CHAPTER 7
1398 Words
The sound of rain against Travis’ penthouse windows should’ve been calming.
Instead, it irritated him.
Everything irritated him tonight.
The silence.
The tension.
The feeling sitting heavily in his chest that something was wrong.
He stood near the massive floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city below, one hand tucked into his pocket while the other held a glass of whiskey he hadn’t touched in nearly twenty minutes. The skyline glittered beautifully beneath the storm, cars moving through wet streets like streams of light far below.
Normally, views like this reminded him why he’d built the empire he had.
Power.
Control.
Freedom.
But lately, his thoughts had become occupied by someone else entirely.
Kora.
Again.
Always her.
His phone buzzed against the marble counter nearby.
Tobi.
Travis answered immediately. “Talk.”
“We found another leak.”
His expression darkened instantly. “Inside?”
“Yeah.” Tobi sounded irritated. “Movement schedules got intercepted again. Same pattern as the docks.”
Travis’ grip tightened slightly around the whiskey glass.
“That’s twice in one week.”
“I know.”
Silence stretched briefly between them before Tobi spoke again.
“You think it’s connected to whoever’s been watching the shipments?”
“Everything’s connected.”
The response came automatically now.
Because in Travis’ world, coincidences usually ended with bodies.
“We’ve already started tracing communications,” Tobi continued. “But whoever it is—they’re careful.”
Careful irritated Travis even more.
Sloppy enemies died quickly.
Careful enemies became problems.
“And the docks?” Travis asked quietly.
“Cleaned up.”
“What about the survivor?”
A pause.
“Dead.”
Of course he was.
Travis leaned against the counter slowly, eyes darkening. “Before or after interrogation?”
“Before.”
That immediately sharpened something dangerous inside him.
Convenient.
Too convenient.
Which meant someone was already covering tracks.
“Tobi.”
“Yeah?”
“Pull everyone’s records again.”
Another pause followed.
“You think the leak is someone close?”
“I think somebody’s getting bold.”
And Travis hated bold people.
Especially when they started moving near his operations.
Especially now.
His phone buzzed again before Tobi could respond further.
Kora.
A picture message.
Travis opened it instinctively.
Kora stood inside her bakery kitchen holding up a tray of ruined cupcakes with an unimpressed expression on her face. Flour dusted her dark cheeks while her dark hair was tied messily back away from her face.
Kora: This is your fault somehow.
The tightness in his chest eased slightly without permission.
Tobi noticed the silence immediately. “That her?”
Travis ignored the question.
“Continue tracing internal calls,” he ordered calmly. “Nobody leaves the warehouses without clearance until I say so.”
“Got it.”
Then the call ended.
Travis stared at Kora’s picture for a few seconds longer than necessary before typing back.
Travis: Maybe you’re a terrible baker.
Her reply came almost immediately.
Kora: And yet you still keep showing up.
Kora: If that were true you wouldn't.
A faint smirk touched his lips briefly.
Annoying woman.
Dangerous woman.
Because somehow she’d started becoming the only part of his day that felt remotely normal.
And that alone made her a weakness.
His eyes shifted toward the city again.
The black SUV from earlier hadn’t left his thoughts.
Neither had the leak.
Or the dead informant.
Something was moving beneath the surface now. Quietly. Carefully.
And Travis could feel it.
A knock interrupted his thoughts moments later before one of his men entered the penthouse cautiously.
“Boss.”
Travis turned slowly. “What?”
The man swallowed slightly before speaking. “We found one of the missing guards.”
That got his attention immediately.
“Alive?”
“Barely.”
Travis set the untouched whiskey glass down. “Where?”
“South docks.”
“Bring the car around.”
The man nodded quickly before leaving again.
Within minutes, Travis was already heading downstairs toward the underground garage while pulling on his black gloves. The atmosphere around him had shifted completely now.
Cold.
Focused.
Predatory.
The McLaren 750S roared loudly to life the second he entered it, headlights cutting sharply through the rain outside as the gates opened automatically.
Storm clouds covered the city heavily tonight, thunder rumbling faintly overhead while Travis sped through the wet streets dangerously fast.
His mind kept replaying the same thing repeatedly.
Dead informant.
Internal leak.
Unknown surveillance.
And now a missing guard suddenly reappearing.
None of it was random anymore.
By the time Travis arrived at the docks nearly twenty minutes later, several armed men already surrounded the area. Rain poured heavily around them while flashing lights reflected across the wet concrete.
Tobi approached immediately the second Travis stepped out of the car.
“He’s inside.”
“How bad?”
Tobi’s jaw tightened slightly. “Pretty bad.”
That alone irritated Travis further.
The warehouse doors screeched open loudly as they entered, revealing one of the guards tied to a chair near the center of the room.
Blood covered his clothes completely.
One eye swollen shut.
Hands shaking violently.
He looked terrified.
Not injured.
Terrified.
Travis noticed immediately.
He walked forward slowly until he stood directly in front of the man.
“Who did this to you?” he asked calmly.
The guard swallowed hard.
“They—they knew everything.”
Travis’ eyes narrowed slightly. “Who?”
The man’s breathing became uneven. “I didn’t see faces.”
“Then tell me what you did see.”
A long pause followed before the guard whispered shakily:
“Their leader.”
Tobi and Travis exchanged a quick glance immediately.
Leader.
Interesting.
“What about him?” Travis asked quietly.
The guard looked visibly pale now. “He knew your name.”
Not surprising.
“Everybody knows my name.”
“No…” the guard whispered weakly. “Not like that.”
Something cold settled heavily in the warehouse.
Rain hammered violently outside while silence stretched uncomfortably between them.
Travis crouched slightly in front of the injured man now.
“What did he say?”
The guard’s hands trembled harder.
“He said…”
His voice cracked.
“He said you were becoming distracted.”
Every muscle in Travis’ body went still instantly.
Tobi noticed it too.
Because very few people would ever dare say something like that unless they knew Travis personally.
Very personally.
Travis’ voice lowered dangerously. “What else?”
The guard swallowed painfully.
“He said…”
A sudden gunshot exploded through the warehouse.
The guard’s head snapped backward violently before his body slumped lifelessly against the chair.
Blood splattered across the floor.
Chaos erupted instantly.
“SNIPER!” somebody shouted loudly.
Men immediately reached for weapons while others scattered for cover.
Another shot rang out, shattering one of the warehouse windows violently.
Travis reacted instantly, grabbing his gun while scanning the rooftops outside through the rain.
Tobi ducked behind one of the containers nearby. “Where the hell is he?!”
More gunshots exploded outside rapidly now.
Not random.
Organized.
Several black SUVs suddenly appeared near the docks entrance, headlights flashing through the storm while armed men stepped out rapidly.
Travis’ expression darkened instantly.
An ambush.
Planned carefully enough to hit one of his secured locations directly.
Which meant the leak inside his organization was worse than they thought.
Bullets tore through the warehouse walls violently while Travis fired back without hesitation, dropping one of the attackers immediately.
Screams echoed outside.
Gunfire exploded everywhere.
Rain mixed with blood across the concrete.
And through all of it, Travis’ mind kept replaying one thing repeatedly.
You’re becoming distracted.
Another gunshot rang out near him suddenly, narrowly missing his shoulder before embedding into the metal behind him.
Tobi cursed loudly nearby. “Trav!”
Then Travis saw it.
A figure standing near one of the black SUVs outside.
Watching him.
Not shooting.
Watching.
Tall.
Still.
Calm despite the chaos around him.
The figure slowly pulled out his phone.
Seconds later, Travis’ own phone buzzed inside his pocket.
Everything inside him sharpened dangerously.
Slowly, without taking his eyes off the figure outside, Travis pulled the phone out.
Unknown Number.
The rain thundered violently outside as he answered.
Silence greeted him first.
Then finally—
A voice.
Bold enough to make Travis freeze completely.
“You’ve gotten careless boy.”
- Writer
