Clara stiffened, the image flickering through the drone cam as Oliver leaned in, his mouth moving in those calm, perfect lines Watchdog knew too well. And then, Clara’s coffee cup was crushed, liquid spilling down her hand.
Watchdog’s chest squeezed so tight it hurt. He knew that look. He knew it in his marrow. Oliver had a weapon on her. “Bastard,” Watchdog ground out, shoving back from the console. His headset slipped askew. He was on his feet before he even realised it, the van rocking with his movement.
“Watchdog.” Bás’s voice was sharp, commanding from the seat opposite.
“He’s got a gun on her!” His voice broke, harsher than he intended. He reached for the door handle, fingers trembling with rage. “I’m not sitting here while he…”
Bás stood in a heartbeat, blocking him, solid as a wall. “You will sit your arse down.”
The words cracked through the van like a whip.
Watchdog’s breath tore out of him, ragged fury clawing at his skin like fire ants. The urge to tear the door open, to run into the street and put himself between Oliver and Clara, was almost overwhelming. His fists curled until his knuckles blanched.
“Lotus is there,” Bás said, his tone flat, controlled. “You know what she can do. She’ll keep Clara steady. You running in blind will get them all killed.”
The logic pierced through the haze, but only barely. Watchdog’s heart still pounded, his skin damp with sweat. He forced his gaze back to the monitor.
Oliver’s hand rested beneath the table, his body angled just enough. Watchdog didn’t need to see the weapon. Clara’s face said everything.
Oliver leaned closer, his lips brushing Clara’s ear. On the feed, her eyes widened, her fear stark and raw.
A low growl escaped Watchdog’s throat before he could stop it. “If he touches her…”
“Then we’ll end him,” Bás cut in, voice sharp as a blade. “But not here. Not like this. We’re too exposed. Too many civilians. You know the rules. We don’t risk collateral damage. We take him clean, or we don’t take him at all.”
The words slammed through the haze, steadying but brutal.
Watchdog dragged in a breath that scraped his lungs raw. Logic. Discipline. He knew Bás was right. Charging in now would put Clara, Lena, and half the bloody street in danger. He forced his fists to unclench, though his nails had left crescents in his palms.
He dropped back into the chair, breath harsh, his skin still crawling with fury. “I want ears on this,” he snapped, shoving the headset back into place.
Bás gave a curt nod. “Yeah, let’s find out what this little prick is saying.”
Watchdog’s fingers flew across the keyboard, hands trembling but precise, rerouting signals, tapping into Lotus’s comms. A crackle of static, then Lotus’s voice came clear, low and even, as if they were discussing nothing more than the weather.
Clara’s quick, uneven breathing bled through the background.
Watchdog’s pulse spiked again, but this time he gripped the console, grounding himself in the sound of her voice.
“Well, well,”Oliver murmured, tilting his head at Lotus.“Lotus herself. I’d wondered when they’d send one of you to babysit.”His eyes glinted with mockery.“Tell me, did Watchdog draw the short straw this time or is he still hiding in some van full of screens?”Oliver’s words slid across the line, smooth as oil.“Don’t look so shocked, darling. You didn’t think I was blind to who’s been hovering around you, did you? Bás. Duchess. Titan. All your little shadows.”His teeth flashed in a smile that never reached his eyes.“Family. Isn’t that what they call themselves?”
Lotus’s voice didn’t waver.“Careful, Oliver. Knowing names isn’t the same as holding cards.”
Watchdog’s vision went white at the edges, every muscle in his body tightening. Oliver knew their names. He knew them.
“Stay calm,” Bás ordered quietly, though his own jaw was set tight.
On the feed, Clara sat frozen, her eyes wide, her lips pressed tight. Oliver leaned close, his mouth brushing her ear as though whispering sweet nothings.
Oliver’s voice slithered through the comms, silk over steel.“You should know better than to try and leave me, darling. We had a deal after all. I keep your parents safe, and you become my blushing bride. I guess if you break the deal…”A pause, deliberate, cruel.“…then I no longer need to keep your parents safe.”
Clara’s sharp inhale cut across the line, ragged and panicked.
Watchdog’s blood went ice-cold.
His knuckles slammed against the edge of the console before he realised he’d moved. Rage and dread crashed together in his chest, so violent he thought for a moment he might be sick.
This wasn’t just about Clara anymore. Oliver had his claws in her family. Her parents’ safety, her entire world, it was all a chain Oliver yanked at will.
