Chapter 19 #3
Olivia unconsciously drifted a step closer, and I moved behind her automatically, my palm settling against her waist.
“One thing FangTech takes seriously is product testing,” I murmured near her ear. Her attention stayed locked on Calix as he loaded the magazine with practiced ease.
“Everything here is magically reinforced,” I continued softly while guiding her forward. “You can get as close as you want.”
She stepped nearer to the glass, and I followed until my chest almost brushed her back.
Calix cocked the slide back smoothly. Olivia’s breath caught quietly.
At the same moment, my fingers slipped beneath the edge of her shirt, absently tracing circles against her cool skin.
Her shoulders twitched. Not away, but toward me.
The combination of her trying to focus on Calix while melting beneath my touch was dangerously addictive.
My lips brushed the side of her neck, and she gasped softly.
Bang.
The gunshot cracked through the range, and Olivia jerked, eyes going wide as she clutched her head.
One second, she was standing in front of me, and the next her entire body went limp.
“Olivia?” My heart slammed painfully against my ribs as I caught her before she hit the floor. “Olivia!”
Her fingers clawed weakly at her head, her face twisted in agony. Her teeth ground together hard enough that if she’d still been human, they would’ve shattered.
Cold terror flooded straight through me, and I hauled her into my arms, my pulse roaring in my ears so loudly everything else blurred into static.
Calix was suddenly there, appearing outside the booth so fast the air itself cracked.
“Rack, what’s going on? What happened to her?”
His eyes raked over Olivia, searching for blood, for damage, for anything physical he could fix.
“There’s no wound,” he muttered sharply, frustration tightening every word as his hands hovered near her stomach.
At the sound of his voice, Olivia jerked hard. Her eyes snapped open wide enough to show too much white.
Fear flooded them.
“Calix—” She grabbed his forearm with both hands so tightly her knuckles blanched. “I remember.”
The words tumbled out breathlessly.
“I remember what happened.” Her grip tightened harder, nails biting into his skin, as panic climbed into her voice. “And you’re in danger. He’s planning to kill you.”
Silence crashed into the room. Calix’s head slowly turned toward me, and I stared right back at him. His expression went flat.
“Bring her to my office,” he said evenly. “We’ll talk there.” Then he vanished.
Air magic surged beneath my feet, propelling me forward with Olivia clutched tightly against my chest as I followed him through the hallways.
By the time I crossed the threshold into his office, Calix already had the door open. The second we entered, he slammed it shut and locked it.
Click.
The glass walls shimmered black immediately, looking mirrored from the outside. No one would see in.
I carefully lowered Olivia onto the couch. The color she’d regained earlier had vanished again. Her skin looked pale beneath the office lighting while her stare drifted somewhere far beyond the room.
She wasn’t looking at me or Calix, but at something only she could see.
“Hey.” I crouched in front of her. Nothing.
Her breathing sharpened. Quick inhales and uneven exhales. Every breath looked painful. Fear crept across her face as her shoulders tightened higher and higher.
My hands started shaking.
I clenched them hard enough, trying to steady myself while watching my Flame unravel in front of me. Every muscle in her body looked locked tight, like she was holding herself together by force alone, and I couldn’t reach her. Couldn’t stop whatever memory was tearing through her head.
The helplessness nearly split me open.
“Look at me,” I tried again, softer this time.
Carefully, I moved closer and slid my hands along her arms, rubbing warmth into them because I knew she liked my heat against her skin.
That finally broke through. Her eyes flickered to life, and that focused energy turned to Calix.
He stood near the desk gripping his own forearms so hard blood slid between his fingers unnoticed.
“Manshu,” she whispered. The name hit the room like a gunshot. “He was the one who shot me.”
Calix moved instantly. Within a single second, he was at the door, hand already on the handle, ready to kill.
“Wait!”
Olivia lurched forward off the couch fast enough to stop him short.
“That’s not what you need to worry about right now!”
He froze. Slowly, his head turned toward her. No humor. No charm. No easygoing Calix. Just the Syndicate boss of the Winstale clan. The version people feared.
Olivia roughly dragged both hands down her face before forcing herself to continue.
“He met with someone. I don’t know who.” Her breathing hitched again. “Older. Human, I think… but something felt wrong about him.”
I carefully placed my hand over hers, testing, giving her the choice, and for one terrifying second, I thought she’d pull away.
Instead, her fingers turned and locked around mine tightly. The simple gesture hit me harder than it should have.
“They were talking about you,” she said, staring at Calix now. “About how hard you are to kill.”
Calix’s eyes narrowed.
“What kind of weapon?”
She squeezed her eyes shut, visibly digging through the memory.
“I don’t know,” she finally admitted with a frustrated shake of her head. “But the gun looked… wrong. Like it wasn’t fully from this world.
Her fingers twisted into the fabric over her stomach.
“He told Manshu that even if I was human, the gun would still work on me.” Her voice cracked on the last word. “Then he shot me.”
The room went dead still. Her hand pressed harder against her abdomen like she could still feel the bullet tearing through her.
“He left me there,” she whispered. “He just left me in that alley to die.”
My jaw locked painfully. Rage flooded through my body so fast it almost drowned out everything else.
I wanted to rip Manshu apart with my bare hands. Wanted to hear him screaming. Wanted him begging at Olivia’s feet. My muscles twitched with the need to move. To hunt. To destroy.
Before either of us could react, Olivia’s voice broke again.
“I don’t know why he hasn’t tried anything yet,” she said quickly, eyes darting between us. “But he’s planning something. I swear, Calix.”
Panic climbed higher with every word.
“I’m not lying.” The fear in her voice nearly tore me apart, but Calix moved first. He crossed the room and crouched in front of her.
One bloodied hand lifted to her face. His thumb brushed her cheek so gently it almost didn’t fit the violence radiating off him.
Olivia leaned into the touch without thinking, and something sharp twisted in my chest at the sight.
“I believe you,” he said quietly. Every ounce of steel in him softened for just that moment. “I’ll always believe you.”
Her eyes fluttered shut. The breath that left her sounded like someone finally letting her surface after drowning.
His kindness hit me harder than the rage burning through my veins.
While I stood there, barely holding myself together, imagining Manshu choking on his own blood, Calix stayed focused on her. On Olivia. Her hands trembled in her lap, and her breathing still snagged every few seconds like the memory was clawing at her from the inside out.
He gave her what she needed most. Not vengeance. Safety.
With her eyes closed, leaning into his touch, Calix finally looked up at me. I froze when I saw everything raging inside me staring back through his eyes. Every violent thought. Every promise of blood. Every savage instinct that demanded retribution.
The air between us tightened. No words were spoken, but I heard him anyway.
Manshu was going to pay for this. For every flinch. For every scream. For every second she bled alone in that alley. Tenfold.
I gave the smallest nod, and that was all it took. We had a plan.
The understanding locked into place between us, old instincts sliding back into familiar grooves. Pack. Brotherhood. Violence sharpened into purpose.
Behind my ribs, fire rolled hot and hungry. Flames sparked at my fingertips as images flashed through my head. Manshu on his knees, wings burning, screaming, while the night swallowed the sound whole.
A fitting song for what he’d done to her. But rage was useless without strategy. Thankfully, we were very good at strategy.
Calix slowly pulled away from Olivia, though his attention lingered on her for a beat longer than necessary before he started pacing behind me.
“I don’t know how he got his hands on something like that,” he muttered, jaw flexing. “But we’re taking that weapon.”
I squeezed Olivia’s knee once before standing. Her fingers briefly caught mine before letting go.
I pulled out my phone, already sending messages, issuing orders, moving pieces into place while Calix paced beside me like a caged predator.
Visionary and executioner. The roles settled over us naturally.
“Of course,” I replied while typing. “And we’ll need whoever supplied it.”
“That goes without saying.” Calix waved a dismissive hand, like torture and interrogation were inevitable conclusions. “Manshu’s too arrogant to keep his mouth shut for long.”
A humorless smile tugged at his mouth.
“He won one race and suddenly thinks he’s untouchable.” His eyes darkened. “We’ll use that.”
“The next race.”
Both of us turned toward Olivia.
She’d pushed herself upright now, shoulders still tense but steadier than before. One shaky breath left her before she clasped her hands tightly together and looked directly at Calix.
“You should spread the rumor that you’re going.” Calix stopped pacing, and Olivia’s eyes sharpened as the pieces clicked together inside her head.
“Tell everyone you’re planning to put him in his place.” Her lips curled faintly with disgust. “He won’t be able to resist showing off.”
Her gaze drifted upward thoughtfully.
“He’ll want an audience. He’ll want everyone watching when he tries to humiliate you.” Her jaw tightened. “He’ll wait until the last lap to build suspense and make it dramatic.”
Calix rubbed his chin while considering it.
I lowered my phone and looked at her fully. Olivia sat straighter now, determination pushing past the lingering fear.
“Lure him away from everyone,” she said firmly. “Get him alone.” Her fingers curled into fists. “Then take the weapon and beat the information out of him.”
A grin slowly spread across Calix’s face. Sharp and dangerous?
“That,” he said softly, “sounds fun.”
I exhaled through my nose, already mentally arranging security routes and escape points.
“There’s only one problem,” I said. “How do we get him alone?”
“That’s where I come in.”
The room went dead silent.
My head snapped toward her so fast my neck cracked loudly.
“No.”
“He thinks I’m dead,” she pressed. “If he sees me alive, he’ll follow me.”
“No.”
“He’ll want to know how I survived—”
“I said no.”
The growl tore out of me hard enough to vibrate through the room.
Olivia stiffened at the sound, but she didn’t back down. Didn’t shrink. Didn’t look away. Somehow, that only made the panic inside me worse.
Absolutely fucking not.
She pushed herself upright despite the shake in her legs, planting her feet like stubbornness alone could keep her standing. Her arms locked across her chest, chin lifted in challenge while her eyes burned straight through me.
“I found a way to make this work,” she snapped. “A way that gives you the advantage if you actually use every tool you have.”
Her jaw tightened.
“It would be stupid not to.”
That was the worst part. She wasn’t wrong.
The truth of it twisted deeper and deeper under my ribs like a blade being worked around slowly, but I couldn’t stomach the thought of putting her back in danger.
She’d already died once. Already bled for this.
“Calix,” I called sharply, dragging my gaze away from her. “Tell her we’ll handle it ourselves.” My voice hardened. “That’s our job.”
Calix didn’t answer immediately.
He stayed where he was, leaning against the chair, studying both of us in silence. That lack of answer made something ugly crawl up my spine.
What the fuck was there to think about? Tell her no. Tell her she’d done enough.
“And what’s your alternative?” Olivia fired back before he could speak. “You walk into a trap and hope he misses?”
She took a step forward.
“Hope you dodge the first bullet before the second one hits you?”
Her eyes flashed toward me.
“Don’t pretend this isn’t the better option.” She crossed her arms and cocked her hip. “Use me.” The words landed heavy. “Make sure you get him no matter what.”
Calix’s fingers curled hard against the edge of the desk.
His stare stayed fixed on her like he was trying to see every possible outcome all at once. Finally, he exhaled slowly.
“We’d have time to do some underground running and testing.” My stomach dropped as he talked to her. “I need to know you can get out if things go bad.”
My mouth actually fell open. Across the room, Olivia’s lips instantly curled upward. Not smug, but there was an undeniable sense of victory there.
“I can do that.” Calix still wouldn’t look at me, and I knew exactly why. Because he understood something she didn’t yet. Plans failed. They always failed eventually.
And when they did, someone paid for it.
My chest tightened painfully as I stared at the two of them. My Flame. My brother.
Her smile was wide as she faced me. Looking me dead in my eyes, I saw the flicker of hesitation before she shook it off and stepped toward me.
“I'll be careful, but, Rack, I need to do this. I need to be of some help. To get him back for… everything.”
I bit back my words, knowing they would just anger her further. Instead of speaking, my hands went behind her head, cupping it as I pressed a bruising kiss on her forehead before letting her go and storming out of the office.
What was I going to do? It was two versus one.
Marching toward the elevator, all I could think was that this just made my job more important than ever. If everything was set up correctly, then there was nothing to worry about.
And that, I could do.