Lark stood. "What's happening?" No one answered immediately, and she looked around the room. "I deserve to know."
Rocco walked over. "You're right." He stopped in front of her. "They found us."
Her shoulders stiffened. "Already?"
"Yes,” Rocco said.
She looked toward the reinforced doors. "I'm sorry,” Lark said.
The words surprised him. "What?"
"They're here because of me,” she insisted.
"No,” Rocco said.
"They are,” she countered.
"No." His voice hardened. "They're here because evil men don't like losing."
She looked unconvinced. "If I hadn't escaped?—"
"They would've found another girl." She stared at him silently. "You aren't responsible for what monsters choose to do." Something shifted in her expression, like nobody had ever told her that before.
A sharp electronic chirp echoed through the operations center. One of the technicians answered a secure line. "They're requesting to speak with us."
Rocco's eyes narrowed. "Patch it through."
The room speakers crackled, and then a calm, cultured voice filled the warehouse. "Good evening." Every muscle in Rocco's body tightened. He knew that voice—Keller. "I know you're listening." No one spoke. "I'd like to make a very reasonable offer."
Avery rolled her eyes. "Here we go."
Keller continued as though he hadn't heard her. "Return, Miss Santos." Lark visibly flinched. "And I'll allow everyone else to leave."
Rocco almost laughed. "That's your opening offer?"
"I believe it's generous,” Keller insisted.
"You murdered half the people on the docks,” Rocco shouted.
"They were employees,” Keller said; his voice remained perfectly calm. "They understood the risks." Rage burned through the room. "You have sixty seconds to reconsider."
Rocco stepped closer to the microphone. "Or what?"
"I'll come inside,” Keller threatened, and the line went dead. Silence swallowed the warehouse.
One of the younger agents whispered, "He's bluffing." Rocco looked toward the security monitors. Black SUVs were no longer circling—they had stopped. Every vehicle now sat outside the warehouse as though waiting them out. He checked his watch. They had fifty-three seconds. He looked around the room, and everyone understood that this wasn't going to be another chase. This was going to be a siege.
Rocco drew his pistol. "Positions." Agents scattered as weapons were loaded and barricades were rolled into place. Across the room, Dante instinctively moved toward Lark, and before he reached her, she took three determined steps forward.
"No,” she shouted. Both men looked at her. She met Rocco's eyes first. "Stop deciding for me." Then she looked at Dante. "I won't hide while everyone else fights because of me." Rocco saw surprise flash across Dante's face, followed by something else—pride.
Lark squared her shoulders, and her voice no longer trembled. "If Keller wants me—” She looked toward the reinforced warehouse doors. "He's going to find out I'm not my father's prisoner anymore." A slow smile spread across Rocco's face. He was seeing Lark underneath all the fear. She wasn't just surviving anymore; she was beginning to fight back.
Lark
The warehouse became eerily quiet. No one spoke or moved. The only sounds came from fingers flying across keyboards, magazines clicking into rifles, and the low hum of the backup generators. Lark stood in the middle of it all, feeling like she was in the eye of a hurricane. Everyone was preparing to fight because of her. She hated that feeling—always had. Her entire life, people had been hurt because of who her father was. Friends had disappeared, employees were punished, and guards died protecting the Santos empire. Now, good people were preparing to die because Adrian Keller wanted her. The guilt was suffocating.
"I need a minute,” she said. No one stopped her as she slipped away from the operations floor. She found an empty office overlooking the warehouse through a wall of glass and quietly shut the door behind her, and for the first time all night, she was alone. The silence didn't last, though. A soft knock sounded against the glass, but she didn't have to turn around.
