Disclaimer: There's a swear word in this chapter. (at the end)
⌐╦ᡁ᠊╾━
I brush my teeth in silence, yesterday replaying in fragments behind my eyes. Everything feels too still- too fragile.
Freedom- it's all I've ever wanted. No leash, no orders, no Syndicate. Just gone.
Buzz.
I freeze, then reach for my phone slowly, wiping my hands on a towel before swiping across the cracked screen. The signal shouldn't even exist. I turned everything off last night.
A single message flashes on the display:
ONE LAST JOB.
Bring the girl. Walk free.
No Syndicate. You'll be a free man.
My jaw tightens. The taste of toothpaste turns bitter in my mouth.
They found us.
They'll always find us.
I glance towards the door. She's probably still tangled in the sheets, half-asleep.
My phone buzzes again.
Time's up, Dante.
Then- a sound.
Not from the phone. From outside.
I look out the window. Black vans. Too many of them.
The Syndicate.
There's no time to think- only move. I grab my gun from the sink, shove the phone into my pocket, and crash the bathroom door open.
"Lila-" I start.
But it's too late.
Glass shatters.
Chloroform smoke pours in through the broken window.
Voices bark orders from the hall.
Shit.