CHAPTER 16

YOU'RE NOT A COVER ANYMORE

The clang came again, sharper this time. The sound of metal scraping against metal, like someone trying to force the lock open. Abigail’s heart leapt into her throat.

“They’re here,” she whispered, her voice breaking.

Luke didn’t look at her. His eyes were fixed on the door, his entire body taut like a coiled spring. Gun raised, jaw set, he was the picture of calm violence controlled but deadly.

“Stay behind me,” he said, his voice low, measured.

Abigail pressed herself against the wall, her pulse slamming in her ears. The small maintenance room suddenly felt like a coffin. She couldn’t breathe. Couldn't think.

The scraping turned into pounding. Heavy, rhythmic blows shaking the door in its frame. Dust drifted from the ceiling with every hit.

Luke’s eyes flicked around the room, scanning for exits. There were none. Just shelves stacked with industrial cleaners, boxes of lightbulbs, and a single vent high up near the ceiling not big enough for a person to crawl through.

“Luke,” Abigail said, panic spiking in her chest, “we’re trapped.”

His head turned slowly, his gaze locking on hers with an intensity that made her shiver. “We’re not.”

He moved fast, crossing the room in three strides. He grabbed a metal crowbar off one of the shelves and shoved it into her hands.

“What am I supposed to do with this?” she asked, gripping the cold steel like it might bite her.

“Anything you have to,” he said flatly, already checking his gun’s magazine.

Her throat went dry. “Luke…”

He looked at her then really looked at her. And for a split second, the hard mask cracked. “Abigail. Whatever happens, you stay alive. Understand?”

She nodded slowly, unable to speak past the lump in her throat.

The pounding on the door grew louder. Then silence.

Abigail froze. The quiet was worse than the noise. It felt wrong, like the calm before something catastrophic. She swallowed hard, gripping the crowbar until her knuckles turned white.

Luke’s gun didn’t waver. His breathing stayed even, but his shoulders were tense, ready.

Then it happened.

A deafening blast tore through the silence, the door shuddering violently as smoke and splinters exploded into the room. Abigail screamed, dropping low as a second blast blew the lock clean off. The door swung inward with a metallic screech, and two men stormed in, both dressed in black, faces hidden under masks.

Luke fired before they could take a step. One shot clean, precise. The first man crumpled instantly, his body hitting the floor with a sickening thud.

The second man lunged at Luke before he could fire again. They collided hard, the gun skidding across the floor out of reach. Abigail scrambled back, heart pounding so loud she couldn’t hear anything else.

Luke fought like a man possessed brutal, efficient, every movement calculated to kill. But the intruder was strong, fast, and ruthless. They slammed into the shelves, knocking bottles and boxes to the ground. Glass shattered. Liquid splashed everywhere.

“Luke!” Abigail screamed, gripping the crowbar with shaking hands.

The man had Luke pinned against the wall now, a knife flashing in his hand. Luke caught his wrist, straining to keep the blade from sinking into his chest. The muscles in his arms bulged with the effort, sweat slicking his skin.

Without thinking, Abigail moved. She swung the crowbar with everything she had, the metal connecting with a sickening crack against the attacker’s skull.

The man stumbled, dazed, and Luke didn’t waste the opening. He wrenched the knife free and drove his elbow into the man’s throat. The attacker collapsed, choking, then went still.

Abigail stood frozen, the crowbar trembling in her hands. Her breath came in sharp, shallow bursts.

Luke turned to her slowly, his chest heaving. For a moment, they just stared at each other the reality of what just happened sinking in like poison.

“You okay?” he asked finally, his voice rough.

She nodded, though she wasn’t sure if it was true. Her whole body was shaking so violently she thought she might collapse.

Luke retrieved his gun, checked the hallway beyond the shattered door, then looked back at her. “We can’t stay here. There will be more.”

Her stomach dropped. “More? How many of them are there?”

He didn’t answer. Which was answer enough.

“Luke,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “Why are they doing this? Why me?”

He hesitated for half a second, then crossed the room in two long strides and gripped her face in both hands, forcing her to look at him. His eyes burned with something raw, something dangerous and maybe something that terrified her more than the men with guns.

“Because you’re not just a cover anymore,” he said, his voice low and harsh. “You’re leverage. And if they can’t use you against me, they’ll kill you to hurt me.”

Her breath hitched. “I….I don’t understand. ”she stuttered

“You don’t have to,” he snapped, then softened just enough to add, “You just have to trust me.”

Before she could answer, another gunshot rang out in the distance closer this time. Shouts followed. Heavy boots pounding toward them.

Luke grabbed her wrist again, yanking her toward the door. “Move!”

They bolted down the corridor, Abigail’s heels slipping on the slick floor. The air reeked of smoke and chemicals, and the sound of approaching footsteps grew louder by the second.

“Luke where are we going?” she cried as he pulled her into another hallway.

“Garage,” he said through gritted teeth. “If we can make it to the car, we have a chance.”

A shadow loomed at the end of the corridor a man with a gun raised.

Luke shoved Abigail hard to the ground as the shot rang out, the bullet sparking against the wall where her head had been. He fired back without hesitation, dropping the man with a clean shot to the chest.

Abigail scrambled to her feet, her entire body trembling, adrenaline burning through her veins like fire. She wanted to scream, to cry, to run in the opposite direction but all she could do was follow Luke as he dragged her through the chaos, deeper into a night that felt like it might never end.