Page 58 of Forbidden Empire

The clang of metal split the silence, sharp and sudden, and I snapped rigid behind a pillar, praying the shroud of darkness would be enough to hide me.

My heart hammered as I strained to listen, every shallow breath burning in my chest, while footsteps and muffled voices crept closer and closer.

I crouched low, muscles coiled tight, ducking behind a battered crate just in time to watch two men slip past me.

I risked a glance, peering around the splintered edge.

Recognition hit me. They were Rhea’s men.

A slow, secret smile curled my lips. At least I wasn’t lost; I was where I needed to be.

I held my breath, lungs aching, not daring to let even the softest exhale betray me.

“Did we get the information we needed?” one of them murmured, tension in every syllable.

“I think so,” the other replied. “The deliveries are funneled out of a small warehouse near the airport. We obtained the schedule and are planning the best way to attack it. Aidon will never know what hit him. It’ll be fucking glorious to pay that bastard back.”

“Good, fuck him. He thinks he’s untouchable because he owns The Underworld. He’s sorely mistaken.”

“Rhea wants it to hurt. Bad.”

“I can make that happen,” the other laughed, low and rough, their voices dissolving into the darkness as their footsteps faded away.

Fuck.

They planned to hit Aidon. The realization slammed into me, leaving me reeling and driving a new sense of urgency through my veins.

I needed those files, but now a warning burned at my tongue.

My loyalties twisted and tore inside me, piercing as a blade scraping bone.

I pressed my back tight to the cold concrete, barely daring to breathe until those footsteps faded into nothing. Then I moved, silent and low, fingertips grazing the gritty floor as I slipped between shadows. The server room couldn’t be far.

I found it. A closet-sized cave washed in the eerie, pulsing blue of machine-light. I almost sagged to my knees. Empty. For now.

The USB slid into the port with a loud click that made me flinch.

My fingers flew desperately over the keyboard.

The progress bar crawled agonizingly slow. Sweat prickled beneath my clothes, sliding down my back and pooling at my waistband.

"Move," I whispered, nails beating a staccato on the desk.

47%... 48%... The hum of the servers pressed in from all sides, louder and louder. It was the only thing I could hear besides my ragged breathing.

The air behind me shifted. A slow, deliberate exhale.

Goosebumps prickled along my skin, every nerve suddenly on edge.

"You never can help yourself, can you, Esme?"

I spun at the sound of Aidon’s voice, my veins turning to ice.

He filled the doorway, broad shoulders eclipsing the only escape, predatory and dark. The harsh fluorescent light carved shadows across his face, illuminating that lethal glint in his eyes I knew too well. His jaw flexed, muscle jumping beneath stubble, as if he was holding back a snarl.

“Aidon—” His name cracked as I edged away, the unforgiving metal of the server biting into my spine.

He prowled toward me, each step deliberate and deadly. The room felt smaller, colder, every inch of air between us charged with tension so thick it was hard to breathe.