Chapter 6

The Net of the Warehouse. 

Lena POV

‘842 Industrial Way, Dock 4. Please come, Lena. I don’t know who else to call. Don’t tell anyone.’

I stared at the words, my chest tightening into a hard, painful knot.

My mind screamed at me to not listen to Claire's final warning, and that I should at least tell someone.

But the memory of her terrified voice on the phone last night, the sound of that slamming door, and the sight of her running away from the coffee shop completely overrode my common sense.

She was my sister. Whatever mess she had dragged herself into, she was the only family I had left.

I didn’t call Maya and, specifically didn't call Adrian cuz If I brought a mafia boss into my sister's messy, desperate life, things could go from bad to worse in a matter of seconds.

Twenty minutes later, my small sedan rattled as I turned off the main highway onto Industrial Way.

I cut my headlights a block away,from the address, rolling the car to a stop near a rusted chain-linked fence. My hands shook slightly on the steering wheel as I killed the engine.

"Just find Claire, make sure she's breathing, and get out," I muttered to myself, pushing the car door open.

The cold night air bit through my jacket. The silence here was entirely different from the one back at my place, it was heavy, oppressive.

I checked my phone. No signal.

Great.

Walking briskly, I navigated past a labyrinth of towering blue and red shipping containers until I reached the rusted iron numbers bolted to the side of a massive corrugated metal building

Dock 4.

The sliding metal bay door was cracked open.

"Claireee?" I called out, my voice sounding painfully small in comparison to how big the dock was.

No answer. Just my voice bouncing back.

I gripped the edge of the heavy door and pulled it open just enough to squeeze through.

The interior of the warehouse was everything wrong.

"Claire!" I said louder this time, stepping further onto the concrete floor.

Suddenly, a heavy clank echoed from the far corner of the warehouse.

I spun around, my heart almost jumping out of my mouth.. From behind a stack of tarp-covered crates, two heavy-set men stepped out into the dim light.

They wore grease-stained jackets, and carried an air of casual, brutal roughness, but they didn't look like elite hitmen, they looked like low-level enforcers working for a local loan shark or a minor crew trying to make quick money.

"Well, look what wandered into the net," the taller one grinned, his teeth catching the light as he cracked his knuckles. "The nurse."

A cold wave of dread washed over me. I took a hard step backward, my heel catching on a stray bolt.

"Where is my sister?" I demanded, forcing my voice to stay sharp even as my knees turned to water.

A slow, heavy pair of footsteps echoed from the shadows deeper inside the warehouse. A third man stepped into the light, I recognized the build, it was Vince.

You can call him one of the smaller dudes in comparison to Adrian.

"Your sister isn't here, sweetheart," Vince smiled, cleaning his fingernails with a small pocket knife. "She owed a very serious debt, and when we found out she had a sister shacking up with Adrian Volkov’s inner circle... well, we figured a little leverage couldn't hurt."

My breath hitched. They wanted to use me to get to Adrian.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I lied, my voice shaking despite my best efforts to keep it steady. "Let me go."

"Oh, we'll let you go," Vince chuckled, stepping closer while the two enforcers moved slowly to flank my sides, cutting off any path back to the open bay door. "Right after your boyfriend gets our message. All you had to do was stay out of the ER that night nurse, announce him dead. But noooo… you had to play hero."

I swallowed hard, my mind racing through options. There was no phone signal, no one knew where I was, and these men clearly didn't care about rules or decency.

"You're making a massive mistake," I said, lifting my chin. "If Adrian Volkov finds out you laid a hand on me…"

"He won't have to look far," Vince interrupted, his smile vanishing as he snapped his pocket knife shut with a sharp click. "Grab her."

The enforcer to my left lunged forward, heavy hands grabbing my arm roughly. I wrenched away, kicking out hard with my boot and catching him square in the ball.

He grunted in surprise, loosening his grip for a split second, which was all the opening I needed to pull free and run toward a narrow aisle between two towering stacks of wooden crates.

"Get her you morons!" Vince shouted, his voice echoing off the corrugated metal walls.

Footsteps pounded heavily on the concrete behind me, splashing through puddles of water. I darted blindly through the maze of crates, my breath coming in ragged, painful gasps as the cold air burned my throat.

I found myself at a dead end and spun around, pressing my back against the wire fence just as the heavy footsteps closed in.

The taller enforcer appeared around the corner first, breathing heavily with a nasty grin spread across his face. "Nowhere left to run, little bird."

He reached out, his thick fingers grabbing the collar of my jacket. I brought my elbow up hard, smashing it into his chest, but he barely flinched.

He hauled me forward, his grip tightening until pain flared through my shoulder.

"That's enough now, let her go."

The voice didn't come from me. It didn't sound like Vince either.

It was a low, baritone voice that cut straight through the gloom of the warehouse.

The enforcer stopped moving, his head snapping toward the front of the warehouse.

A heavy, echoing crash shook the entire structure. The corrugated metal bay door, which had been cracked open was violently kicked off its upper tracks. It crashed inward onto the concrete floor with a deafening, metallic screech.

In the blinding glare of high beams from vehicles parked outside, heavy tactical boots stepped over the twisted metal.

Leading the charge, his face an absolute mask of lethal, cold fury, was Adrian. He wore a dark wool coat over a simple black shirt, his short hair slightly ruffled by the wind, but his gray eyes were locked onto the scene.

Right behind him, automatic weapons raised in perfect synchronization, it was Viktor and a small, silent unit of enforcers.

Vince’s face went completely pale, all the color draining from his cheeks in a single heartbeat. "Volkov..." he choked out, taking an involuntary step backward.

The enforcer holding me dropped his hand instantly as Viktor stepped out of the shadows beside Adrian, his dark eyes fixed squarely on Vince.

Adrian started coming forward, razor sharp focus on everybody in front of him.

He stopped three feet from Vince, looking down at the smaller man with an expression of absolute, chilling pity.

"You have a very short memory, Vince," Adrian said softly, his voice carrying effortlessly across the silent warehouse. "I told the south side districts months ago that my affairs are off-limits."

"I…I didn't mean…" Vince stammered, raising his hands defensively as he backed up against a stack of crates. "It was just a misunderstanding about a debt, Volkov. We didn't know she was…"

"You knew," Adrian interrupted coldly. He didn't raise his voice, yet every man in the room held his breath. "You chose to gamble with something that belongs to me."

Viktor stepped forward, cracking his knuckles with a quiet, menacing efficiency. "Do you want us to wrap this up here, boss, or take them down to the lower yard?"

Adrian kept his eyes fixed on Vince, his jaw tight as he slowly turned his head to look back at me.

"Take care of it," Adrian said quietly, turning his back on Vince and walking straight toward me.