SEVEN

Zarek

"So this is what you've been doing, huh?" Logan's voice hit me like a cold splash, jolting me from my stakeout haze.

"What are you doing here, Gunner?" I rolled my eyes, irritated that I'd been caught.

"What, just enjoying the show, watching you gawk at her, Ghost!" He chuckled.

"I'm not gawking. She got mixed up in something that night. I just want to make sure she doesn't end up in trouble," I defended sternly, my gaze locked on Leora's lively figure among the throng of club-goers celebrating her birthday.

"Well, nothing's happened. As you can clearly see," Logan retorted. Only if he knew what Calzone had done, breaking into her apartment.

"And nothing will." I replied firmly. "I can't have civilians caught in the crossfire because of our mistakes,"

" Your mistake, Zarek. You let her step into this mess." Logan said pointedly.

I shook my head, a mix of anger and guilt swirling inside me. I wanted to argue, to defend my actions, but the lump in my throat held back any plausible denials. He was right, and we both knew it.

Turning to face him, I admitted. "So, Kabir told you."

He shook his head. "I figured it out myself. You've been focused on Casteel so much that you've forgotten what this mission is about. All I had to do was wait for Kabir to slip up a bit. Which was easier than I thought."

I bowed my head in defeat. "I can't not watch over her, Logan."

"And that includes putting cameras in her apartment. I see." He said blankly.

"How the fuck—you know what, fuck it. That night messed everything up."

"Nope. You did. I told you to call for backup that night," Logan reminded me. "But you just had to do surveillance by yourself."

"I didn't expect there to be two perps. I was just following one lead." I said curtly.

He chuckled. "And that gave you a gash on your stomach with a side of obsession."

My gut churned at the word. I was obsessed.

"Great, now she's going inside in that stupid dress," Logan pointed at Leora and her friends showing their IDs to the bouncer outside. "Are we waiting until she's out?"

She was laughing now, surrounded by friends in a bubble of joy that seemed a world away from me.

Let her be, Zar. At least for tonight.

"No, we are leaving," I said reluctantly .

I nudged Logan back toward his car parked across from Club Century and climbed in. As Logan drove off, the city lights blurred past, mirroring the turmoil in my mind. Thirty minutes later, we arrived at Alpha Squad Six's headquarters.

My decoy phone rang as I got out of the car. This was the number I gave to civilians or police officers to get in touch with me. I eyed the unknown number, fear washing over me. The last person I gave this number to was the bouncer at the club. Walking inside I answered the call.

"It's Chase. You gave me your number to report anything unusual?" His calm voice sounded. For a brief moment I felt relieved. He was calm. How bad could it be?

"Yes. What have you got?" I said, my voice mirroring his calm.

"The girl you described… well, she was really drunk just now. Her boyfriend was dragging her into a car. Not sure if this counts as—"

I hung up, my heart stopped for a terrifying moment. In an instant, I was back in action, sprinting back to the car.

Logan was right behind me. "Talk to me, Ghost."

"She was taken. Someone snatched her off the fucking street." I muttered as I quickly geared up and jumped into the driver's seat. Logan soundlessly followed me.

Peeling off our street, I barked into the phone, calling Kabir, "I need your eyes on a vehicle. Logan will give you the approximate location."

After passing the phone to Logan, I raced back towards the club, desperate hope fueling my drive that it wasn't Leora who had been taken. Upon arriving, I zeroed in on a convenience store across the street.

Barging into the store, I made a beeline for the cashier who was mundanely stacking shelves. "I need to see your security tapes facing the street. Now !" My voice was more of a command than a request.

The cashier, a young guy with a bewildered look, started to stammer a response. I didn't have time for hesitation. I flashed my decoy police badge I kept for occasions just like this. "Official business. I need to see the footage from forty minutes ago."

As he scrambled to comply, I couldn't keep still. My leg tapped an urgent rhythm on the linoleum floor.

"Relax," Logan tried to reassure me, his voice steady. "We'll get her back safely."

I rounded on him, my fear spilling over into anger. "You're assuming it was her that was taken!" I bellowed, the possibility gnawing at my insides.

"But you said—" Logan raised his hands as his eyes met my icy glare. "You know what, screw it. All I'm saying is, if it's her, we're going to find her. Trust me. Kabir's already on it."

I redirected my focus just as the store employee managed to pull up the desired footage. My breath hitched, my heart thudding ominously as the grainy images flickered to life on the screen.

"Fuck!" The curse slipped out as my worst fears materialized before my eyes. There she was—Leora, unmistakable even in the poor quality video, her body limp in the grasp of a familiar brute. She looked helpless and I felt bile rise up my throat.

Logan leaned closer, his eyes narrowing as he recognized the assailant. "That's Casteel Romano."

"I know." I snarled. "Does Kabir have a location yet?"

Logan's phone buzzed at that exact moment, and he glanced at it, a crooked grin spreading across his face as he read the message. "Got something. He's traced her to an old apartment on the northeast side."

The surge of energy that shot through me was palpable, a fierce cocktail of fear and determination. "Let's go!" I barked, already heading for the door.

???

The apartment building stood isolated on the outskirts of the Greater Toronto Area, its once vibrant paint now peeling away in ragged strips, revealing the weary bones of a structure long neglected.

"Third floor, south-facing apartment. Belongs to Casteel's girlfriend," Logan whispered, his voice low under the cloak of night. I gave him a curt nod, feeling the weight of the moment tighten around my chest as I made my way to the fire escape, the metal cold and unyielding under my hands. Logan opted for the main entrance, planning to blend in just another day's end.

I ascended with cautious agility, reaching the third floor to find myself facing a row of windows, some cracked, others fogged. Peering into what looked like an empty room, I muttered a curse under my breath. She wasn't here—or perhaps not in this apartment at all.

Climbing through the window, I was greeted by the room's stale air, thick with the scent of neglect. Almost immediately, I heard Casteel's distinct voice from the living room, his tone laced with frustration. " No, she's saying she doesn't know him. This whole thing was stupid. He would've shown up by now. Why do you think I didn't switch cars?"

Stealthily, I moved toward the room's exit, my gun raised and ready. As I stepped through the doorway, Casteel's head snapped up, and his lips twisted into a smile—a chilling, unsettling smile.

"I got him," he said into the phone with eerie calmness before hanging up and raising his hands in surrender.

"Where is she?" The words scraped from my throat, hoarse and strained.

"Oh, the little bird?" He was grinning now. "She'll be fine. Unless you try to do something stupid." He strolled aimlessly across the living room. "You know, like, kill me?"

I moved slightly closer to him. I needed him alive, but that didn't mean his kneecaps needed to stay intact.

He continued, "You pull that trigger, Grant. And see how beautiful she'd look with a hole in her head."

My breath came in short sprints. I needed to stay calm.

Where the fuck is Logan?

I edged him towards one of the rooms and he confidently followed my lead.

"I'll take great pleasure in killing you, Casteel. Just like I did with Calzone." I declared.

His grin fell, morphing into a scowl. "You'll pay for what you did."

I nudged him further into the room. My finger itching to pull that trigger. But I knew I couldn't. Leora could be killed.

Before I could lunge at him, something flew right by my ear, lodging into Casteel's shoulder. A knife. I peered back to see Logan shrugging.

"You fucking—"

Before Casteel could finish his sentence, I acted, my emotions boiling over. I shut him inside the room he was caged in. His muffled scream sliced through the tension and I panicked. This could alert someone to take the shot at Leora.

I ran to the only other room in the apartment, leaving Logan to deal with Casteel.

My heart pounded with dread as I pushed open the door. I braced myself for what might come next. But nothing could have prepared me for the sight that greeted me in that room—a sight that sent a shockwave of anger through me.

Leora was tied up in a chair and unconscious while this other man held her head up to line her mouth with his dick. My eyes hazed for a moment, unable to register what was happening in front of me. The man's head snapped in my direction and I didn't think, I just shot. It went right through his length as he fell to the floor writhing in pain. His guttural screams echoing off the walls.

I dashed to Leora, quickly untying her and pulling her into my arms. Her body was limp, and a wave of panic surged through me as I whispered urgently into her ear, "Leora?"

She didn't stir for a moment and my finger flew to her neck to feel a pulse.

"Wake up, Leora. Fuck!" I was losing it.

The thudding of her heartbeat under my fingers was the only solace in the room. She murmured faintly, her words lost beneath the incessant screaming from the asshole, grating on my nerves .

Fucking hell. With an exasperated sigh, I yanked my gun up and emptied a bullet into his head.

Now, I can hear her better.

She stirred again, mumbled something incoherent and my head dropped to hers with relief.

"Zarek?" her voice was faint, almost lost.

"Yes, I'm here. Fuck, this should never have happened." Gently, I brushed tangled strands of hair from her face.

"I guess we're even, now," she murmured with a mix of breathlessness and roughness in her voice.

"Let's get you out of here, okay?"

Carefully, I lifted her into my arms, carrying her away from the dark confines of that apartment and into the safety of my car parked outside.

"Casteel bolted through the fire escape." Logan said, slightly irritated with himself. "I didn't want to leave you guys here."

I nodded. My focus shifted to the girl in my arms, her faint breaths warm on my neck.

"Find him." I instructed.

"Yeah, I'll try to find the asshole. You take the car," Logan sighed, tossing the keys to me.

As we made our way to the headquarters, Leora's awareness seemed to sharpen. She gazed out the window, her expression unreadable, her silence unnerving.

"Can you walk?" I asked, my voice tight with worry as I supported her out of the car. My heart was still pounding fiercely, haunted by how close we'd come to something unimaginably horrifying.

"Yeah, I can walk," she said tersely, shrugging off my hand and moving steadily toward the three-story house we stood before in the driveway .

"Are you feeling okay?" I ventured, catching up to her as I opened the gate with a keycode and my thumbprint.

She walked through without a word, her silence heavy between us. Inside, she paused and turned to face me, her eyes somber, almost resigned.

"I need a bed to rest in," she said simply, her voice devoid of any warmth.

I led her to my upstairs room, offering her one of my T-shirts and a towel before excusing myself. As I closed the door behind me, her silence echoed louder than any words. She hadn't spoken anything meaningful since we left that horrific apartment, and the air between us felt charged with an unspoken reproach. I was left to wonder if she resented me, not just for the danger I'd exposed her to, but for the entire clusterfuck since we met.