Chapter 4 Betrayal's Gambit

SCARLETT'S POV

The world erupted in fire and screaming metal. I hit the ground hard, my ears ringing, the taste of copper flooding my mouth. Smoke choked the air, thick and acrid, curling around the ruined remains of the panic room. Move. Get up. My fingers dug into shattered drywall as I dragged myself upright. Across the wreckage, Daniel Vaughn groaned, his perfect suit now torn and bloodied. His gun lay just out of reach. So did mine. I lunged, just as a hand locked around my ankle. Xavier. His face was streaked with soot and blood, his grip iron. "Don't." I kicked free. "He dies now." A shadow moved in the smoke. Daniel wasn't alone. Three Syndicate enforcers stepped through the debris, their rifles raised. Behind them, a woman in a tailored white suit clicked her heels against the broken tile. "Scarlett Vaughn." Her voice was polished, lethal. "We meet at last." I knew her. Everyone in the underworld did. Elena Volkov. The Syndicate's most feared fixer. Xavier was on his feet in an instant, positioning himself between us. "Elena. Didn't realize you did house calls." She smiled, cold as a razor. "For the Vaughns? Always." Her gaze slid to me. "Your uncle has been very generous to us." Daniel wiped blood from his mouth, staggering upright. "Enough theatrics. Kill them." Elena sighed. "Always so impatient." She snapped her fingers. The enforcers moved. I was faster. My knife found the first man's throat before he could blink. The second went down under Xavier's bullet. The third. A gunshot echoed. I braced for impact. But it was Daniel who crumpled, a hole blossoming between his eyes. Silence. Then Elena lowered her smoking pistol. "Messy business, family." I stared at my uncle's corpse, my pulse roaring. "What the hell was that?" "A gift." She holstered her weapon. "Consider it... an invitation." Xavier stepped forward. "To what?" Elena's smile sent ice down my spine. "To join us, of course."

XAVIER'S POV

No This was a trap. It had always been a trap. I kept my body between Scarlett and Elena, calculating exits. The panic room was destroyed, but the mansion above still burned. Distant sirens wailed. "We don't work for the Syndicate," I said flatly. Elena arched a brow. "No? Then why did you bring her straight to Daniel?" Scarlett went rigid beside me. Shit. Elena laughed. "Oh, this is precious. She doesn't know." Scarlett's voice was deadly quiet. "Know what?" I could lie. I should lie. But Elena was already speaking. "Xavier has been Syndicate for years, darling. He's the one who gave*us your father's file." The floor dropped out from under me. Scarlett turned. Slowly. Her eyes-God, her eyes I'd seen her angry before. This was something else. This was murder. Her knife was at my throat before I could blink. "Tell me she's lying." I didn't flinch. "I can't." The blade bit into my skin. Elena clapped. "Beautiful! Now" She tossed a phone at our feet. "That's your lifeline. One call when you're ready to stop playing hero." Then she was gone, her enforcers vanishing into the smoke like ghosts. Leaving me alone with a woman who very much wanted me dead.

SCARLETT

The knife trembled in my hand. All this time. Every touch. Every word. Every goddamn smile A lie. Xavier didn't move. "Scarlett..." "Shut up." My voice sounded alien, raw. "You used me." "Yes." "Berlin?" "Setup." "The wedding?" His jaw tightened. "Necessary." I pressed the blade deeper. Blood welled. "Why?" For the first time, something flickered in his gaze. Something real. "Because the Syndicate owns half the world," he said quietly. "And you're the only person reckless enough to help me burn it down." I laughed, hollow. "You expect me to believe that now?" "No." He reached up, wrapping his hand around mine-the one holding the knife. "I expect you to kill me." His pulse thundered under my fingers. I could do it. I should do it. Then the ceiling collapsed.

XAVIER

Fire. Chaos. Scarlett vanished under a rain of debris. I dove, catching a beam before it crushed her. Pain screamed through my shoulders, but I held on. "Move!" She rolled clear just as the beam gave way. We crashed through the crumbling floor into the basement-a hidden level not on any blueprint. Scarlett coughed, staggering up. "What is this?" I followed her gaze. Oh, hell. The walls were lined with screens. Maps. Dossiers. And one massive photo of Elena Volkov with a target over her face. Scarlett turned, her expression unreadable. "Start talking. Now." I exhaled. "Five years ago, the Syndicate killed my sister. I went deep cover to find out why." I gestured to the room. "This is what I've gathered. Every name. Every transaction. Everything." She studied the boards. "Including my father." "Yes." "And you gave them his file anyway." My chest tightened. "I had to sell the lie." She was silent for a long moment. Then "Prove it." I crossed to a hidden safe, inputting a code. Inside was a single flash drive. "Elena's personal files. Locations. Passcodes. Her orders to kill your father." I offered it to her. "Burn them or use them. Your choice." Scarlett took it. Turned it over in her hands. Then pulled her gun. "One more lie," she said softly, "and I'll put the bullet where even the Syndicate can't find you." I nodded. She lowered the weapon. Outside, the sirens grew louder. "We need to move," I said. Scarlett pocketed the drive. "Then stop talking and move." SCARLETT(Three Hours Later)

The safe house stank of antiseptic and regret. I cleaned my wounds in silence, watching Xavier through the bathroom mirror as he stitched his own injuries. "You should have told me." He didn't look up. "Would you have believed me?" No. I tossed the bloody rag aside. "Who else knows about your little war?" "No one alive." "Convenient." He met my gaze in the mirror. "You have the drive. Check for yourself." I would. Thoroughly. But first, I grabbed the bourbon, taking a long swig before passing it to him. He arched a brow. "Truce," I muttered. "Until Elena's dead." Xavier took the bottle, his fingers brushing mine. "To the hunt." I clinked my glass against it. "To revenge." Outside, the storm broke.