Chapter 29 - Poe
TWENTY-NINE
POE
The warehouse air is thick with dust and the metallic tang of rust, and every breath I take feels like it’s coated in it.
My wrists are raw under the fresh zip-ties, the plastic biting deeper every time I shift my weight.
The chain on my ankle rattles against the bolted ring in the concrete floor, a constant reminder that we’re not going anywhere.
Orchid’s on the opposite side of the cage, close enough that I can see the rapid rise and fall of her chest and the way her jaw’s clenched tight, but too far to reach out and touch her.
The distance feels intentional, like whoever set this up wanted to make sure we could see each other suffer without being able to do anything about it.
Marlo stands just outside the chain-link, calm as ever in her sharp black suit, hair pulled back so tight it looks severe.
She doesn’t look FBI. She looks like she belongs in a boardroom or a federal briefing room, not in the middle of this decaying hellhole.
Tammy and Mark are hanging back a few feet, arms crossed, wearing those same smug smiles they had when they burst into our bedroom.
The henchmen are stationed at the edges of the open space like silent sentries, guns loose but ready.
Marlo tilts her head slightly, studying me with cool, calculating eyes before turning her gaze to Orchid. “You really thought you could keep this hidden forever? Come on, Orchid. Tell him. Tell Poe who I am and why you had Enley kidnapped.”
My stomach drops. I look at Orchid, searching her face for answers. “Orchid? What is she talking about?”
Orchid swallows hard. Her hands tremble slightly where they’re bound in front of her, but she lifts her chin and meets my eyes.
Her voice is steady, but I can hear the strain underneath it.
“I was picked up last year. Hacking internal systems. High-level corporate espionage that crossed into federal territory. The FBI gave me a choice: help them infiltrate Serafina’s Goldenbell operation from the inside or spend the next twenty years in prison.
I chose to work for them. Obviously. Marlo is my handler.
I’ve been feeding her information for months.
Trying to bring Serafina down from within.
That’s why I had Enley captured. That’s why I’ve been playing this role the entire time. ”
I’m not fucking surprised. FBI. Undercover.
The burner phone I traced last night. Everything clicks into place in a rush that leaves my head spinning.
She’s not Serafina’s loyal enforcer. She’s playing both sides.
She’s trying to take Goldenbell down from the inside.
The hesitation I saw when I refused the Maddox hack, the softness when she talked about her grandmother, the way she took control last night like she was desperate for something real, it all makes sense now.
I stare at her, trying to process it all. “So, if she works for you, why take her prisoner?” I ask Marlo.
Marlo laughs softly, the sound echoing off the high ceiling. “She’s been one of our best assets. Orchid has risked everything to get close to Serafina. And she’s been doing an excellent job. Until you two decided to complicate things with your little romance.”
I look back at Orchid, my heart pounding so hard it feels like it’s going to crack my ribs. “I don’t understand.”
Marlo cuts me off, voice tight. “There’s really nothing to understand. I leverage you both to Serafina and get exactly what I want.”
“What do you want?” Orchid whispers.
Before she can respond, before I can even begin to unpack the storm of emotions crashing through me, a deafening explosion rocks the warehouse.
The blast comes from the far end of the building, a thunderous boom that shakes the ground and sends dust and debris raining down from the ceiling.
The chain-link fence rattles violently. One of the hanging work lights swings wildly and crashes to the floor in a shower of sparks.
Shouts erupt. Gunfire cracks through the air. The henchmen spin toward the explosion, weapons up. Tammy and Mark yell orders, but their voices are drowned out by the chaos.
It’s my friends.
I recognize them instantly. Black gear, precise formation, night-vision goggles flipped up.
Sawyer’s at the front, rifle raised, moving with that calm, lethal focus he always has in the field.
Riggs’s right behind him, covering the flank.
Jaxson’s calling out positions, voice steady.
They’re here. They actually came for us.
“Poe!” Ozzy’s voice cuts through the noise. “Stay down!”
The henchmen open fire, but the brAVO team is faster, better trained. Two of them go down almost immediately. Tammy and Mark scramble for cover behind a stack of old pallets, but local PD’s already pouring in through the blown-open doors, badges flashing, shouting commands to drop weapons.
It’s pure chaos. Smoke fills the air from the explosion.
Debris litters the floor. Shouts and gunfire echo off the walls.
One of the henchmen tries to drag Marlo toward a side exit, but Maddox men swarm him.
They take Marlo and Orchid into custody with efficient, professional force, zip-tying their wrists and moving them out of the line of fire.
Ozzy reaches the cage first. He shoots the padlock off the gate with a single precise round and yanks it open. “Poe, move!”
I lunge toward him, but my ankle chain holds me back. Ozzy drops to a knee and cuts it free with bolt cutters, then does the same for my wrists. The second I’m loose he grabs my arm and pulls me toward the exit.
“Orchid!” I shout, twisting to look for her. Maddox men have her and Marlo secured, moving them toward a different exit. “Ozzy, wait! We have to get Orchid!”
Ozzy doesn’t slow down. “We have her in custody. She’s coming with us. Move, Poe!”
The next few minutes are a blur of motion and noise.
Local PD swarms the warehouse, cuffing Tammy, Mark, and the remaining men.
Shouts of “FBI!” and “Hands up!” mix with the crackle of radios.
Ozzy half-drags, half-carries me out a side door and into a waiting black SUV.
Arrow and Gage are already inside, scanning the perimeter.
Ozzy slams the door shut and floors it. The SUV peels out, tires spitting gravel as we speed away from the warehouse. I twist in my seat, looking back through the rear window until the building disappears behind us.
“Orchid,” I say again, voice raw. “We have to go back for her. She’s not the enemy. She’s working with the FBI. She’s been undercover the whole time.”
Ozzy’s hands are tight on the wheel, eyes on the road. “We have her in custody with Marlo. They’re being transported separately. We’ll sort it out at HQ.”
Arrow leans forward from the back seat, clapping a hand on my shoulder. “You good, man? You look like hell.”
“I’m fine,” I say, even though my wrists are raw and my face still throbs from where it hit the wall earlier. “What about Enley? Tell me she’s okay.”
Ozzy glances at me in the rearview mirror.
His voice is steady, but I can hear the relief underneath it.
“Render went in a few days ago. Extracted her clean. She’s on the run with him right now.
Nobody knows exactly where they are, but they’re safe.
They’re keeping a low profile so Serafina can’t find them. She’s okay, Poe. She’s safe.”
The relief hits me so hard my eyes sting. I lean back against the seat, letting out a long, shaky breath. Enley’s safe. My sister’s safe. The team came through. They always do.
But the image of Orchid being taken away by Maddox men keeps flashing in my head. Her eyes meeting mine as they zip-tied her wrists. The way she looked at me like she was trying to tell me something important right before everything exploded.
“Orchid’s not the enemy,” I say again, louder this time. “Serafina wasn’t behind today’s kidnapping. Those people, Marlo, Tammy, and Mark. They’re not part of Goldenbell.”
Gage nods from the back seat. “We’ll sort everything out once we get back to Maddox HQ. Right now we need to get you somewhere safe.”
Ozzy’s voice is calm but firm. “We’ve got her, Poe. She’s in custody. No one is going to hurt her. We’ll figure out the rest at HQ. For now, just breathe. You’re safe. Enley’s safe. That’s what matters.”
I stare out the window as the industrial park blurs past, the SUV speeding down the highway.
My mind’s still reeling. Orchid is FBI. She’s been playing a dangerous game inside Goldenbell for over a year.
She was trying to take Serafina down from the inside.
And I had her. I had her in my arms, in my bed, trusting me with her body if nothing else.
I care about her. Deeply. More than I ever expected to in this mess. And now she’s in Maddox custody, and I have to let them know she’s not a part of Goldenbell.
The SUV keeps moving, carrying me away from the warehouse, away from the chaos, but my thoughts stay with her. With the woman who took control of me so completely and the woman who’s been fighting the same war I’ve been fighting, only from the other side of the fence.
I lean my head back against the seat and close my eyes, the weight of everything settling heavy on my chest.
Whatever happens next at Maddox HQ, whatever questions they have for her, whatever secrets still need to come out, I know one thing for certain.
I’m not letting them take her away from me.
Not without a fight.
The road stretches ahead, the SUV eating up the miles, but my mind races toward whatever comes next.
Because Orchid isn’t the enemy.
She never was.
And I’m going to make sure everyone knows it.