Howl in the Dark

Chapter Five: The First Move

The knock came at exactly 3:00 AM.

Not frantic. Not hesitant. Deliberate. Like the person on the other side of the door knew I was awake. Knew I was already sitting in the dark, the cool weight of my gun resting in my palm, waiting.

Celeste tensed on the couch, her body going still in that way prey goes still when they know the predator has them in its sights. The blanket I’d given her was clutched so tightly in her fists that her knuckles had gone white.

Her silver eyes flicked toward me. “Lucas—”

I held up a hand. Wait.

Another knock. Three slow taps.

A message.

I rose from the chair, silent, my bare feet making no sound on the floor. My apartment was small—barely furnished, the kind of place you used as a hideout, not a home. But it had one advantage.

No one got in unless I let them.

Celeste stayed frozen, her breaths too shallow, too fast. Her heart was beating so hard I could hear it—feel it in the air between us.

She knew who it was.

So did I.

I kept my gun low as I approached the door, tilting my head just enough to listen. No movement. No shuffle of feet. Whoever was out there wasn’t afraid.

I cracked the door open an inch. Just enough to see.

Short. Skinny. A nervous twitch in his left eye.

Louis Barker.

I let out a slow breath through my nose. “Tell me you’re not here at this hour just to piss me off.”

Louis swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “He knows.”

The world narrowed.

I didn’t move. Didn’t react. My grip on the gun tightened just slightly. “Who?”

But I already knew.

Louis’ voice barely carried above a whisper. “Elias. He knows she’s here.”

Behind me, Celeste made a sound—a strangled, barely audible noise, like something had cracked inside her.

I stepped out into the hall, shutting the door behind me.

“How?”

Louis hesitated.

Wrong move.

I grabbed his collar and slammed him against the wall, hard enough that the back of his head made a dull thud against the peeling wallpaper.

“Don’t make me ask twice.”

Louis let out a sharp squeak, his hands flailing uselessly between us. “One of his guys saw you pull her out of the alley! Word spread. Elias—he’s pissed, man. Really pissed.”

No s**t.

I loosened my grip, letting Louis stumble slightly as he sucked in a shaky breath. “What else?”

He licked his lips, eyes darting past me to the door. He wanted to run. He knew better.

“They’re coming for her,” he finally said. His voice had dropped to something small, something close to fear.

I waited.

Louis swallowed. “Tonight.”

The air turned to ice.

I exhaled slowly, the weight of the moment settling deep in my bones. So this was it. No more waiting. No more hiding. They were making their move.

I nodded once. “You didn’t tell them you were coming here, did you?”

Louis let out a nervous laugh. “Nah, man. You know me—”

I shot him in the kneecap.

The gunshot shattered the silence.

Louis screamed, collapsing against the wall as blood spilled across the floor. His hands clutched at his ruined leg, his face twisting in agony.

“Jesus—Lucas—what the f**k—”

I crouched beside him, pressing the gun against his forehead.

“I told you not to lie to me.”

Tears streaked his face, his breaths coming fast and ragged. “I didn’t—I swear—”

I c****d the gun.

“Okay! Okay!” he sobbed. “They followed me! They’re already here!”

That’s what I thought.

I smiled. A small, cold thing.

Then I pulled the trigger.

The shot echoed down the empty hallway, and Louis’ body slumped sideways, his head hitting the floor with a dull thud. Blood pooled beneath him, dark and glistening.

I stood, flicking the safety back on as I turned toward the apartment door.

Celeste was already on her feet.

Her eyes were locked on the blood spreading across the floor.

She didn’t scream. Didn’t even flinch.

She just whispered, “They’re coming.”

I grabbed my keys. My gun. And then her hand, gripping it tight.

“Then let’s go.”