Lin's Warning

The warehouse door was unlocked.

Rex pushed it open. The hinges screamed. Inside was darkness. Thick. Heavy. The kind of darkness that pressed against your skin and made the hair on your arms stand up.

I reached for my gun. Rex shook his head.

"Not yet," he whispered. "We do not know where the cameras are."

"Victor already knows we are here."

"Then let him think we are unarmed."

I did not like it. But I let go of the gun.

We walked deeper into the warehouse. The floor was concrete. Cracked. Covered in dust. Our footsteps echoed off the walls. Too loud. Too exposed. Footprints led toward the back. Recent footprints. Multiple people. Some large. Some small.

"Lin," I called out. "It is me. Mira."

Silence.

"Lin, answer me."

A muffled sound. To the left. Behind a stack of pallets.

Rex held up his hand. Stopped me.

"Could be a trap," he said.

"Could be Lin."

"Let me go first."

"No. Together. Remember?"

He looked at me. Nodded.

We moved toward the sound.

Lin was tied to a chair.

Her wrists were bound with zip ties. Her ankles were bound with rope. A strip of duct tape covered her mouth. Her eyes were wide. But not scared. Angry. Furious. The kind of angry that came from being caught, not from being afraid.

I pulled the tape from her mouth. She winced.

"About time," she said.

"Are you hurt?"

"Just my pride. And my wrist. And my dignity."

I cut her wrists free with a knife from my boot. Rex cut her ankles. She stood up. Rubbed her wrists. Looked around the warehouse.

"Where is Victor?" I asked.

"I do not know. He left about an hour ago. Said he had something to take care of."

"Did he say what?"

"No. But he was smiling. That is never good."

Rex moved to the window. Looked out at the dark street. His body was tense. His gun was in his hand.

"He is not here," Rex said. "That means he is somewhere else. Watching. Waiting."

"For what?" Lin asked.

"For us to make a mistake."

Lin grabbed my arm. Pulled me close. Her voice dropped to a whisper.

"Listen to me, Mira. Victor is not working alone. He has someone inside your house. Someone you trust."

"We know. Mrs. Park."

"No. Not Mrs. Park. Someone else. Someone higher."

My blood went cold.

"Who?"

"I do not know. But they have access to everything. Your security cameras. Your phone calls. Your messages. They have been feeding Victor information for months."

"That is impossible. You secure all my communications."

Lin shook her head. Her face was pale.

"Not this time. This person is better than me. They have been covering their tracks. Deleting logs. Hiding their location. Every time I get close, they are already gone."

"There has to be something. A trace. A clue."

Lin pulled out her phone. Scrolled through messages. Her fingers moved fast.

"I found one thing. A name. In the metadata of a deleted file. They thought they erased it. They did not."

"What name?"

"Drake."

Rex turned from the window. His face was pale. His jaw was tight.

"Drake Marchetti."

"Who is that?" I asked.

"My cousin. My father's brother's son. He has been in Europe for the past five years. Supposedly."

"Supposedly?"

"He was exiled. For trying to kill my father. My father sent him away. Said if he ever came back, he would kill him myself."

"And now he is back."

Rex nodded slowly. "And now he is back."

Lin sat down on the chair. She looked exhausted. Dark circles under her eyes. Her hands were shaking.

"Drake has been communicating with Victor for at least six months," she said. "Maybe longer. They have been planning something. Something big."

"The empire," I said. "They want the empire."

"Not just the empire," Rex said. He walked to the wall. Leaned against it. "They want revenge. Against me. Against your mother. Against everyone who sent them away."

"So they joined forces," I said. "Victor wants his empire back. Drake wants his family back. Together, they think they are unstoppable."

"No one is unstoppable," Lin said.

"Victor thinks he is."

"Then we prove him wrong."

Rex walked to me. Took my hand. His fingers were cold.

"We need to get back to the house. Secure it. Lock it down."

"What about Lin?"

"She comes with us."

Lin stood up. Her eyes flashed.

"I am not going anywhere with him."

"Lin..."

"No, Mira. I trusted him once. He betrayed you. He lied to you. He killed your father."

"He also saved my life."

"That does not make him a good man."

"No. But it makes him mine."

Lin looked at me. Then at Rex. Then back at me. Her face softened.

"You love him."

"I did not say that."

"You do not have to. I can see it in your eyes."

I did not answer.

Because I was not sure if she was right.

We walked out of the warehouse. The night was still dark. The city was still silent. Too silent.

Rex's car was where we left it. No damage. No signs of tampering. No flat tires. No broken windows.

"Too easy," Rex said.

"What?"

"Getting Lin out. No guards. No traps. No Victor. He wanted us to find her. He wanted us to take her."

"Why?"

Rex opened the car door. Motioned for Lin to get in.

"Because she is not the target. You are."

Lin stopped walking. Turned to face me.

"He is right. Victor did not care about me. He used me to get to you. To make you come here."

"And now I am here."

"And now you are leaving. With me. With him. Victor lost."

Rex shook his head. "Victor does not lose. He waits. He plans. He strikes when you least expect it."

"Then we do not give him the chance."

We got in the car. Rex drove. Lin sat in the back. I sat in the front.

No one spoke.

The city blurred past the windows. Dark buildings. Empty streets. Red lights. Green lights. The rhythm of the road.

My phone buzzed.

Victor.

You took the bait. Now the real game begins.

I showed the message to Rex.

"He is playing with us," Rex said.

"Then we play back."

"How?"

I typed a response.

What do you want, Victor?

His answer came immediately.

Everything. And I will start with you.

We arrived at the house twenty minutes later.

The gates were closed. The guards were at their posts. Everything looked normal.

Too normal.

Rex parked the car. Cut the engine. The silence was deafening.

"Stay here," he said. "Both of you. I am going to check the house."

"No," I said. "Together. Remember?"

He looked at me. Held my gaze.

"Remembering."

We walked to the front door. Rex unlocked it. Pushed it open.

The house was dark. Silent.

Too silent.

"Mrs. Park?" I called out.

No answer.

"Mother?"

No answer.

Rex pulled out his gun. I pulled out mine.

We moved through the rooms. Living room. Empty. Kitchen. Empty. Dishes in the sink. A half-eaten apple on the counter. Someone had been here recently. Then they left. Fast.

Study. Empty. Papers scattered on the desk. Drawers open.

"Where is everyone?" Lin whispered.

"I do not know."

We reached the hallway. Mrs. Park's room. The door was open.

The room was empty. The bed was made. The crucifix was back on the wall. The photograph of her daughter was back on the nightstand.

But Mrs. Park was gone.

"Check your mother's room," Rex said.

I ran up the stairs. Pushed open the door.

Empty.

The bed was unmade. The sheets were cold. A glass of water on the nightstand. A book face down on the pillow. She had been reading. Then she left. Or she was taken.

I ran back downstairs.

"She is not there."

"Then where is she?"

My phone buzzed.

A photograph.

My mother. Bound. Gagged. Eyes wide. The same warehouse. The same chair. The same zip ties.

Victor's message:

You took one hostage. I took another. We are even.

Rex grabbed the phone. Stared at the screen. His knuckles were white.

"He took your mother."

"Yes."

"While we were at the warehouse."

"Yes."

"He planned this. The warehouse. Lin. Everything. He wanted us out of the house so he could get to her."

"Yes."

Lin walked to us. Looked at the photograph. Her face was hard.

"He is going to kill her."

"Not yet," I said. "He wants something first."

"What?"

"I do not know. But he will tell us. He always does."

My phone buzzed again.

Come alone. Midnight. The warehouse where you found Lin. Do not be late.

"He wants me to come back to the warehouse."

"Then we go together," Rex said.

"No. He said alone."

"Mira..."

"If I do not do what he says, he will kill her. You know he will."

"Then we find another way."

"There is no other way."

I walked to the door.

"Mira, wait."

I turned. Looked at him.

"I have spent ten years planning revenge against a dead man. Ten years building an army in the dark. Ten years preparing for a war that never came."

"And now it is here."

"And now it is here. And I am not going to hide. Not anymore."

Rex walked to me. Took my face in his hands. His thumbs traced my cheekbones.

"Then let me come with you."

"You cannot. He will see you."

"Then I will stay outside. In the shadows. Waiting."

"He will kill you if he finds you."

"Then I will not let him find me."

I looked at him. At his storm-cloud eyes. At the man who killed my father and married me for revenge and said he needed me.

"If I do not come back..."

"You will come back."

"Promise me something."

"Anything."

"If I do not come back, take care of Lin. Take care of Mrs. Park. Take care of my mother."

"You are going to come back."

"Promise me."

He kissed me. Hard. Desperate. His hands in my hair. His body against mine.

"I promise."

I pulled away. Walked to the door.

Lin grabbed my arm. Her grip was tight.

"Be careful, Mira. Victor is not the only one you should be watching for."

"What do you mean?"

"Drake. He is out there. And he is closer than you think."

"How close?"

Lin looked at Rex. Then back at me. Her voice dropped to a whisper.

"Close enough to touch you."

I walked out the door.

The night was dark.

The warehouse was waiting.

And somewhere in the shadows, Victor was watching.

I did not look back.