The final outcomes appeared and shifted.
If I reached for the door now, he’d notice. If I lunged for the gun, I’d have one shot and not enough time to figure out how it worked. If I stayed still… I bought time.
There was barely time to think.
Barely enough time to choose.
We were driving deeper into Marco's territory and weren't heading toward any of the known omega stash houses I'd identified. This was somewhere new, somewhere Silas and Knox wouldn't know to come looking for me.
Yuri kept talking.
“…Mallory’s been pushing for movement,” he said. “You probably felt it, right? Things are speeding up.”
I nodded again, eyes forward, letting him believe the casual conversation was working.
The car began to slow.
Ahead, the harbor came into view, docks lined with fishing boats, trawlers, and rows of shipping containers.
Marco controlled the port. I knew that much from eavesdropping. His father, Enzo, had managed it under Arca’s authority, and kept things running within their rules.
Marco hadn’t been interested in rules.
He wanted his narcotics trade unchecked, untaxed, outside of Arca’s reach. So he took the port.
And now…
He controlled everything that came through these docks.
“Sorry,” Yuri muttered, barely even trying to sound convincing anymore. “Gotta stop and drop something off before we head to AIED. Just a minute.”
This was it.
If I didn’t move now, I wouldn’t get another chance.
Marco was here. I could feel it, like an old wound splittingopen.
The car turned into a paved lot, nearly empty, boxed in by towering shipping containers. As the vehicle slowed, one final outcome snapped into place in my mind with terrifying clarity.
This was my window.
Now or never.
I moved before Yuri brought the car to a full stop.
My hand shot to the lock, flipping it and then grabbing the handle for the door, yanking it open with all the strength I had. The metal flew wide just as Yuri turned, reaching for me—
Too late.
I twisted out of my seat, already halfway gone when his hand caught something.
My hair.
His fist wrapped in it, yanking hard.
Searing pain tore through my scalp, but I didn’t stop.
I threw my weight forward, ripping free as I hit the pavement, the force tearing strands from my head as I rolled clear of the car.
