Page 23 of Forbidden Empire (Sinful Gods #1)

Ten

E SME

Aidon had fallen right into my trap, letting me pore over the intelligence he’d gathered on Rhea’s syndicate.

Now I had twice the leverage. The scales tipped in my favor, though he would never admit it.

He was beginning to trust me again. The process was a slow one, but I could work with it.

Not that he’d ever say as much. But he let me leave alone, as long as I kept in touch, kept him updated on where I was and what I was doing.

It was a leash, sure, but looser than before.

After slipping back to my rental, showering off the sweat and grime, and changing into dark clothes, I set my plan in motion.

If Aidon discovered what I was up to, he’d think I was betraying him all over again.

Maybe I was in a sense, but not really. I’d deal with that later.

For now, I moved through the shadows of Rhea’s warehouse on the city’s edge, my nerves stretched tight as piano wire.

The darkness pressed in, broken only by overhead lights that flickered on and off, drenching the concrete floor in jagged, shifting shadows.

After all this time, I found out where she kept her servers, a secret I’d hunted for weeks.

If I could get to them, I’d have the last piece. Enough to ruin her, to force her out of the city forever.

The air tasted of oil and rust, the ghosts of old machinery haunting every breath.

I could hear, somewhere distant, the faint drone of another warehouse.

My heart pounded a manic rhythm as I darted from one patch of darkness to the next, the tiny, encrypted flash drive in my pocket thumping against my thigh with every step.

My mission was brutal and simple: find Rhea’s servers and download everything I could.

Aidon, in his arrogance, had handed me the intel I needed.

Now I knew the exact place to look. If I reached them, I could gut her operation from the inside.

Every second was borrowed time. Every breath was a risk. I slipped deeper into the dark, adrenaline lighting me up from the inside. All I had to do was get in, get out, and not look back.

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.

“We don’t have time for this,” I hissed, but my hands shook, betraying me. “I just saved your fucking empire, but you’ll never?—”

His hand clamped around my arm, brutal and uncompromising, dragging me into his orbit. The heat rolling off him was dizzying, intoxicating, tinged with whiskey and sharp mint.

“I knew I shouldn’t have fucking trusted you.” The words came low and rough, scraped raw from his throat.

I jerked in his grip. “You don’t understand?—”

He leaned in, lips curling just enough to reveal teeth. “I let you go.” He tugged me closer, inches from my face. “And now you’re here, feeding intel to my enemy?”

Something inside me broke.

I shoved him hard, catching him off guard so he staggered a step.

“I would never work for her!” The shout scorched my throat. “You’re a goddamned fool if that’s what you think!”

Behind me, the computer chimed. Done. Heart hammering, I snatched the USB free and shoved it deep into my pocket.

“We need to leave, Aidon. Now!”

The first gunshot shattered the air, exploding concrete from the doorframe.

“Fuck!” Aidon ducked, his arm reaching for me, but I was already lunging for the exit, adrenaline burning through me.

I risked a glance over my shoulder. It was a mistake. Arms like iron bands seized me around the waist, hauling me off my feet.

Hot breath ghosted against my neck as I thrashed, clawing at the vice crushing my ribs, panic turning my vision white at the edges.

My body jerked like a live wire as iron fingers dug into my skin.

Instinct took over. First, I thrashed, and next, I snapped my head down, teeth sinking through fabric, through flesh, until I knew I’d pierced through skin and drawn blood.

"You fucking bitch!" The man's roar rattled my ear, his fist slamming into my ribs.

Something cracked. White-hot pain flared, ripping away my breath.

Concrete slammed against my cheek, grit grinding into my skin. I gasped and clawed for air that just wouldn't come.

Everything seized inside me.

"ESME! NO!" Aidon's shout tore through the chaos, raw and desperate.

Boots thundered around us, black tactical gear surging from every shadow. Two men wrestled Aidon back, straining to hold him.

His face twisted, something wild in his eyes, a terror I'd never seen before.

The wall of men at the doorway split down the center.

Rhea glided in, heels clicking sharp and cold against the concrete. Her suit was midnight-dark, swallowing the light, so her pale face hovered in the gloom like a ghost.

"Well, well, well," Rhea said from across the room, every word sugar-coated poison.

Crimson lips curled as she paced around me, a predator savoring the moment.

"Look who we have here." She knelt, one manicured nail tracing along my jaw, ice trailing in her wake. "Take her away, boys."

Hands like steel clamps hooked under my arms, dragging me upright.

A flash of silver at my ankle, then the crinkle of mylar as it cinched tight. The green light on my monitor went out.

Across the aisle, another anklet blinked to life on a runner’s boot, same casing, same pulse, already sprinting toward the service door.

Panic surged hot and choking.

“Move,” someone barked. Zip ties bit into my wrists as cloth hit my mouth.

The world shrank to boots, tiles, and the sound of the decoy feet running away in the wrong direction.

My legs wouldn't move. I hung limp like a rag doll, pain raging through my chest as they carried me over a shoulder.

My ribs ground together, the agony so excruciating, I couldn’t help but scream.

I clawed at the fucker’s back, nails tearing into anything I could reach. Digging in, I scored fabric, skin. But the pain won out, cut deeper, shooting lightning through my shattered ribs.

The world spun, black spots dancing at the edges of my vision. All I could hear was my frantic heartbeat and Aidon's broken shout.

"Let her go!" His plea cracked, as if something in him shattered wide open.

Rhea's laughter sliced through it all, a sound like glass breaking. "You should choose your allies more wisely, Aidon."

She dragged a finger along his cheek, painting a smear of my blood across his skin.

His eyes found mine, just once. "I should have let you burn!"

His voice was ruined, grief and rage twisted together, chasing me as I was carried away.

Every step sent splinters of pain through my chest until even screaming became impossible, my lungs locked in a useless, frantic search for air.