Chapter Twenty-eight Daniel
Chapter Twenty-eight
Daniel
The faint sound of water slapping against the pier is the only thing that breaks the oppressive silence of the dark night.
The shipment should be here any minute now. I glance at my wristwatch—again. Thirty seconds pass, then I do it once more.
Anxiety gnaws at me, heavy, relentless. Three minutes left. Just three more fucking minutes.
The stress is unbearable. The kind of stress that coils up inside, tightens every muscle, makes my pulse race.
What if the ship doesn’t show? What if it’s setup? My body feels like it's on cocaine, all hot and electrified, the hairs on my neck standing up. Every muscle ready to snap.
Yuri is here somewhere. I can feel his presence, even if I can’t see him. I know his men are in their positions—every one of them a piece of the puzzle.
Four snipers are posted on rooftops, scopes trained on the crowd below, scanning for any sign of a threat. If the snitch shows up, one of them will take him out. Instinct. Clean. Precise.
This is it—the beginning of something much bigger. Or it could all go wrong. My gut tells me something’s off today. My instincts never lie. But it’s not like I want it to go wrong.
For once, I wish my instincts would be lying to me.
When I rolled through the city in my black SUV, the anxiety had settled in my chest like a lead weight.
Something’s wrong. I felt it. I should’ve listened to the feeling when I first got that goddamn call.
Two more minutes.
I wonder how Jennifer is doing. She picked up on my tension this morning, tried to comfort me. I could tell she was worried.
It didn’t help that I kept pushing her away—being short with her all day.
The familiar lights of the ship pierce through the darkness. Finally.
The ship’s running late at the dock, but it's here. That’s enough. I push my unease down, shoving the feeling into the back of my mind.
I pull on my bulletproof vest. I insisted on another layer of security. No one leaves anything to chance during a shipment this big. I step out of my hidden spot, scanning the night, looking up at the buildings surrounding us. But I don’t see the snipers—not yet.
That’s a good thing. I know they’re there. We’ve communicated through my walkie-talkie. They’re ready. Fuck, they better be ready.
When I move towards Yuri’s hidden spot, I focus on my men. They’re all in position, acting normal.
Some are tense, but it’s the usual pre-shipment nerves. I watch Julian too. His usual calm is cracked tonight—he’s fidgeting, checking his gun. It’s not like him.
I think he’s scared something might happen tonight, too. I told them before we left, at our meeting. It was a short meeting, but I told them to wear bulletproof vests. I told them to be prepared.
Perhaps, I successfully scared him.
It’ still a shitty feeling gnawing at me—losing my only suspect.
But Julian and I grew closer over the years. Still, we sure as fuck hate each other. We wouldn’t exactly save each other from a dangerous situation if it’d mean we’d harm ourselves in the process.
But none of us would try to kill each other.
It’s not who we are. We handle rivalry differently.
I step into the cramped container where Yuri’s hiding. It’s barely more than a rusty box with a few small peek holes cut out. Yuri turns sharply, gun raised. His eyes narrow at me.
“Jesus, you’re jumpy,” I mutter, my body tensing even though I know it’s just him.
You acted the same weeks ago, my inner voice reminds me. God.
“It’s just me,” I say, closing the door behind me quietly and sitting next to him.
He doesn’t lower the gun completely. Neither do I. The silence between us is thick—almost suffocating.
The ship’s getting closer, its lights cutting through the fog. I feel tension in the air. My men are ready to check everything.
Or, more importantly, to murder anyone who conquers our safe plan.
I exhale slowly, frustration crawling up my throat.
“Everything good out there?” Yuri asks, his voice tight.
“Yes. But I don’t trust anyone right now,” I reply, my tone colder than I intend.
He scoffs. “Not even me?”
I pause, considering the question. He knows me too well to expect a lie.
“In this moment? No, not even you,” I say flatly. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you shot me and took the whole shipment for yourself.”
Now Yuri scoffs even louder. “So much for our alliance.”
“Don’t you doubt me, as well? Even slightly?” I ask, my voice a low growl.
“I do,” he answers simply, then grins at me through the darkness. I grin back at him.
Of course we’re allies, but we’re not stupid.
Good to know, isn’t it?
The ship finally reaches the dock. The captain steps onto the deck, lighting up his cigarette as a signal.
We only trust one man to captain the ship, and every time, he's been trustworthy.
But still— we check it again. Every time.
We can’t risk the shipment coming in incomplete.
“I’ll get going,” I tell Yuri.
He nods, watching me leave. “Good.”
I step out of the container, moving toward the massive ship. My men are watching me closely, waiting for my signal to begin unloading.
I step on board, nodding at the captain. I watch as he opens every single damn container, checking the shipment piece by piece. Drugs. Weapons. Everything.
It takes nearly half an hour, but when it’s all done, everything looks fine.
It doesn’t surprise me. Everything is always right on spot with him.
When I leave the ship, I spot Hayden standing by the loading area. “Get the trucks ready. Start loading,” I tell him, then grab my walkie-talkie and speak into it, contacting Yuri.
He’s still hiding. I don’t know why. Maybe he's a coward who always sends others, but I personally don’t trust anyone when it comes to shipments like this.
My father taught me that—you check everything, no one else touches the shipment before you do.
“Tell your men they can start unloading,” I say into the radio. Twenty seconds later, Nikolai meets my eyes, and I nod. He passes the orders along.
Now is usually the time that I’d leave, but tonight, something’s keeping me here.
My father’s rule was simple—if my men are in danger, so am I. The boss should be right there, handling things.
And tonight, I think all of us are in some sort of danger. Even if I can’t prove it.
Nikolai’s forehead scrunches, his eyes focused on something behind me. "Daniel, wait, I think that—"
I turn, my eyes already darting across the area, when suddenly—
FUCK.