“Smart girl,” Olivia smirks.Oh, she was planning to kill him.
“Once I’m in the car, you let Evie go. She’s just a child.”
“Sure thing. But if you do anything besides getting into that car...” She trails off again, brushing the gun against Evie’s head.
I meet Johnny’s eyes–no sparkle, no humor just ice and fury. “Johnny, help Gracie. Get her the care she needs. Promise me.”
He blinks, knowing this is our only option. “We’ll come for you.” I nod. Gunfire explodes in the elevator again.
Evie screams as Johnny jerks, a bullet tears into his right shoulder. Blood spreads down his sleeve, soaking his shirt, but he doesn’t fall. He doesn’t even stumble.
“What the fuck? We had a deal, you bitch.” I scream. The elevator is a pressure cooker, seconds from detonation.
“Calm the fuck down,” Olivia sneers. “That’s what he gets for running his mouth. Now walk.”
I breathe through the anger and fear. I can’t fall apart now. We exit the elevator, and I see a black car idling nearby. The driver steps out, raising his gun at me. My stomach sinks. Agent Alex. One of Ethan’s FBI friends. At the sight of him, realization hits me. I remember where I’ve seen Olivia before. She’s the delivery driver who picked me up the day I met up with Ethan.What the hell is going on?I scan the parking garage, checking the corners. No backup. No way out. I don’t stop moving. I walk straight to the car and get into the back seat as instructed.
“No, wait. I’m driving. You don’t know where we’re going,” Olivia says.
“Of course I do,” Alex replies.
“The drop-off location changed.”
“Why wasn’t I told.”
“We don’t have time for this.” Olivia waves her gun. “Keep yours on the elevator. Johnny’s in there just in case he tries something stupid.” Alex turns toward the elevator. Olivia shoves Evie aside and fires point-blank.Blood explodes from Alex’s head. His body drops like a marionette with its strings cut, his skull split, his brains on the pavement.
Olivia hops into the driver’s seat and slams the car into gear. I glance back just in time to see Evie running toward the elevator, toward safety, toward Johnny. Relief surges through me just as the car jerks left onto the street. I slam into the door, pain bursting through my side.
“Seatbelt,” Olivia shouts. “Can’t have the merchandise arrive damaged.”
“Fuck off. Drive carefully, then,” I snap. She hits the brakes. My head crashes into the back of the front seat. The crazy bitch did that on purpose.
“I’m not repeating myself, princess,” she says. “Put the motherfucking seatbelt on, or I’ll put a bullet in your kneecap. You’ll still be alive.”
“Okay, okay, chill out. There’s no need to be trigger-happy.” I buckle the belt, fingers trembling. This crazy bitch killed an FBI agent without blinking. I wonder if Alex was really an FBI agent.If she messes up my leg, I’ll be useless when Cyan comes for me. I touch the bracelet on my wrist, my fingertips grazing the gemstones. I can almost hear Cyan’s voice.Stay strong, Dove. Fight.
My thoughts drift to Gracie. Sweet, grounded, loyal Gracie. She’ll be okay. She must be. I won’t accept any other truth. Outside the window, street signs blur past. Dread coils tight in my gut. “Where are we going?” I ask. She doesn’t answer.
About fifteen minutes later, we pull into another underground garage full of parked cars, and we stop on the third floor down. The door opens, bringing with it the metallic scent of oil. I memorize everything: the walls, exits, and corners. Every detail. Anything that might save me later.
“Get out,” Olivia orders. I obey. A car door opens nearby, and footsteps echo as someone approaches. Each step is sharp, and my stomach knots. I stop, my body vibrating with disbelief.No, it can’t be.A wolf in sheep’s clothing, buried in Cyan’s flock, stops in front of me.
“I told you, princess. You’re beneath me.”
Olivia steps beside her, hand brushing down her side, and grins. “I told you I could get her for you, baby,” Olivia brushes a kiss against Lucilla’s lips like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
Lucilla lips curves. “You’re the best, love.” They’re together? Olivia holds something up, a glint of silver. Not a knife; it’s a syringe. Before I can move, she drives the needle into my neck. Fire blooms beneath my skin as images of Cyan, Evie, and Gracie flash. Then nothing. Blackness crashes in.
Fifty-Seven
“Hell isn’t fire, it’s silence. It’s knowing she’s out there, and I can’t fucking find her.” Cyan MacBrady.
“Special Agent Alex was on paid suspension,” Sebastian says from the other end of the call. “He and his partner Special Agent Lia were under investigation for taking bribes. Just left her place… her apartment’s crawling with cops. She was found hanging from her balcony this morning.” I hear rhythmic clicking through the line as Sebastian flicks his blinker. “They’re calling it a suicide. But knowing what we know, it could be a ruse, Lorenzo covering his tracks. Sorry C, it’s looking like this lead is another dead end.”
“Fuck!” I throw my phone across the office. It hits the wall and shatters. My hands swipe across my desk, sending everything crashing to the floor. That was our last lead. Aria and Olivia, who isn’t even using her real fucking name, are gone. We found her getaway car abandoned in a underground parking garage. Not a single trace of where she took Aria.
Jake hacked every traffic camera along the route.Nothing.J&G Accounting’s internal recordings were just as useless. Olivia stayed off grid, kept her head down, and avoided every angle. This woman is a ghost. I’ve never felt this helpless, not since that night when I was fifteen. I thought I knew hell. But this is worse. Not knowing is its own slow, silent torture. The office door swings open. Collin and Thomas walk in, eyes sweeping over the wreckage.
