Chapter 20 #3
That was when I saw one of the men lurking in the darkness move behind Thal. My eyes widened in alarm. "Thal!” I shouted, but amid the deafening crack of gunfire, he didn’t hear me.
Without hesitation, I threw caution aside, stepping out into the open and running across the room toward him. My gun was steady, aimed directly at the threat approaching from behind. I wouldn’t let anyone harm him, no matter the cost.
I’d sacrifice myself if I had to, knowing he’d do the same to protect me.
Fortune favored me that moment, and my shot hit its mark.
The bullet sank deep into the man's forehead, killing him instantly. His body fell behind Thal with a heavy, echoing thud, causing Thal to turn and look at me, his eyes burning with anger and suspicion.
“Daphne, you could have been killed!” he snapped.
I shrugged, keeping my head low and pressing myself against the pillar alongside him. “Pretty sure you were a lot closer to seeing death than I was.”
“Goddammit, don’t fucking do that again!” he barked, frustration clear in his tone.
I simply shrugged again, both of us knowing I’d do it all over if it meant surviving. But now wasn’t the time to debate it.
All of a sudden, a sharp zinging sound cut through the air as a bullet whizzed past my ear, hitting a pipe overhead and rattling, echoing through the darkness. From the shadows, Aidon lunged forward, unleashing a rapid-fire barrage at Rhea’s remaining men.
Zeno took out the last adversary, and once again, silence settled over us. We stood there, surrounded by the eerie quiet and the pool of blood seeping into the cold concrete floor, a grim reminder of what had just happened.
“It can’t have been that easy,” Zeno growled.
He looked over at me, scanning my body from head to toe. I lifted my chin, signaling that I wasn’t fazed by any of this. I wanted him to realize I could handle myself, that I didn’t need him or anyone else. Of course, that wasn’t true. I did need people, but perhaps I no longer needed Zeno.
“My sources confirmed Rhea is here,” Thal said, his voice steady with certainty.
I shifted uneasiness coursing in my veins. “She’s hiding, no doubt about that. And her security team? It’s shrinking fast.”
He nodded, eyes narrowing. “She’s probably watching from the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to step out. There’s no way she slipped past us with our men guarding the exits.”
Zeno retrieved a device from his pocket, which I immediately recognized as a smoke grenade—reminding me of the training he had given me years earlier. He pointed toward another hallway, long and dark, leading to an unexplored section of the building.
“Hold on a second, Zeno,” Thal interjected. “Let’s wait until she shows herself. No need to jump the gun.”
Zeno shot him a quick, narrow-eyed look that could cut through steel, but he clipped the grenade back into his pocket without protest. I raised an eyebrow at the silent command and subtle show of restraint but said nothing.
Aidon looked at his phone. “My guy’s monitoring heat signatures. There’s activity on this side of the building near a group of offices in the south wing, at the last door on the right.”
Thal tightened his grip on his gun, its barrel pointed straight down the hall as his eyes burned with focused rage.
“Let’s go get her,” he growled, determined, his stance ready to strike.
After a quick reload, Aidon was the first to follow, then Zeno, and I lagged behind last. The hallway was narrow and shadowed, with doors lining each side, each one seemingly waiting to swallow us whole if someone stepped out unexpectedly.
My heartbeat hammered in my ears, making me feel breathless, anxious, and tense as we neared the corridor’s end.
The passage eventually led to the loading bay. As we approached the final door, we instinctively spread out along the walls, our eyes trained on Thal for direction. Somehow, he had become our natural leader, moving with calm confidence.
I was surprised to see Aidon and Zeno following suit so easily, but Thal’s relaxed assurance seemed to leave no space for disagreement. Maybe they hadn’t even realized it themselves.
Thal pressed his ear against the door, listening intently for any signs of human activity.
He nodded once, decisively. Aidon stepped forward and kicked the door open in a quick, practiced motion. We all rushed from around the corner, weapons raised, ready to fire.
But the room felt eerily empty.
Inside, desks and flickering computer monitors were lit by the harsh glare of the stark space.
Aidon shook his head in confusion, his brow furrowing.
“This isn’t right,” he muttered.
I suggested, “Maybe we’ve got the wrong room.”
Aidon glanced across the far wall, examining the faint smudge of fingerprints along the molding. After a moment’s hesitation, he pushed on the wall. It swung open, revealing a hidden passage behind an illusion of a wall that concealed another room.
This hidden chamber was filled with crates just like the ones we’d seen earlier, stacked neatly and waiting in the shadows.
It was dim and hard to see, but guns and ammunition lined the walls, almost filling the space entirely. Aidon walked over and opened a large wooden box, his eyes going wide when he saw it was full of stacks of cash.
“Must be a million, at least,” he muttered, glancing at us. His eyes widened at the sound of approaching footsteps, and he shouted to us just as he ducked behind one of the boxes.
“Hide!”
We all hit the ground, scrambling for cover before even knowing what the threat was. The look on Aidon’s face was enough to push us into action.
Thal and I hid behind a cluster of boxes with Zeno by our side. Aidon took cover behind the money box, and we all held our breath as two people appeared at the door’s threshold.
My eyes widened as I saw Rhea and her main bodyguard, each armed with a weapon.
“We need to get the money and get the hell out of here right now,” she demanded, walking into the room and turning the light on. “They must be close.”
“We’ll have to take it out ourselves. The rest of our men are outside fighting,” he replied.
“You fucking idiot!” Rhea snapped. “How could you let this happen?”
“Someone must have infiltrated us, ma’am. I don’t understand it myself.”
“You’d better fucking find out who it was, or I’ll kill you myself!”
“Yes, ma’am. Sorry, ma’am,” he muttered, as he lifted the lid of the box of money that Aidon was hiding behind.
Beside me, Thal seethed. He gestured to Aidon, who nodded. I held my breath, a wave of fear creeping down my spine.
Aidon stood and pointed his gun straight at the guard, killing him instantly.
Rhea pointed her gun at Aidon, her finger on the trigger. From the shadows, Thal, Zeno, and I emerged in unison, our weapons aimed at her.
“Don’t fucking move, bitch!” Thal barked.
Rhea’s eyes widened in panic, swirling with desperation as she assessed her outnumbered position. Her trembling hand already clutched a grenade she had pulled from her coat, the pin a lethal secret hidden in her palm, while she kept her gun aimed at Aidon.
Her body stiffened, but she held her ground. We all paused, instinctively assessing the tense standoff, each of us deciding how to move forward. The air was heavy with tension, and every second felt stretched out.
“You don’t want to do that,” Zeno warned, muscles tense.
Rhea chuckled, shaking her head as if disappointed by our response. “Don’t be so arrogant, Zeno. It’s always your downfall. It wouldn’t be the worst thing if we all went down. Let Vegas fall into the hands of a new breed of power-hungry assholes.”
I stepped forward. “We’re not about to die with you.”
“Oh, Daphne. You look so pretty playing soldier,” Rhea scoffed, her gun never wavering.
“But tell me, does the silk leash Thalassios bought you feel better than the leather one Zeno used? You aren’t a partner, darling.
You’re the currency they’re spending to buy their own survival.
Once I’m in a bag, do you really think these men will let their 'investment' just walk into the sunset?”
Her words hit like a physical blow, but I didn't let my aim falter. “The only person walking away tonight, Rhea, is me. You’re leaving in a bag.”
Her insults and provocations wouldn’t work. I refused to let her have that victory.
We watched as she stepped back toward the door.
“I’m leaving. If you try to follow me, you know what will happen.” She tightened her grip on the grenade in a silent warning, then retreated, her eyes never leaving ours.
I looked at Thal, worry flickering inside me. We couldn’t afford to let her get away again, not after everything she had done.
This was too much. Rhea’s destruction in this city had been too widespread, her influence too deep. We couldn’t let her go unpunished this time. Not again.
I was once again considering handling the problem myself when Thal stepped forward, rushing toward her, and firing shots. But she was as fast as a cheetah, disappearing into the darkness before we could leave the room ourselves.
Thal kept firing, Aidon joined in, and Zeno and I covered the rear, both of us scanning the space for any sign of her.
“She couldn’t have gotten far,” Thal muttered, shooting into the darkness.
“Back the fuck off!” Rhea’s voice rang out, followed closely by a storm of bullets flying through the air and another group of footsteps approaching.
Just as quickly as we had outnumbered her, the tables had turned, and her last remaining group of guards began attacking us.
We ducked for cover, popping out just long enough to fire, then crouched into cover. We took out half of her guys, and to my surprise, instead of fleeing, Rhea stood her ground, fighting right alongside them.
I was so caught up in my own strategic moves that I lost sight of Thal.