Page 14 of Under Her Command

They reached the back entrance—another metal door, slightly ajar.

Victoria met Isabel’s gaze.

“Creepy abandoned building 101,” Isabel murmured. “Door’s open, means it’s a trap.”

Victoria exhaled. “Let’s spring it.”

They stepped inside.

The warehouse was cavernous, dimly lit by streaks of late afternoon light filtering through shattered skylights. Stacks of wooden pallets and rusted-out machinery created pockets of deep shadows, places for people to hide.

And there was a lot of space for hiding.

Victoria’s stomach tightened.

“Keene?” she called out, her voice steady.

Nothing.

Isabel moved a few steps ahead, her gun raised, her eyes sharp. “This doesn’t feel right.”

Victoria was about to agree when the first shot rang out.

She barely had time to react before she was diving for cover, dragging Isabel down behind a stack of rusted barrels just as gunfire erupted from the upper level. Bullets ricocheted off metal, the sharpping ping pingringing in her ears.

“Motherfu—” Isabel hissed, pressing back against the barrels as another hail of bullets forced them lower.

“Ambush,” Victoria growled, pressing her hand to her earpiece. “Collins! Shots fired! It’s a trap! Where’s our damned backup?!”

Static.

The realization hit her like a punch to the gut.Their comms were jammed.

Isabel’s eyes widened slightly as she adjusted her position. “Oh,thisis bad.”

“No shit,” Victoria muttered.

A voice called out from the shadows. “Captain Langley. Drop your weapons, and we may let you walk out of here.”

Victoria’s grip on her gun tightened. She knew that voice. Natalia Voss. Mid-level enforcer for the Iron Fang Syndicate.

So itwasthem.

She exchanged a glance with Isabel, who shook her head, mouthing:No way in hell.

Victoria agreed. She peeked out just as a figure moved on the catwalk above. One. Two. Three shooters. Maybe more.

She took a breath.Calculate. React.

“We surrender,” she called out.

Isabel stiffened beside her, her eyes snapping to Victoria in disbelief.

Then Victoria whispered under her breath, “Cover me.”

Before Isabel could respond, Victoria sprang up from cover, firing twice—one shot taking out the nearest overhead light, the other striking the closest shooter in the shoulder.

The warehouse plunged into semi-darkness.