Adrian
"This is a test."
I stared at the files Zarek had compiled. Photos of the supposed drug dealers, background checks, financial records. And buried in all of it, the truth. These men were DEA agents running a sting operation.
"Emma knows," I said. "She has to know."
"Of course she knows." Zarek sat down heavily. "She wants to see if you'll really do anything she orders. And if you actually kill federal agents, she'll have leverage over you forever."
Dante paced the room. "We can't do this. Killing criminals is one thing. Killing cops crosses a line we can't come back from."
"If I don't, Ava's mother dies," I reminded him.
"Then we warn the agents. Get them out before the deadline."
"And then what? Emma finds out we disobeyed, and she kills Mrs. Parker anyway. Plus, she'll know we're willing to defy her. She'll tighten the leash until we can't breathe."
Ava spoke from the doorway. I hadn't heard her come in. "What if you make it look like you completed the mission but actually save them?"
"How?"
"I don't know. Fake their deaths? Get them into witness protection?" She stepped into the room. "There has to be a way to fool the Syndicate."
"The Syndicate has eyes everywhere," Zarek said. "Faking that many deaths would require resources we don't have."
"Then we get those resources." Ava's voice was firm. "We find someone who can help us."
"Who? The FBI? They'd arrest us on sight." I shook my head. "We're trapped, Ava. Every option leads to disaster."
She walked over and took my hands. "Adrian, listen to me. If you kill those agents, you become exactly what Emma wants. A monster with no limits. But if you find a way to save them without Emma knowing, you prove you're still human."
"Being human might get your mother killed."
"Then we make sure it doesn't." She squeezed my hands. "We're smarter than them. We can figure this out."
I wanted to believe her. Wanted to think there was a way out of this nightmare. But I'd lived in this world long enough to know that hope was dangerous.
"I'll think about it," I said finally. "Zarek, keep digging. Find out everything about the DEA operation. When they're most vulnerable, how many agents are involved, everything."
Zarek nodded and left. Dante followed, leaving me alone with Ava.
"You don't have to protect my mother," she said quietly. "I know what it costs you."
"Yes, I do. You saved my life, Ava. The least I can do is save your mother's."
"This isn't about debt."
"Isn't it?" I pulled away from her. "You're here because of me. Your mother's in danger because of me. Everything bad that's happening to you is because I couldn't let you go."
"I'm here because I choose to be."
"You didn't choose this. You were forced into it."
"At first, yes. But I'm still here, aren't I? I could have run when Dave brought me to the safe house. Could have called the police when you were rescuing Dante. But I didn't." She moved closer. "I stayed because despite everything, I care about you. And I'm not leaving."
I wanted to push her away. Tell her to run while she still could. But I was selfish. And the truth was, I needed her. She was the only light in my darkness.
"I'm going to hurt you," I said. "Eventually, my world will destroy everything good about you."
"Maybe. Or maybe I'll save you first." She kissed me softly. "Either way, we're in this together."
The next morning, I met with my top lieutenants. Twenty men who'd served my family for years, loyal but not stupid. They knew something had changed after the confrontation with the Syndicate.
"We have a job," I told them. "Drug dealers at the port need to be eliminated. But there's a complication. They're federal agents."
Silence. Then one of my men, a veteran named Cole, spoke up. "Boss, if we hit feds, we'll bring down heat we can't handle."
"I know. That's why we're not going to kill them. We're going to make it look like we did."
"How?"
"I'm still figuring that out. But I need all of you ready to move when I give the order. This has to be perfect, or people I care about die."
The men nodded. They didn't fully understand the situation, but they trusted me. That trust felt like a weight.
After the meeting, I went to see Ava's mother. Mrs. Parker was in one of the guest rooms, looking lost and afraid. She stood when I entered.
"Mr. Blackwood."
"Please, call me Adrian."
"I'd prefer not to call you anything. I'd prefer to never have met you." Her voice was sharp with anger. "You've destroyed my daughter's life."
"I know. And I'm sorry."
"Sorry doesn't fix this. Sorry doesn't give Ava back her future." Mrs. Parker's eyes filled with tears. "She was going to be a doctor. She was going to help people. Now she's caught up in whatever nightmare you've created."
"She's still going to be a doctor. When this is over, I'll make sure she finishes school. I'll pay for everything."
"Money doesn't solve everything. Ava has lost her innocence. I can see it in her eyes. She's different now. Harder."
The words cut deep because they were true. I'd changed Ava, pulled her into darkness she never should have known existed.
"I'm trying to protect her," I said quietly.
"By making her complicit in your crimes? By forcing her to watch you become a murderer?" Mrs. Parker shook her head. "You're not protecting her. You're destroying her."
I left before I could respond. Because what could I say? She was right. Every day Ava spent with me, she lost a little more of her goodness. Eventually, there'd be nothing left but darkness.
I found Ava in the library, reading medical journals I'd had delivered. She looked up when I entered.
"Your mother hates me."
"She's scared. Give her time."
"She's right to hate me. I've ruined your life."
Ava closed the journal. "Stop saying that. You didn't ruin my life. You complicated it, yes. Made it dangerous and confusing. But you didn't ruin it."
"How can you say that? You were going to be a doctor. You had dreams, goals. Now you're hiding in a safe house, waiting for criminals to decide if you live or die."
"I'm still going to be a doctor. This doesn't change that." She stood and walked over. "Adrian, I'm not some fragile thing that breaks under pressure. I'm stronger than you think."
"I know you're strong. That's what terrifies me. Because strength in my world means becoming hard. Cruel. I don't want that for you."
"Then help me stay soft." She took my hand. "Be the kind of man I can love without losing myself."
"I don't know if I can be that man."
"Try."
We stood there in the quiet library, and for a moment, I let myself imagine a different life. One where I wasn't a criminal. Where Ava and I had met in normal circumstances. Where we could be together without blood and violence shadowing every moment.
But that life didn't exist. And pretending otherwise was dangerous.
My phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number. I opened it and felt my blood run cold.
The message contained a photo. Ava's mother, taken through a window. The timestamp was ten minutes ago.
Below the photo, a message: "We're watching. Don't forget what's at stake."
"What is it?" Ava asked.
I showed her the phone. Her face went pale.
"They're here. Watching the safe house."
"Not here. But close enough." I pulled up the security feeds. Nothing unusual outside. But that meant nothing. The Syndicate could be anywhere.
I called Zarek. "We have eyes on us. Unknown location. Find them."
"On it."
I turned to Ava. "Get your mother. We're moving to a different location."
"Where?"
"I have a place. Off the grid. Not even my own men know about it."
Thirty minutes later, we were in three separate cars, taking different routes to a cabin two hours outside the city. It was small and isolated, surrounded by forest. I'd bought it years ago as an emergency fallback. Only Zarek knew it existed.
We arrived after dark. Mrs. Parker looked exhausted and terrified. Ava helped her inside while I did a security sweep of the perimeter.
"This is insane," Dante said, joining me. "We can't keep running forever."
"I know. But until I figure out how to handle the port situation, we don't have a choice."
"Adrian, what if we can't figure it out? What if there's no good solution?"
"Then I do what Emma ordered. I kill the agents and damn the consequences."
"You can't mean that."
"Can't I?" I turned to face him. "How many innocent people am I willing to sacrifice to save the ones I love? That's the real question. And I think we both know the answer."
Dante was quiet for a long moment. "When did we become the villains?"
"We were always the villains, cousin. We just pretended otherwise."
Inside the cabin, Ava was making tea for her mother. The domestic scene felt surreal given everything happening around us.
"Mrs. Parker needs rest," Ava said when she saw me. "She's exhausted."
"There are bedrooms upstairs. Take whichever one you want."
After Ava settled her mother in bed, she came back down to find me staring at the files on the DEA agents. Six men, all with families. All just doing their jobs.
"Have you thought of something?" she asked.
"Several things. All of them terrible." I closed the file. "What if we contacted them directly? Warned them about the Syndicate?"
"Would they believe you?"
"Probably not. They'd think it was a trap."
"What if I contacted them? As a civilian who got caught up in this?"
"Too dangerous. If the Syndicate finds out, they'll kill you."
"They want to kill me anyway. At least this way, we're trying to do the right thing."
I looked at her, this woman who'd stumbled into my life and refused to leave. She was offering to risk everything to save people she'd never met. It was exactly the kind of goodness I'd fallen in love with.
"If we do this, there's no going back," I warned. "We'll be committing treason against the Syndicate. They'll hunt us for the rest of our lives."
"Then we'll run. Together."
"Ava, you don't understand what that means. Always looking over your shoulder. Never staying in one place. Watching everyone you love become targets."
"I understand perfectly. And I'm still willing to do it." She moved closer. "Adrian, we can't let them turn you into a monster. This is our line in the sand."
She was right. If I killed those federal agents, I'd lose whatever humanity I had left. And maybe Ava would finally see me for what I really was and leave.
Part of me wanted that. Wanted her to run and save herself. But the selfish part, the part that loved her desperately, couldn't let her go.
"Alright," I said finally. "We'll try to save them. But if it goes wrong, if your mother's life is threatened, I'm pulling the plug. Understand?"
"Understood."
We spent the rest of the night planning. Zarek joined us remotely, feeding information through encrypted channels. By dawn, we had something resembling a plan. Risky, probably impossible, but a plan nonetheless.
"We contact the lead agent tomorrow," I said. "Set up a meeting in neutral territory. You'll go with Dave as backup while I stay here with your mother."
"Why can't you come?"
"Because if it's a trap and I'm there, we're all dead. This way, if something goes wrong, at least I can still protect your mother."
Ava didn't like it, but she agreed.
The next morning, Dave and Ava left for the meeting. I stayed behind with Dante, Zarek on comms, and Mrs. Parker who watched me with undisguised hatred.
"If anything happens to my daughter, I'll find a way to make you pay," she said.
"I know. And I'd deserve it."
We waited. Minutes felt like hours. Finally, Zarek's voice came through the comm.
"They're at the location. Setting up the meet."
More waiting. I paced the cabin, unable to sit still. Mrs. Parker never took her eyes off me.
"You love her," she said suddenly.
"Yes."
"Then let her go. Give her a chance at a normal life."
"It's too late for that. The Syndicate knows about her. They'll use her against me whether she's here or not."
"So you've trapped her."
"I've kept her alive."
"That's not the same thing."
Before I could respond, Zarek's voice exploded through the comm. "We have a problem. The agents brought backup. Looks like they're planning to arrest Dave and Ava."
My blood turned to ice. "Get them out of there. Now."
"Working on it."
I grabbed my keys. "Dante, stay with Mrs. Parker. Shoot anyone who tries to get in."
"Where are you going?"
"To save Ava."
I drove like a madman toward the meeting location, an abandoned parking garage downtown. As I approached, I saw federal vehicles blocking the exits. Damn it. The agents had set their own trap.
I pulled up and got out, hands visible. A man in a suit approached, gun drawn.
"Adrian Blackwood. You're under arrest."
"I'm not here to fight. I'm here for the woman."
"She's in custody. Along with your associate."
"Listen to me carefully. In one week, an organization called the Syndicate is going to send killers to murder you and your entire team. They know you're federal agents. They know everything."
The agent's eyes narrowed. "How do you know that?"
"Because they ordered me to kill you. This whole thing is a setup." I pulled out my phone and showed him the files Zarek had compiled. "Check your communications. You'll find leaks. Someone in your agency is working for them."
The agent looked uncertain. Another agent approached, older with gray hair.
"Agent Morrison, this could be a trick."
"Or it could be the truth." Morrison studied me. "Why warn us?"
"Because I'm trying not to be the monster everyone thinks I am. And because the woman you arrested saved my life. She's innocent in all this."
Morrison considered for a long moment. "Let's say I believe you. What do you want in return?"
"Disappear. Make it look like you're dead. Give me proof to show the Syndicate, and I'll make sure they leave you alone."
"And in exchange?"
"Let Ava go. She doesn't belong in this world."
Morrison looked at his partner, then back at me. "I'll need to make some calls."
"You have six days before the Syndicate expects me to move. After that, your entire operation is blown regardless."
As Morrison walked away to make his calls, I saw Dave and Ava being brought out in handcuffs. Ava's eyes met mine, and I saw fear there. Not for herself. For me.
Morrison returned. "I spoke with my superiors. We're willing to work with you. But we need everything you have on the Syndicate."
"Done. But first, let them go."
The handcuffs came off. Ava ran to me, and I held her tight.
"Are you insane?" she whispered. "You just confessed to federal agents."
"I'm trying to save lives. Isn't that what you wanted?"
Morrison interrupted us. "Mr. Blackwood, if we do this, you're still going to face consequences. But we can offer reduced sentences, protection—"
"I don't want protection. I just want this one thing to not end in bloodshed."
We spent the next hour hammering out details. The DEA would fake their deaths using bodies from the morgue and staged crime scenes. I'd provide photos as proof to the Syndicate. In exchange, I'd give them everything I knew about the Syndicate's operations.
It was a deal with the devil. But at least this devil wore a badge.
As we prepared to leave, Morrison pulled me aside. "You know they'll figure it out eventually. The Syndicate. They'll know you betrayed them."
"I know. But by then, maybe I'll have figured out how to destroy them."
"Or they'll destroy you first."
"That's a risk I'm willing to take."
We drove back to the cabin. Ava was quiet, processing everything that had happened. When we arrived, Mrs. Parker rushed out.
"Thank god you're safe."
Ava hugged her mother. "We're okay. Everything's okay."
But it wasn't okay. Because in saving those federal agents, I'd committed an act of treason against the Syndicate. And when Emma found out, there would be hell to pay.
That night, as everyone slept, I sat alone in the dark. My phone buzzed with a message from an unknown number.
"We know what you did. The reckoning is coming."
It was signed with a single initial: S.
Selene knew. Which meant Emma would know soon. And then the real war would begin.