Chapter 4
Chapter 4 - The Safe House
The armored SUV burst through a rusted wooden gate, sending splintered boards and twisted hinges flying into the darkness.
Cassian didn’t slow down.
The tires sprayed gravel as the SUV bounced down the narrow driveway and disappeared into the cavernous interior of an abandoned warehouse near the docks.
The moment they were inside, Cassian killed the headlights.
Darkness swallowed them.
Rain hammered against the corrugated metal roof, loud enough to drown out almost every other sound.
“Stay down,” Damian ordered.
His hand pressed firmly against Elena’s shoulder, keeping her low in the back seat.
“Damian, you’re bleeding.”
Elena looked down at the silk scarf she’d used to stop his wound.
It was completely soaked through.
Crimson stains covered her fingers and the front of her dress.
“I’ve survived worse.”
“That doesn’t mean you’re fine.”
Damian ignored her.
He opened his door a fraction and studied the warehouse through the narrow gap.
The smell of diesel, rain, saltwater, and blood filled the vehicle.
“Cassian. Take the high gantry.”
Cassian nodded.
“If anyone enters through the south side?”
“Don’t let them reach us.”
Cassian slipped from the driver’s seat and disappeared into the darkness.
Elena watched him go.
Then she looked at Damian.
He was already reaching for the door.
“Give me a weapon.”
He stopped.
“No.”
“I won’t sit here waiting for Marcus’s men to find me.”
“Elena”
“If someone gets past you and Cassian, what am I supposed to do?”
She held his gaze.
“Hope they feel sorry for me?”
Damian stared at her.
For several seconds, neither moved.
Then he reached beneath his coat and pulled out a combat knife.
The blade caught a faint streak of moonlight filtering through a broken skylight.
He placed the handle in her palm.
His fingers closed briefly over hers.
“If anyone opens this door who isn’t me or Cassian,” he said quietly, “you use it.”
Elena looked down at the knife.
Then back at him.
“I know how to defend myself, Mercer.”
A faint, dangerous smile touched his mouth.
“Good.”
He released her hand and stepped out of the SUV.
The door shut behind him.
Elena was alone.
For several minutes, she heard nothing but the rain.
She sat motionless, the knife clenched tightly in her hand.
Her heartbeat seemed impossibly loud inside the silent vehicle.
Every creak of the warehouse made her muscles tense.
Every distant sound made her wonder whether someone was approaching.
She told herself Damian would return.
She told herself Cassian was watching.
She told herself she wasn’t afraid.
Then
A footstep.
Elena froze.
Another.
Closer.
Her grip tightened around the knife.
The sound stopped directly outside her door.
She held her breath.
The handle moved.
Click.
The armored door swung open.
A hand reached into the darkness.
Elena reacted without thinking.
She lunged.
The blade barely moved before a powerful hand caught her wrist.
Pain shot through her fingers.
The knife slipped from her grip and clattered onto the floor.
Elena’s eyes widened.
A familiar voice drifted through the darkness.
“Relax, little sister.”
Her blood ran cold.
It wasn’t Damian.
It wasn’t Cassian.
A man leaned into the open doorway.
The faint amber glow from the harbor lights caught his slicked-back hair and cruel smile.
Marcus.
Elena stared at him.
For one stunned second, she couldn’t speak.
Her brother’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
“Hello, Elena.”
His hand shot forward, grabbing a fistful of her hair.
He yanked her toward him.
Elena cried out as he dragged her out of the SUV and onto the cold, wet concrete.
Marcus crouched beside her, his smile widening.
“Did you really think the big bad enforcer was going to save you?”