Story 344: Escaping Shadows

The echo of boots thundering through the corridor grew louder, signaling reinforcements closing in. Zara Kincaid stood over Selena Rourke, the barrel of her pistol leveled at the smirking woman’s temple.

“Call them off, or this ends here,” Zara demanded, her voice cutting through the tension like a blade.

Rourke’s smirk widened. “Go ahead, Zara. Pull the trigger. But you won’t make it out of here alive, and you know it.”

Callum groaned as he rose to his feet, clutching his side. “Zara, we need to move. Reinforcements are seconds away.”

Zara’s mind raced. Every instinct screamed at her to finish Rourke here and now, but that wasn’t justice—it was revenge. And revenge wasn’t why she had come. She needed Rourke alive to expose the truth behind her empire.

“Fine,” Zara said, lowering the pistol slightly. “You’re coming with us.”

Rourke laughed bitterly. “You think I’d let you drag me out of here?”

Zara leaned in, her tone steely. “You don’t have a choice.”