Chapter 5 - A Deal with a Devil
Julian took Lena to a diner outside the city limits, where the coffee was bad and the waitress knew him by name.
“You bring all your enemies here?” Lena asked.
“Only the stubborn ones.”
“That must be a large group.”
“It keeps the diner open.”
He placed a folder on the table. Inside were photographs of the men who had attacked her, along with their arrest records. Both had worked for Vane’s private security company. One had been charged with assaulting tenants. The charges had vanished.
“Why show me this?”
“Because you’re about to make a mistake.”
“Which one?”
“Trusting evidence just because it agrees with you.”
Lena pushed the folder back. “You work for Vane.”
“Yes.”
“You intimidate tenants.”
“Sometimes.”
“You threatened me.”
“Often.”
“And now you want me to believe you’re protecting me?”
“I want you to believe I’m protecting something.”
“What?”
Julian’s silence lasted too long.
“A debt,” he said.
He offered her a deal. He would get her access to Vane’s private records if Lena stopped visiting the condemned properties alone. She refused twice. The third time, a city vehicle followed her home and parked across the street.
She accepted.
The records were stored in an office above Vane’s construction headquarters. Julian entered using a keycard and disabled the cameras. Lena searched the filing cabinets while he watched the hall.
“You could have been an actual criminal,” she whispered.
“I was.”
“That was not comforting.”
“It wasn’t meant to be.”
She found a folder marked RIVER DISTRICT ACQUISITION. It contained maps, demolition schedules, and a list of residents classified by resistance level.
At the top of the list was Lena’s name.
Beside it, someone had written: Leverage through mother. If unavailable, use brother.
Her hands went cold.
“Julian.”
He read the page. His expression hardened.
“We’re leaving.”
“Not yet.”
“Lena.”
“There are hundreds of names.”
“And if we’re caught, there will be one more.”
She copied the files to a flash drive. A door opened downstairs.
Julian pulled her into a narrow supply closet. His body pressed against hers in the dark, his hand covering her mouth. Footsteps crossed the hall.
She could feel his heartbeat through his shirt.
When the footsteps passed, neither of them moved.
“You can let go,” she whispered.
“I know.”
“Then do it.”
His hand lowered. The space between them became more dangerous than the men outside.
“You don’t look at me like I’m dangerous,” he said.
“You are dangerous.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
“I look at you like you’re hiding something.”
“That’s safer.”
They escaped through the roof and crossed to a parking garage. At the stairwell, Julian stopped her.
“The file about your mother is real,” he said.
“What does that mean?”
“It means Vane has been waiting twelve years for you to find this.”
“Why?”
“Because he doesn’t need to destroy you.”
May you like
Julian looked toward the city lights.
“He needs you to destroy yourself.”
