Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

Skipper came running out of the warehouse like he'd seen a ghost. Lucian had sent him in to fetch the documents that came with the trucks.

"What is it?" Lucian demanded, stepping forward, muscles taut, ready to face whatever had shaken Skipper so badly.

"The police!" Skipper gasped. "They're on their way here."

Lucian froze. He grabbed Skipper by the collar. “Have you sniffed anything tonight?” He brought his nose close to Skipper's mouth.

Skipper shook his head quickly. “I’m clean. The mole—our guy at the precinct—called. Someone tipped off the inspector. She’s already on her way.”

Lucian shoved him back, running a hand through his hair to calm his raging nerves. 

How? How did the police find out? He’d only picked men he trusted for this operation. That meant someone... was playing him.

“There’s a snitch,” he muttered under his breath. "Someone is working with the police here."

“What now, sir?” Skipper asked, glancing anxiously at the trucks. “If they find the—”

“Get your men. Load the drug mattresses into the empty truck. Now.” Lucian’s voice was cold, commanding. Time was ticking.

Skipper ran off and gathered the men. They moved with urgency, stacking mattresses into the empty truck.

Trout walked up, noting the tension on Lucian’s face. “Boss, what’s going on?” he looked at the men who were moving swiftly.

Lucian didn’t turn to him. “There’s a mole. The police are coming.”

Trout's eyes widened. “We’ve got to move fast.”

He joined Skipper, barking orders. If the police caught them, it was game over and that was the last thing he wanted.

Meanwhile, Alex kept glancing toward the road, praying the inspector would arrive before the truck left. What was taking her so long? He had called her nearly twenty minutes ago.

The men worked quickly, finishing the transfer in under fifteen minutes. Trout and Skipper climbed into the truck and drove off with the evidence.

No. No. No. Alex clenched his fists. They were getting away, and still, no police in sight. What was going on?

Meanwhile, miles away...

Inspector Rosaline paced beside her stalled vehicle, checking her watch for the fifth time in two minutes. Flat tire. Today, of all days. Seems like the universe was on Lucian's side.

They finally got the car moving, but precious time had already been lost.

Lucian exhaled as the truck finally pulled out. He nodded at the remaining men, who began unloading the decoy mattresses, these were clean. He always did this just Incase something like this happened.

The wail of distant sirens signaled the arrival of the police just as the second truck was being staged. 

Lucian stood calmly, hands in his pockets as the convoy pulled into the premises.

Inspector Rosaline stepped out, icy wind tugging at her coat. She gave Lucian a hard look.

“Inspector,” Lucian greeted her with a faux smile, arms out as if to welcome her. “What a pleasant surprise.”

Rosaline said nothing. She kept her distance from him. Her gaze swept across the men until it landed on Alex. Something flickered between them, he was trying to tell her something, but she didn’t quite understand.

She turned to Lucian. “Since when did the almighty Romano empire become mattress dealers?”

Lucian smirked, lighting a cigarette. “We’re expanding our horizons.” he took a drag, and puffed smoke in her face. "Is it a crime?"

“I’ll be the judge of that,” she snapped, already walking toward the truck. “Mind if I take a look?”

“All yours,” Lucian bowed mockingly. “Take one for yourself, you’ll need a good sleep after this.”

Rosaline ignored the jab. She and two officers climbed into the truck, tossing mattresses down. She slit one open with a pocket knife and dipped her hand in. Foam. Just foam. She tore it wider—still nothing.

She checked another. It was the Same result. None of these made any sense to her. Alex had told her over the phone about drugs, so where were they?

She stood, furious, storming back toward Lucian who had a smirk on his face.

“What kind of nonsense is this?” she demanded, ticking her hair behind her ear that was being blown by the wind.

“Is there a problem, Inspector?” he said coolly, exhaling a cloud of smoke. "What were you expecting to find?

“Don’t play dumb with me, Lucian! Where are the drugs?!” she yelled angrily.

“All I see here are mattresses.” Lucian pointed at the truck. "Seems like you need to visit the hospital."

She pointed a finger in his face. “Don’t test me!”

He gently took her finger and lowered it. “You came unannounced. I let you destroy my property. But what I won’t accept is being falsely accused.”

Rosaline boiled with anger. This man had escaped once again. She yanked her hand back. “This isn’t over. One day, you'll face justice.”

Lucian leaned closer, his breath hot on her face. "The earlier you stop labelling me a criminal, the better for you."

Rosaline gave him one last look and she spun on her heels, jumped into her car, and drove off.

Lucian’s smile dropped the moment she left. His eyes darkened. Rosaline had been taken care of, now he had to find the mole.

Hours later at the Romano Mansion…

The bodyguards stood in a line, silent and tense. Lucian sat on the couch, one leg crossed over the other, hand supporting his chin.

He rose slowly. “Every man here was hand-picked. Trusted. And now, one of you has betrayed that trust.” He began walking down the line, his eyes burning into each man.

He stopped in front of Alex, his gaze fixed intently on him. Alex held his gaze. There was something in those eyes of him, but Lucian refused to act based on intuition.

“I trusted you all,” he said, then grabbed Alex by the collar and slammed him against the wall.

“You don’t happen to be the mole... do you?”