Chapter 88: Into the Fire

Darkness swallowed the warehouse, broken only by the flashing bursts of gunfire. The ambush had turned everything into chaos.

Isabella pressed her back against a metal crate, her heart pounding. Carver had set them up.

Through the earpiece, the comms were still dead. No way to contact Damian. No way to know if Ethan and Claire were still fighting.

Alexander crouched beside her, his breathing steady. Even in the middle of a firefight, he was calm focused.

"We need to move," he whispered.

She nodded, gripping her weapon tighter. They couldn't stay pinned down.

Footsteps echoed through the warehouse. Carver's men were moving, their voices cutting through the dark.

"She's here somewhere."

"Take them out before they regroup."

Isabella exchanged a glance with Alexander. No way in hell.

She tapped his arm and signaled left flank, cover fire.

Alexander nodded once before slipping into the shadows.

She moved fast, weaving between crates, her heartbeat syncing with the rhythm of battle. A guard turned the corner too slow. Isabella took him down before he could react.

Across the warehouse, she saw a flicker of movement Alexander, precise as ever, taking out another guard.

One by one, they cleared a path. But Carver was still out there.

The Hunter Becomes the Hunted

A familiar voice rang through the warehouse.

"Come on, Isabella," Carver taunted. "You didn't think I'd make it easy, did you?"

She clenched her jaw, scanning the darkness. He was trying to get into her head.

Alexander's voice came through her earpiece faint, but clear.

"He's stalling."

She exhaled. Of course, he was.

Carver wanted them distracted. He was buying time for reinforcements.

They had to end this. Now.

The Final Confrontation

Isabella spotted him first—standing on the second-level catwalk, arms folded like he had already won.

Big mistake.

She fired.

Carver barely dodged in time, ducking behind a steel beam as bullets sparked against metal. "Feisty as ever," he laughed. "But tell me, Isabella—what happens after you kill me? Think the power struggle just disappears?"

She didn't answer. She didn't have to.

Alexander was already moving. Silent. Lethal.

Before Carver could react, Alexander was behind him gun pressed to his back.

"Move," he ordered.

Carver stiffened, his arrogance finally cracking.

Isabella climbed the stairs slowly, her eyes locked on him. "You don't get to control this anymore, Carver."

He scoffed, but there was fear in his eyes now.

"You think killing me fixes everything?"

She smirked. "Who said anything about killing you?"

Checkmate

Within minutes, Damian and Claire were back online, sweeping in to secure the warehouse.

Carver's men surrendered. The fight was over.

As Damian took Carver into custody, Isabella let out a slow breath.

It was done. The first battle in a much bigger war—but a victory, nonetheless.

Alexander stepped beside her. "You okay?"

She looked at him, at the man who had once been her enemy, now standing at her side.

She nodded. "Yeah. I think I am."