The tension in the car was suffocating.
Alina sat in the backseat, her hands still gripping the flash drive like a lifeline. Her breath came in uneven gasps as she replayed the events of the last few minutes in her mind. The gunshots. Victor’s rage. The sheer terror of nearly dying.
Beside her, Lena was equally shaken, her face pale as she stared out the window.
Damon, however, was a different storm altogether.
His hands clenched the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles turned white. His jaw was locked, and his dark eyes burned with barely contained fury as he maneuvered the car through the streets of New York.
The silence was deafening.
And then—
“What the hell were you thinking?”
His voice cut through the quiet like a blade.
Alina flinched.
She turned
