Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Damon didn’t move.

His hand stayed inside his pocket.

Still.

Empty.

Wrong.

For a second, his brain refused to process it.

Then everything snapped into focus.

The drive was gone.

Not misplaced.

Not dropped.

Gone.

A slow, cold realization spread through his chest.

No panic.

Just clarity.

Damon pulled his hand out slowly.

Checked the other pocket.

Nothing.

His jacket.

Nothing.

No.

No, no

He turned sharply toward the room.

“Did anyone come in here after him?”

Seraphine looked up immediately.

“After who?”

“Hale.”

Her expression darkened.

“No.”

Damon’s jaw tightened.

“Then someone took it before he left.”

Luca’s eyes opened fully now.

Sharp.

Alert.

Despite the weakness still in his body.

“You’re sure?” Luca asked.

Damon looked at him.

“I had it when we got here.”

Luca held his gaze.

Reading him.

Trusting the certainty.

Then nodded once.

“Then it didn’t disappear.”

Damon’s pulse slowed further.

Dangerously calm.

“No,” he said quietly.

“It was taken.”

Silence stretched for half a second.

Then Luca spoke again.

Low.

Controlled.

“Who had access?”

Damon’s mind moved fast.

Replaying everything.

The ambulance.

The transfer.

The chaos.

The room.

The people.

Too many variables.

Too many hands.

Too many moments.

Seraphine crossed her arms slightly.

“Everyone in this room was vetted.”

Damon didn’t look at her.

“That doesn’t mean anything anymore.”

Because Hale had just proven that.

Systems could be entered.

People could be placed.

Control didn’t need permission.

Luca shifted slightly, ignoring the pain.

“Not everyone had the opportunity.”

Damon looked at him.

Luca’s gaze was steady.

Focused.

“Think,” Luca said. “When was the last time you felt it?”

Damon frowned slightly.

Then

Memory clicked.

The hillside.

The mud.

The fight.

His hand closing around the drive

Then

The fall.

Viktor.

The struggle.

Damon’s breath slowed.

“I had it when we left the hill.”

Luca nodded.

“And in the ambulance?”

Damon went still.

The ambulance.

He hadn’t checked.

Hadn’t even thought about it.

Too focused on Luca.

Too focused on survival.

“…I don’t know,” Damon admitted.

Luca’s jaw tightened.

“That’s where it happened.”

Damon’s eyes narrowed.

“You’re guessing.”

“No,” Luca said.

“I’m eliminating.”

Seraphine stepped closer.

“You think someone in emergency transport lifted it?”

Luca shook his head slightly.

“Not random.”

His gaze shifted toward the door.

Toward where Hale had stood.

“Targeted.”

Damon followed that line of thought immediately.

Hale.

Too calm.

Too prepared.

Too informed.

“He already knew,” Damon said.

Luca nodded once.

“Exactly.”

Damon’s pulse dropped.

“If he knew I had it… he didn’t need to take it himself.”

Seraphine’s expression sharpened.

“He’d have someone placed earlier.”

Damon exhaled slowly.

Yes.

That made sense.

Too much sense.

A system.

Not a man.

Layers.

Not presence.

Damon ran a hand through his damp hair.

“Ambulance team?”

Luca shook his head again.

“No.”

Damon frowned.

“Why not?”

“Too visible,” Luca said. “Too many witnesses. Too many variables.”

Damon’s mind shifted again.

Recalculating.

“Then when?”

Luca’s gaze hardened slightly.

“When you stopped thinking about it.”

The words landed clean.

Precise.

Brutal.

Damon went still.

Because that was it.

That was the truth.

The moment he focused completely on Luca

On keeping him alive

That’s when he became vulnerable.

That’s when the drive became secondary.

And that

Was when someone moved.

Seraphine spoke again.

“Hospital intake.”

Damon looked at her.

“Explain.”

“Your belongings,” she said. “They were handled. Catalogued. Moved.”

Damon’s stomach tightened.

Of course.

Of course.

Structure.

Procedure.

A perfect cover.

Luca nodded faintly.

“Less chaos. More control.”

Damon’s jaw clenched.

“Who handled it?”

Seraphine turned toward the door.

“I can find out.”

Damon stepped forward.

“No.”

She paused.

Looked back at him.

“Why?”

Damon’s voice dropped.

“Because if Hale is watching and he is then asking questions means tipping our hand.”

Luca’s eyes flicked to him.

Approval.

Sharp.

Immediate.

“Yes,” Luca said quietly.

“We don’t react.”

Damon met his gaze.

“We hunt.”

The word hung in the air.

Heavy.

Decisive.

Seraphine studied both of them.

“You’re not in a position to do anything,” she said.

Damon didn’t look away from Luca.

“That’s not true.”

Luca’s lips twitched faintly.

“Not yet,” he added.

Damon nodded once.

Agreement.

But not surrender.

A pause.

Then Luca spoke again.

Lower this time.

For Damon alone.

“Check your inside pocket.”

Damon frowned.

“I did.”

Luca shook his head slightly.

“Not that one.”

Damon stilled.

Then slowly reached inside his jacket again.

Deeper.

Hidden seam.

A place he hadn’t consciously used

But had instinctively chosen earlier.

His fingers brushed metal.

Cold.

Solid.

Real.

His breath caught.

Slowly

Carefully

He pulled it out.

The drive.

Still there.

Still his.

Damon stared at it for a long second.

Then looked at Luca.

“You knew.”

Luca’s gaze held his.

“I hoped.”

Damon let out a quiet breath.

Half disbelief.

Half something else.

“You said it was taken.”

Luca didn’t flinch.

“I said we act like it was.”

Damon went still.

And then

He understood.

Fully.

Completely.

Luca wasn’t just recovering.

He was thinking ahead.

Building strategy.

Creating misdirection.

Even now.

Even like this.

Damon’s voice dropped.

“You’re setting a trap.”

Luca’s expression didn’t change.

But something sharper settled behind his eyes.

“Yes.”

Seraphine looked between them.

Realization dawning.

“You’re letting them think they succeeded.”

Damon nodded slowly.

“Exactly.”

Luca exhaled faintly.

“They’ll move differently if they think they have it.”

Damon’s grip tightened slightly around the drive.

“And that’s when we find them.”

Silence settled again.

But this time

It wasn’t fear.

It was intent.

Focused.

Dangerous.

Alive.

Damon slipped the drive back into the hidden pocket.

More carefully this time.

More deliberately.

Then looked at Luca.

“You’re supposed to be recovering.”

Luca’s lips curved faintly.

“Multitasking.”

Damon shook his head slightly.

“You’re unbelievable.”

“Still alive,” Luca corrected.

Damon’s expression softened just slightly.

“Barely.”

Luca met his gaze.

“That’s enough.”

A knock sounded at the door again.

Softer this time.

But no less dangerous.

Every instinct in Damon’s body sharpened.

Seraphine moved first.

Opening it carefully.

A nurse stepped in.

Professional.

Calm.

Normal.

Too normal.

“Mr. Moreau,” she said politely. “There’s someone here to see you.”

Damon didn’t move.

“Name.”

The nurse hesitated.

Just for a second.

Then

“They didn’t give one.”

Damon and Luca exchanged a look.

Sharp.

Silent.

Understanding.

Too fast.

Too soon.

The trap

Was already moving.

The nurse stepped aside slightly.

And a familiar voice spoke from the hallway

Low.

Controlled.

Too calm.

“I believe we have unfinished business.”

Damon’s blood ran cold.

Hale.?!