was his world.

Violence. Power. Blood. Control.

He thrived in it, understood these things better than he understood people.

Especially lately.

Especially her.

His jaw tightened slightly at the thought before he pushed it away immediately.

One of the men nearby suddenly approached carefully. “Boss, there’s something you should see.”

Travis looked at him once.

The man immediately straightened. “Sorry. I mean—there’s movement near Pier Twelve.”

Tobi frowned instantly. “Movement from who?”

“Couldn’t identify them yet.”

Travis’ expression darkened slightly. “How many?”

“Four. Maybe five.”

The atmosphere inside the warehouse shifted immediately.

Several men reached for their weapons automatically while Travis remained perfectly still, already calculating possibilities inside his head.

Police?

Competition?

Spies?

Or something worse.

Business had been suspiciously quiet lately.

And Travis trusted silence even less than violence.

“Send the Troll,” he ordered calmly.

The man nodded quickly before disappearing deeper into the warehouse.

Tobi glanced toward Travis afterward. “You think it’s connected?”

“Everything is connected.”

The simple response carried enough weight to silence the conversation completely.

A few moments later, footsteps echoed softly through the warehouse before another man emerged from the shadows.

Tall. Silent. Covered almost entirely in black.

The Troll.

Nobody knew his real name except Travis and Tobi.

And honestly, nobody asked.

He wasn’t exactly human to most of the men working here anyway.

Just a ghost Travis unleashed whenever things became complicated.

Spy. Assassin. Cleaner.

The kind of man people prayed never to encounter alone. Or at all.

“Pier Twelve,” Travis said simply.

The Troll nodded once before disappearing back into the darkness almost immediately.

Like smoke.

Tobi watched him leave before muttering under his breath, “Still creepy.”

Travis ignored the comment entirely.

His phone buzzed suddenly inside his pocket.

Tobi raised an eyebrow immediately. “You’re checking messages during an operation?”

Travis calmly pulled the phone out anyway ignoring Tobi's question.

And there she was.

Kora.

Just seeing her name eased something tense inside his chest without permission.

Annoying.

Kora: You disappeared all day.

A faint smirk touched his lips briefly before vanishing.

Tobi noticed immediately.

“Oh, this is bad,” he muttered dramatically. “You’re smiling at your phone now.”

“I’m not smiling.”

“You definitely are.”

Travis ignored him as he typed a response.

Travis: I’m working.

The reply came almost instantly.

Kora: At midnight?

His eyes lingered on the message longer than necessary.

Kora always questioned him without hesitation.

Most people feared him too quickly to challenge anything he said.

She didn’t.

And maybe that was becoming a problem.

Tobi leaned against one of the containers watching him carefully. “You know this is exactly how terrible decisions start, right?”

Travis looked up slowly. “What is?”

“Getting attached.”

The atmosphere shifted instantly.

Cold now.

Sharp.

Tobi sighed softly. “I’m serious, Trav.”

“I know.” Travis locked his phone before sliding it back into his pocket. “And I know what I’m doing.”

That answer should’ve sounded convincing.

Instead, even Travis knew it sounded like a lie.

Because lately, every decision involving Kora felt less controlled than the last.

And Travis hated losing control.

A gunshot suddenly echoed somewhere outside the warehouse.

Everyone froze instantly.

Another shot followed.

Then silence.

The warehouse erupted into movement immediately.

Weapons clicked.

Men spread out.

Orders were barked sharply through the darkness.

Travis grabbed his gun calmly from the table nearby before walking toward the exit without hesitation.

Tobi followed beside him instantly. “You think it’s them?”

“We’re about to find out.”

Rain poured heavily outside, soaking everything in sight while distant footsteps echoed near the docks. The cold wind carried the scent of saltwater and gasoline through the air as Travis moved carefully between stacked containers with his men following behind him.

One of the guards appeared from around the corner breathing heavily.

“Boss—we lost contact with two men near the east entrance.”

Travis’ expression hardened instantly.

“How long ago?”

“Three minutes.”

Too recent.

Whoever it was hadn’t gone far yet.

Travis continued forward silently, gun resting loosely in his hand while his eyes scanned every shadow carefully.

Another body was found moments later.

Alive. Barely conscious.

Tobi crouched beside the man briefly before standing again. “Professional.”

Travis already knew that.

No random street gang moved this cleanly.

This was organized.

Calculated and planned.

A quiet static sound suddenly came through one of the radios before the Troll’s voice finally spoke.

“Five men. Armed. Two near the cranes. Three moving north.”

Travis’ grip tightened slightly around his gun.

“Intercept them,” he ordered calmly.

A beat of silence followed.

Then—

“Already did.”

Gunshots exploded loudly seconds later somewhere deeper in the docks.

The sound echoed violently through the rain.

Then silence again.

Tobi exhaled sharply. “Well… that’s reassuring.”

Several more men rushed toward the noise while Travis continued walking forward without changing expression.

The calmness surrounding him during moments like this always unsettled people.

Bullets flying.

Blood everywhere.

Men screaming.

Yet Travis Wayne looked untouched by all of it.

As if violence itself had become second nature to him years ago.

Maybe it had.

A few minutes later, the Troll finally emerged from the darkness dragging one of the attackers behind him violently. Blood stained the concrete beneath the injured man while the other bodies remained somewhere unseen.

Alive. Barely.

The Troll shoved him onto the ground directly in front of Travis.

“He talked,” the Troll said simply.

Travis stared down at the bleeding man coldly. “Who sent you?”

The man laughed weakly despite the blood running down his mouth. “You really think this ends tonight?”

Wrong answer.

Travis crouched slowly in front of him, calm enough to be terrifying.

“I asked you a question.”

The man swallowed visibly.

Even injured, even bleeding out, fear still crawled into his eyes beneath Travis’ stare.

Good.

Before he could answer, Travis’ phone buzzed again.

Tobi actually looked offended this time. “Seriously?”

Travis ignored him once more before glancing at the screen.

Kora: You still owe me dinner by the way.

Something dangerous softened briefly inside him.

Just for a second.

And somehow that terrified him more than the bloodshed surrounding him right now.

Because standing here among guns, death, and violence felt normal to Travis.

But Kora?

Kora felt unfamiliar.

And unfamiliar things were unpredictable.

He didn't do unpredictable.

The injured man suddenly laughed again weakly. “That girl’s gonna die if she stays around you.”

Everything went still.

Completely still.

Tobi’s expression changed immediately.

The Troll slowly reached for another weapon.

But Travis reacted first.

One second he stood calmly.

The next, his gun was pressed directly against the man’s forehead.

The cold fury in his eyes made even the men around him step back slightly.

“What did you just say?” Travis asked quietly.

The man smirked through the blood. “Everybody knows about her already.”

For the first time that night, something genuinely dangerous flickered across Travis Wayne’s face.

Not anger.

Not rage.

Fear.

Pure, sharp and very real fear.

Because this world destroyed everything good eventually.

And Kora Grayson was far too good for a man like him.