Chapter 23 Lena
Darkness swallowed me as Luca bound a blindfold tightly around my face. I tried to use my shoulder to shimmy it down, to catch even a glimpse of where I was, but someone growled.
“Don’t do that,” Luca barked.
I heard his footsteps draw closer, then his hands were on me, tightening the blindfold until it cut into my cheeks.
His fingers lingered.
A shiver ran through me as he traced over the scars on my back. The ones he had left.
“My handiwork looks good on you,” he chuckled, his hot, rank breath brushing against my ear.
“Do you want to know a secret, omega?”
I didn’t respond, but he continued anyway.
“Marco beat the shit out of me for doing that to you,” he said, his voice rising, anger bleeding through his words. “Didn’t want anyone damaging you. Not like that. He was furious that I had left marks on your pretty skin. Told me I could never touch you again.”
A pause.
“But it seems your escape made him reconsider.”
His voice dropped again, something devious lacing it.
“He promised once he’s done with you…”
A low, twisted laugh.
“I'll get a turn.”
“You think you’re so special,” he went on, voice dripping with contempt. “So perfect. Better than the rest because you resist.”
His fingers pressed harder into my back, right over the raised lines of scar tissue.
“Well, looks like once he’s had you, you won’t be so special anymore.”
A low, ugly chuckle left him.
“Probably toss you into one of the stash houses afterwards. Let the rest of our crew have their turn.”
He leaned in closer, whispering in my ear, “Just like all the others.”
I didn’t react.
Luca fed off that. He wanted a response, fear, anger, anything he could twist into more control. I gave him nothing.
He was just as cruel as Marco. Just as violent. But he was also reckless. Too stupid to understand where the line actually was.
Marco had one. Twisted and possessive, but it existed.
Luca didn’t.
He was a rabid dog.
I was sure Marco had ordered him not to hurt me, but I wasn’t about to test how much control Marco really had over Luca by baiting him.
So I turned inward, shutting his taunts out, focusing on stillness. If I didn’t react, he’d lose interest. Men like Luca always did.
And I was right...
Eventually, I heard him step away, the shift in his weight caused the floor to creak as he went to answer a call. I strained my ears, holding my breath, trying to catch any clue that might help me figure out where I was being held.
“What the fuck do you mean a raid?” he barked, his voice sharp with sudden panic. “Which house? No—no, that’s not possible! How could they know—”
A pause.
“Call Tony. Now. I don’t care, just fucking do it!”
His footsteps paced, fast and uneven now. Another call connected.
“Where’s Rico?” he snapped. “Dead? You’re kidding me. How the fuck did they find that one?”
Another pause, longer this time.
“What do you mean they’re already inside?—No, don’t run, you idiot, you’ll—”
He cut himself off, cursing under his breath before ending the call and dialing again almost immediately.
“Answer your fucking phone,” he muttered, more to himself than anyone else.
The next call picked up.
“How many omega sites?” he demanded. “All of them? You’re telling me they’re hitting all of them?”
His voice rose, disbelief bleeding into anger.
“Who’s down?—No, I said who’s fucking down?”
Another pause.
“Dead?” he repeated, quieter now, like he couldn’t quite process it. “And the rest?”
His pacing stopped.
“Taken!?” he screamed. “You let them get taken?”
Silence stretched, then—
“Don’t you move. Don’t do anything until I hear from Marco.”
He ended the call, breathing harder now, the room thick with the shift in his energy.
A second later, his phone rang again.
“Yeah,” he answered quickly. Then, more controlled, “Marco.”
My pulse spiked.
The raids.
They’d done it.
Knox and Silas had gotten Command to approve our operational plan, and now AIED was hitting every site at once. Doors being kicked in. Guards taken down. Omegas pulled out.
All across the city, Marco’s network was collapsing.
And Luca…
He was hearing it happen in real time.
I had a front-row seat to listen as he lost his shit.
And all of this was because of me.
Luca paced hard across the room, boots dragging,words coming faster now as he spoke with Marco.
“Boss—yeah, I know, I know,” he rushed, words tripping over each other. “They’re hitting everything. I’m getting calls from all sides—no, I didn’t move her, you told me to hold—”
“Yes—yes, boss. I hear you. I hear you.”
“I’ve got her. She’s here. No one’s touched her. I swear.”
A beat.
“…All of them?”
His voice cracked.
“No, that’s not—how the fuck did they—”
He cut himself off, swallowing hard.
“Sorry. Sorry, boss. I didn’t mean—yeah. Yeah. I understand.”
I could hear him pacing faster, nearly stumbling over his own feet.
“What do you want me to do? I’ll move her. I can move her now. Just tell me where—”
Marco’s voice came through again. I could hear him yelling through the line.
Luca froze.
“You’re coming here?” he asked, panic spiking. “Okay. Okay, yeah. I’ll have her ready. I’ll—yeah. Yeah, no one’s touching her. No one.”
“Yes, boss. Got it. I won’t fuck this up.”
A pause.
“You… you want to talk to her?” he asked, already fumbling. “Yeah—yeah, I’ll put you on. Right now.”
I heard a click as he activated the speaker phone.
“My Lena.”
Marco’s voice filled the room, calm in a way that made him sound even more angry.
“Did you do this?”
I said nothing.
“Did you open your mouth like a rat?” he went on, angrier now. “Did you tell AIED where my stash houses are? Where my omegas are! How fucking stupid are you?”
“She’s not talking, boss,” he said quickly. “She hasn’t said shit since you left, I think she’s—”
“Shut the fuck up,” Marco snapped.
Luca went silent instantly.
“Lena,” Marco said again, slower this time. “Answer me. Did you tell them?”
Silence.
Then—
“Luca, hit her.”
“Yes, boss.”
Luca yanked the blindfold off, forcing my head up.
I blinked as harsh light blinded my vision. My eyes acclimated just in time to see his palm flying toward my cheek.
The hit came fast and hard, his hand slamming across my face with a crack that echoed around the room. My head snapped to the side, as ringing filled my ears.
Luca grabbed my jaw immediately after, his fingers digging in too hard, shaking me.
“Answer him!” he barked, holding the phone up to my ear. “What the fuck did you tell them?!”
Marco’s voice cut through the line, calmer now.
“Again, Luca.”
The second hit didn't hurt as much as the first, probably because my entire face was throbbing and numb.
“Tell me what you did!” Marco ordered through the phone, control slipping.
Blood filled my mouth.
And then—
I laughed.
The sound was so freeing.
Luca swore, grip tightening painfully on the hollows of my cheeks.
“Stop that,” he snapped, shaking me again. “Answer him!”
I leaned forward, moving my mouth close to the speaker and lifting my gaze to meet Luca’s eyes.
“I told them everything, Marco," I proudly said.
Then I spat in Luca’s face.
Another hit came instantly, his palm cracking across my cheek hard enough to violently snap my head sideways.
“Luca, stop.” Marco’s voice cut through, sharp and controlled. “I’ll be there in ten minutes. Don’t put another hand on her until I arrive.”
A pause.
“Remember what I promised you. Once I’m done with her—”
A slow, wicked smile spread across Luca’s face as he stepped back.
“Yes, boss,” he said, breath uneven with anticipation. “I’ll keep her right here.”
The line went dead.
Luca wiped my bloody spit from his face, shaking his head with a crooked grin.
“Told you,” he sneered.
The way he looked at me should have terrified me.
I know what he expected. Tears. Panic. Submission now that I knew Marco was coming, and that he’d promised Luca a turn with me.
But instead—
I laughed, again.
It started low, almost soundless, then grew, breaking free from my chest until it filled the space around us.
Luca’s expression shifted, confusion giving way to irritation as the sound didn’t stop.
“What the fuck are you laughing at?” he snapped, stepping closer.
I didn’t answer.
I couldn’t stop.
Because behind him, movement cut through the dim light.
Two shadows slipped forward, controlled and silent, closing the distance with a precision that made my pulse spike for an entirely different reason.
Luca didn’t notice. His focus stayed locked on me, drawn tighter with every second my laughter continued.
His hand lifted again, fury sharpening his features as he leaned in, ready to strike—
The metallic click of a gun being cocked sounded beside his head.
It was quiet.
But it might as well have been deafening.
Luca froze.
“Do it,” Silas said, his voice low and lethal, right at Luca’s ear. “And I will fucking end you.”
Luca went completely still.
Knox moved the second Silas’ threat landed, stepping behind me and working quickly at undoing my restraints. His hands were steady, efficient, untying every knot with ease, as if he’d done it a hundred times before.
“You’re alright,” he said in my ear, calm and grounding. “We’ve got you.”
The ropes loosened, slipping away from my wrists, and sensation rushed back to my hands in tingling waves. My lungs drew a shaky breath.
“Where am I?” I managed to ask him.
“Industrial District,” Knox answered, not slowing his movements. “South side, storage facility.”
I sighed, “Of course.”
Knox’s eyes flicked to mine, something impressed passing through them.
“We thought like you,” he said.
Behind us, the tension snapped.
Silas didn’t wait.
The gun lowered just enough, and his fist drove forward, connecting with Luca’s face with a sickening crack that bounced off the walls. Luca staggered back, barely catching himself before another hit followed, then another, each one controlled but brutal, fueled by rage.