29. Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter twenty-nine
T he neon lights of the city blur beneath me as I perch on the rooftop, dressed in black with night vision goggles tight over my eyes. My heart thrums against my ribs, the thrill of the hunt pulsing through me.
"Four guards on rotation at the gate," I mutter, peering through binoculars at the fortress below. "Cameras on all corners. You're not keeping me out, Tane."
I won't let him kidnap anyone this time. Not anymore. Or at least I'll do my fucking best. Every minute anyone spends trapped in one of Tane's compounds, their light grows dimmer. Their creative spirits smothered, their fire dampened by Tane's cruelty. Plus, Devon and Angel have been kidnapped more than enough at this point. I don't know if either of them could survive another time. Hell, I don't know if I could survive another time.
My jaw clenches. The thought of my Valkyrie down there, collared and leashed, ignites a rage in my core. Left alone with hordes of Tane's creepy ass henchmen. She deserves so much more. Freedom. Passion. Adventure. I can't let that happen to her again.
I creep along the rooftop's edge, my boots silent on the gravel. At the rear corner, I anchor my rappelling line and hook my harness.
A breath to steady my nerves. Then I'm over the side, suspended in open air. The ground spins dizzily below as I descend, swallowed by shadows.
I'm coming for your information, Tane. I'm coming. And that's just one near-final step before we put your cruel reign to an end. Put you to an end.
I touch down in the alley, gravel crunching softly beneath my boots. Crouched low, I scan the perimeter, mapping my infiltration in my mind.
There—a gap in the camera coverage near the loading dock, just like Aidan showed us on the schematics. My pulse quickens.
"Almost there, Taney-tane," I whisper into the night. "Stay distracted for me."
I slip from shadow to shadow, all of my senses heightened.
The guards pace obliviously, assault rifles slack in their hands. Fools. They have no idea what's coming.
At the loading dock, I pull out my decryption device and get to work hacking the keypad. 30 seconds and I'm in. The door clicks open.
My lips curl in a smile. "Let's see what secrets you're hiding, Tane."
I ghost through the sterile halls, a specter in the darkness. Each step brings me closer to the answers we seek. I won't leave here without them. There is no room for mistakes this time.
Voices sound ahead, deep in conversation about something they saw on TikTok. I press myself flat against the wall, scarcely breathing as two guards pass. Oblivious, thankfully sucked into the latest clickbait rather than noticing little old me breaking in to their maximum security stronghold. My hand slides to the knife at my hip, hungering for violence, but I resist the urge. Not yet.
It's almost a shame they're terrible at their jobs and making this easy for me, removing the need for violence. But I know that time will come soon enough.
I find the main office and slip inside. My pulse thunders as I slot my flash drive into the computer. "Come on, come on," I urge through gritted teeth. The download commences, my eyes darting between door and screen.
Almost there. I'm almost—
Footsteps in the hall. I dart beneath the desk, forcing my breathing to steady. Just a guard's routine patrol. He'll pass soon enough.
And then Tane's secrets will be ours.
The guard' s heavy footsteps grow louder as he approaches the office door. It's thankfully a large desk, but even so I'm awkwardly crunched underneath it. I hold perfectly still beneath the desk, my muscles tensed and ready to react. Obviously, I'd prefer not to draw attention to myself and therefore our plan, but sometimes you've gotta do what you've gotta do.
The door creaks open. I see the guard's boots enter, and hear him shuffling around the room. Checking things casually, he has no idea I'm here. After a few agonizing moments, he turns and leaves, the door clicking shut behind him.
I let out a silent breath of relief, not that I didn't get to hurt the asshole, but because he didn't cause a delay in our plans. The download finishes, and I pocket the flash drive. Time to get out of here.
I crack the door open, peeking out. All clear. I slip into the hallway, moving swift and silent through the corridors. Almost to the exit.
Suddenly, there's a shout from behind—I've been spotted. Fuck! No time for stealth now.
I break into a sprint, my boots pounding the concrete floor. More yelling, and then gunshots, bullets ricocheting off the walls around me. Adrenaline surges through my veins as I barrel toward the exit.
I burst out into the night air, my pulse roaring in my ears. The guards are close behind, still shooting. I weave and dodge, making for the shadows of the alley ahead.
A bullet grazes my shoulder but I keep going, fueled by determination, ignoring the searing pain that shoots through my shoulder and upper arm.
I lose them in the dark maze of alleys, scrambling up a fire escape to the rooftops.
Only when I'm a safe distance away, lost in the glittering sea of the island city, do I finally stop to catch my breath. I made it.
And now Tane's secrets are ours.
I glance down at my shoulder, seeing the tear in my shirt and the blood seeping through. Just a graze, but it stings something fierce. No time to tend to it now though. I've got what I came for.
I make my way across the rooftops, using the skills Rake taught me to leap silently between buildings. Parkour basically makes everything a giant playground and I'm fucking here for it. The city spreads out below me, neon and headlights twinkling in the night. Silhouettes of palm trees flicker, and the ocean spreads out into forever, dark and dangerous. Up here, everything almost looks beautiful, hiding its dark underbelly.
My thoughts go to Devon, hoping she's holding up okay while I'm gone. This info could be the key to taking Tane down for good. To finally getting our lives back. She's been so strong through it all, but I know it wears on her. That every time Tane's name is mentioned, her memories of her father's actions, and how this all started, come flooding back.
As I reach the rendezvous point, Zeke comes into view, pacing anxiously. His head snaps up when he hears me, relief flooding his face. "Skyler! You made it. Are you alright?" His brow furrows at the blood on my shoulder.
"Just a scratch," I say, tapping the flashdrive in my pocket and then yanking my hoodie off my head and running my fingers through my hair. "But I got it. Let's get out of here."
He nods, all business again. We descend the fire escape and load into the idling car below.
Dom is at the wheel, his face grim. But he cracks a smile when he sees me. "Welcome back, killer."
I grin wearily back at him. It's good to see my family again.
Dom taps me on the shoulder supportively as we speed off into the night, our mission complete. For now.
I give Zeke and Dom a quick rundown of the mission as Dom expertly navigates the dark streets. How I infiltrated the compound, avoiding the patrols. Swiping the intel from Tane's office. My narrow escape when the guard showed up.
"You took a big risk going in there solo," Zeke says, concern in his eyes. "But it paid off. This intel could expose all of Tane's operations."
I nod. "It was worth it. That bastard's done too much damage already."
"Do you think he'll figure out it was us?"
I shrug. "I don't think anyone saw my face, with my hoodie pulled down like that. But I'm sure he'll have suspicions he's unable to prove."
Dom's tattooed knuckles whiten on the steering wheel, and he lifts a hand to crack his fingers. "When do we take the fight to him? I'm done waiting around. Sneaking around has its uses, but I'm ready for these knuckles to come into contact with some skulls."
"Soon," Zeke assures him. "We just need to decipher these files, and find his weak spots."
Dom grunts unhappily but doesn't say anything further. He knows this plan is right, as frustrating as waiting may be.
We pull into the hidden garage of our command center. Home sweet home.
Devon and Rake are waiting for us inside, pacing anxiously. They rush over when they see us. "Well?" Rake asks impatiently.
"We got what we needed." I hold up the flash drive triumphantly.
He grins. "Well done, man." He slaps me on the shoulder and pain surges down my arm. I wince.
Devon shakes her head, her eyes fiery. "It's not worth losing you. None of this. I'm so glad you're safe." She gestures at my injury. "What happened to you, Sky?"
"Just a little gunshot," I shrug, and wince at the pain the action causes. "Nothing serious."
Her mouth flies open. "A gunshot? And you're playing it off like it was nothing? Clearly you're in pain."
"Hey, it was a graze. And it'll take more than that to kill me," I say lightly, though her concern warms me.
Devon squeezes my other shoulder.
Zeke nods. "Okay, let's debrief so we can start analyzing this intel with the rest of the team. We don't have any time to waste."
I take a deep breath and nod. Mission accomplished, but the real work is just beginning.
I follow Devon into a large open room filled with computer stations and monitors. The rest of the team is already gathered. They look up expectantly as I enter.
I toss the flash drive to Zeke. "Let's see what secrets this holds."
He plugs it into the main computer and gets to work decoding the encrypted files. Screens fill with data—financial records, communications, shipment manifests.
"Jackpot," Zeke murmurs. "This is just about everything we need to take down his operation."
I feel a fierce surge of satisfaction. After everything Tane has done to us, all the pain he's caused, we finally have him.
Satisfied with what he sees on his many screens, Zeke stands and approaches. He squeezes my shoulder, pride in his usually stern eyes. "You did good, man."
Zeke's opinion always carries extra weight with me, and I feel a little smile threatening to break out.
"Hell yeah he did!" Rake crows. "Now let's use this to make Tane sorry he ever messed with us."
I meet Devon's gaze across the room. In that moment, an unspoken promise passes between us. We're going to tear Tane's empire down, piece by piece, until there's nothing left. This ends so soon I can taste it. Aria's up next, her role filling in one more piece in Tane's evil puzzle.
My heart pounds with anticipation.
Tane took everything from us, but now we're taking it back.
And this time, we won't stop until the job is done.