Dancing Flames

The trio walked out of the panic room together as Claire continued to give them more insight as to what they were about to face.

"Since they're field of choice was on your property it means one of two things." They stopped by Aiden's bed where Claire put her flamingo slippers back on. Seeing as there were no other viable options for her to wear, she didn't have much of a choice but to go with what she had at hand. "The first is anybody and everybody outside the house is suffering from poisoning as a means to deteriorate their resistance during interrogations. They're not their main target, but they're still your people so they have valuable knowledge hey can later use or sell. The second would be that they're all de-" She stopped herself from finishing.

Claire was never one to give false hope, but these weren't her people she was talking about. They were Aiden's and Lucas's. People who they hand picked, personally trained and even lived along sides of for years. Casually mentioning the possibility of them having been killed because they found themselves in the crossfire of her and her unrelenting pursuers, made the already noticeable guilt that was coursing through her heart even heavier. She suddenly found herself without the courage to finish what she was insinuating. Something that had never happened to her before.

Both Aiden and Lucas noticed her sudden reluctance to finish what she was saying. Although they appreciated what seemed to be concern for their people, they were both men seasoned with more than a decade of bloodshed and underworld misery. Making them painfully aware of how the possibility of death was one of the only things to be found beyond the doors of the mansion's front doors.

"The second being they're all dead." Lucas finished her incomplete sentence without batting an eye.

"Yes." Claire replied as she shifted her gaze towards Aiden for a brief second. Yes she felt guilty, but the least she could do was look him in the eyes as she told him.

Pushing everything aside, she continued briefing them on anything that could be useful. "But if they are still alive, then that makes the clock tick even faster. They must be administered with an antidote before any permanent damage is done. One of my teams is already on it's way here with back up and medics, but time is of essence. We should regain as much control as possible before they get here. How long until your backup arrives?

"Ten minutes max." Aiden replied as he also finished putting his shoes on. Straightening to his full height, he looked at his wrist watch and confirmed that his team would be sweeping his entire property in no time. He had no doubt that Lucas had already ordered them to move while he made his way towards them earlier.

"Guess I'll only be able to put two down then." Claire mumbled to herself loud enough to confuse both men with her statement. But before they could ask what she meant, she looked up at them and continued. "Then Aiden and I will take care of the inside while Lucas gets his workout done outside. My shadow team will serve as your back up once they see you engage."

They all nodded in agreement.

Seeing as she had nothing left to say, Claire made her way to the door without taking notice of the silent conversation Aiden and Lucas were having. It was quick and wordless, but the message between them was loud and clear.

"See you guys in a bit." Lucas said before he walked out through the rooms balcony doors and disappeared into the dark night.

Claire had her ear pressed against the door that gave way to the main hallway with her eyes closed. Aiden had already reached her when she opened them and looked up at him.

Although she knew Aiden could take care of himself, she wasn't sure on how they would perform as a team. She had no doubt that they had very good chemistry when it came to their romantic relationship, but being partners in the kind of situation they were currently in was a whole other subject. Even so, she pushed her uncertainty to the back of her head an shifted her mind set.

She knew that the people infiltrating the estate had a clear goal. To take her captive while still breathing. And seeing as her Lily was in the estate, and her team was still on it's way, she could only focus on working with the cards she was dealt.

The most obvious one being Aiden.

"How confident are you in your hand to hand combat skills?." She asked him.

"Confident enough to being seconds away from throwing you inside the panic room until Lucas and I are finished with whoever had the guts to interrupt the good mood we had going on and disrespected my household." Aiden blurted out as if he were dying to do it. Even if his face didn't say so, he had been planning on spilling blood the second he failed to get in contact with the team of men tasked with guarding his estate. Everything that kept coming after that point had only served as fuel for his inner flames.

He could understand that his little lady indeed had many secrets, but being at risk in his own house? That was a blow to the very definition of his pride. No matter how the situation came about or what their intentions on his property were. They had bested his personally selected men and that was reason enough to justify his blood thirst.

There would be hell to pay that night no matter what. He would make sure of it.

"Good." Claire decided not to dwell long on his response. She knew him well enough to understand that if she gave him any sort of opening at all, he wouldn't hesitate to lock her up just like he said he would. "They'll certainly send someone to come look for me here first, so how about you show me just how good you are?"

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Nothing could be heard besides the crackling of the flames inside the fireplace that served it's purpose of warming the room. And since the bedroom lights were off, it also provided some illumination that didn't extend far past the lounge chairs placed near it.

Claire sat on the long couch as her face was covered with the shadows of dancing flames. She was by herself , covered with a thick blanket, but the man slowly approaching her from behind knew that she was not to be underestimated. His team members informed him that the man accompanying her had left through the same balcony he came in through. Probably to deal with the men on the outside while she dealt with those on the inside. Giving him the chance to get close to her without interference.

"I find it hard to believe you're intending on making this easy for us." He said in an almost sarcastic tone as he took a step closer to her. He could now see that she was placing bullets inside a modified SIG P210. The most accurately balanced handgun a person could get their hands on.

Claire had sensed him the moment he stepped in to the room. So when he spoke to her, she didn't feel startled in the least. In fact, she was somewhat intrigued as to why he would try to engage in a conversation, but recognizing the voice behind her, she understood why. And she also understood what his true intention being there were.

"You know I was never one for wasting time. I knew somebody would come here first, so why prolong the inevitable." Her voice was calm as she continued to give her back to him. And although she was focused on loading the weapon in her hands, she couldn't help but feel her heavy heart sink a little bit further. This would be the last conversation she would have with someone she had once grown to care for.

"It didn't have to end this way you know." The man said as he placed his large hand on to her shoulder. In spite of the situation, it was unusually warm. Loving almost.

Claire finally turned a bit and looked up at the man who's face was covered in black. And even though they both knew what he was there for, his hand seemed to be that of a reassuring loved one instead of the man ordered to take her with him against her will.

A simple second passed before Claire's es turned somewhat sad. "And I'm sorry that it did."

Just as she said that, another shadow like figure emerged from behind the masked man and in one swift movement broke his neck. The sound of something snapping was quick. But long enough to cause Claire's heart to slightly crack. The hand the man had placed on her shoulder, along with the rest of his now limp body, slowly fell until it hit the floor all at once.

"We should go look for the next one." Claire said as she stood up and handed Aiden the gun she had just re-loaded. In reality it was his to begin with. She had only used it as a prop to make herself look occupied while waiting, for the now almost cold corpse on the ground, to approach her and leave himself open for Aiden's stealthy maneuver.

She was under the impression that she had successfully prevented him from seeing the emotion in her eyes before he ended the man. But she was wrong. He had zeroed in on her expression the moment he stepped out form the shadows.

Aiden had heard their short exchange, which in itself wasn't alarming seeing as she had been honest about the fact of knowing who was behind the surprise attack. But it wasn't until he had seen the look on Claire's face as he ended the life, of the now dead man at his feet, that he understood that whoever was behind his house invasion, was most likely also responsible for many of his little lady's inner scars and turmoil. If not all of them.

Sensing she had already shifted her mindset back into focusing on the task at hand, he decided to keep what he had seen to himself. For now at least.

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At the City's Center base.

"We've confirmed the perpetrators have infiltrated the main house as of three minutes ago. The outside is now an ongoing battlefield, but there's still no word from the inside." Anna told Colton as he typed away on his keyboards.

"Have the shadow team continue to help with the clean up and the medical assistance, but make sure the Wolves move inside as fast as possible. She's good on her own, but Lily's inside. That'll have her on edge and I don't want her doing anything drastic." He knew Claire was fierce, but knowing her little flower was right in the center of a dangerous situation would surely keep her from dealing with everything calmly. "What about Ben?"

"He went dark as soon as he reached the estate." Anna knew it wasn't the answer he wanted to hear, but it was one they both expected. Being set in his old ways, constantly communicating with their team just wasn't the way the loyal butler did things.

Colton sighed, but refrained from letting his thoughts wander. He was used to the man's ways. Sensing Anna's obvious unease, he couldn't help but glance her way. And just like he suspected, she was tense.

Focusing his eyes back on what he was doing, he spoke just loud enough for her to hear, but hushed enough to avoid anyone of the dozens of people buzzing around them from listening in on their conversation. "Relax. This time it's different."

Anna slightly turned towards him when she noticed he was trying to sooth her. Sure they had been bickering like cats and dogs recently, but the fact that they were the only ones to truly understand the severity of what was going on was also true. And that alone was enough to make her wonder how he could remain so calm during such a stressful moment.

They were sitting closely together since Colton had made sure the chair he had asked for her was right next to his. And since the situation was one that occupied her every thought, Anna didn't even realize how they were practically glued to each other since she first sat down. But seeing as now her guard had dropped for a moment, she couldn't help but feel reassured by his words.

She unconsciously leaned a bit closer to him, action which didn't go unnoticed. Leaning himself a bit more towards her as well, their shoulders were more or less pressed against each other when the images of two thirds of the entire room went black for a second before what appeared to be live feed from different body cameras started to stream on the monitors.

Colton's lips slowly stretched into a smirk as his eyes were filled with the same kind of dancing flames Claire had on her face earlier. What he said to Anna was true. This time it was different.

Because this time, the blood spilled would not be of his own.