Page 65 of Dark Alliance
I looked around at all their faces, and a shiver of fear ran through me.
This was real. There was no turning back.
I couldn’t help but wonder which of us might not make it out alive. My eyes darted to Zeno, then back to Thal, and my heart ached. If anything happened to either of them, I would be so lost. I couldn’t even begin to imagine the pain.
How would I go on?
NO.
I wouldn’t think that way.
I needed to stay positive, confident, and focused. If I faltered now, I’d be the one causing everyone’s death. I would never let that happen.
Was I ready to take a bullet to protect any of them?
I sure fucking was.
“All the camera feeds have been altered. Only a peaceful loop is showing up for the security forces inside who are monitoring the feeds,” Aidon said.
“Good,” Zeno said.
“Next, after we’re all in place, we’ll cut the lights, and as soon as we do that, we need to be ready to face them. It will take mere seconds for them to become defensive,” Thal said.
“Are we ready to strike?” Zeno asked, his face hard with resolve and anger. He kept shifting his weight from one foot to the other, eager to go like an impatient racehorse.
Rhea targeted all of us, but it seemed as if Zeno bore the brunt of the blows. It was clear to me that he was eager to destroy her. I shuddered at what he might do if he got his hands on her.
My heart pounded in my chest as I gripped my gun while looking at the sprawling compound.
Rhea was hiding in there somewhere.
I hoped like hell she didn’t get away this time.
It was so quiet here in the darkness. The compound in front of us was completely peaceful. It consisted of a few ordinary concrete buildings surrounded by a fence and a large parking lot that was illuminated in bright, white light.
My eyes darted over to Zeno. No matter what happened tonight, I knew Zeno would never consider me his family again. What was done was done. We could never go back to how things used to be.
And once we were at that point, I would have no family left.
My parents were gone. Now, Zeno would be gone too.
Fuck, the thought of that hurt more than I’d ever admit out loud. Not to Zeno. Not to Thal. It was hard to admit it to myself. I’d spent my whole life trying to claim my independence. From my parents, then from Zeno.
Maybe I didn’t want to be totally free, after all. The strong emotion that grew inside my heart every time I thought about it made me question that long-held belief.
Maybe I just needed the space to be myself, to figure out who I was, as a woman, as a human, as a person not connected to this crazy, wild, chaotic life that had surrounded me for as long as I could remember.
“Ready?” Aidon asked, glancing at Thal, then Zeno, then me.
The three of us nodded, and the men behind us pointed their weapons.
Aidon nodded once, firmly, then spoke into his phone. He had his tech guy ready, and as soon as he gave the word, chaos would erupt through the night.
“Lights,” he said into the phone, before shoving it back into his pocket.
Three seconds later, the bright outside lights that had illuminated the property shut off with a loud thud. Darkness enveloped us, with the faint glow from a few windows piercing through. And then, those went dark too.
For a few seconds, it felt like time froze. We all stayed still, watching. There was no movement, no sound.
