CHAPTER 9

Chapter 9: Threads of Deception

1

Elena sat in the dimly lit safe house, the weight of the night pressing against her like a vice. The silence wasn't comforting—it was suffocating. The escape from Gabriel's warehouse should have felt like a victory. Instead, it felt like a temporary delay.

She leaned against the cold wooden table, staring at the gun she had placed in front of her. The same gun she had fired at Gabriel.

She should have killed him.

She needed to kill him.

Yet, when she had pulled the trigger, she had hesitated—just long enough for him to evade the shot.

Her fingers curled into a fist.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" she muttered.

A creak from the doorway pulled her out of her thoughts.

Luca leaned against the frame, arms crossed. His shirt was stained with blood—some of it his, some from Gabriel's men.

"You've been quiet," he said, voice low.

Elena sighed. "Just thinking."

Luca studied her, his sharp gaze cutting through the layers of armor she tried to keep up. "About him."

She didn't deny it.

Luca let out a dry chuckle. "You know, most people don't walk away from Gabriel twice."

Elena scoffed. "I'm not most people."

"No," he said, stepping closer. "But you are someone who needs to figure out what the hell you're going to do next. Because Gabriel isn't going to let you go so easily."

She knew that.

Gabriel wasn't the kind of man to let go of something he considered his.

And that was exactly how he saw her.

His.

The thought made her stomach twist with equal parts anger and something more dangerous—something she refused to name.

Luca exhaled and sat down across from her, eyes never leaving her face. "I saw how he looked at you, Elena."

She tensed. "And?"

"And I don't think he wants to kill you."

She clenched her jaw. "Doesn't matter."

"Doesn't it?" Luca leaned forward. "Because if Gabriel hesitated too, then you have something no one else does—a way to get inside his head."

Elena knew what he was suggesting.

Use Gabriel's emotions against him.

Turn the game on him.

And it would have been a good plan—if only Gabriel hadn't already mastered that game himself.

2

Across the city, Gabriel paced the length of his office, the wound in his arm forgotten.

The pain was insignificant compared to the burning frustration coursing through him.

Elena had shot him.

He should be furious.

He should be planning his next move, hunting her down, reminding her exactly what happened to people who betrayed him.

And yet—

Gabriel touched the bandage on his arm, lips curving into a smirk.

She hesitated.

He had seen it in her eyes, felt it in the way she pulled the trigger just a second too late.

She wasn't as free from him as she wanted to believe.

He turned as the door to his office opened, revealing his second-in-command, Damian.

"She got away," Damian said, his tone carefully neutral.

Gabriel chuckled. "I noticed."

Damian folded his arms. "You let her go."

Gabriel's amusement faded slightly. "She escaped."

"Because you let her."

Gabriel's jaw tightened. He didn't need Damian's analysis. He already knew.

"Find her," he ordered.

Damian hesitated. "And when we do?"

Gabriel's smirk returned.

"Bring her back."

3

Back at the safe house, Elena sat in the dark, her mind replaying Luca's words.

Use Gabriel's emotions against him.

She knew him better than anyone—knew the way he thought, the way he planned five steps ahead of everyone else.

But if she wanted to survive this, she had to stop playing defense.

She had to strike first.

And there was only one way to do that.

She picked up her phone and dialed.

The voice on the other end answered after two rings.

"Elena."

She exhaled. "I need information. Everything you have on Gabriel's next move."

A pause. Then—

"You're walking a fine line."

"I know," she said. "Just get me what I need."

Because this time, she wasn't just going to run.

She was going to win.