Elena put the phone down after her father's call and sat very still for a moment.
Then she stood up.
She paced the room slowly. Back and forth. Her mind turning over everything and finding nowhere to land. The contract. Grace is still somewhere in the building. The access log. The legal team. Her father's voice on the phone. All of it circling without stopping.
She sank back into her chair.
The frustration was sitting in her chest like something heavy and immovable. She had done everything she could do. Grace was handling everything that could be handled. Every thread that could be followed was already being followed.
There was nothing left to do but wait.
She sat there without moving.
Sleep crept in quietly and carried her away from all of it.
She woke slowly.
She stretched and blinked and looked around the room. For one confused second, she did not know where she was. Then it came back. All of it. At once.
She reached for her phone and checked the time.
Five o'clock.
She sat up straight and called Grace immediately.
Grace answered on the first ring.
"Miss Carter. I have spoken to all the security staff but no clue. We are now working through the system logs. We are checking everything not only from the moment you left for your meeting but from the moment the document was first issued to you up to this very minute." A short pause. "No clue yet. But we are not done."
No clue yet.
Those three words landed on top of everything she was already carrying.
Elena closed her eyes for just a second. Then she stood up.
"Keep going," she said quietly. "Call me the moment you find anything."
"Of course Miss Carter."
She ended the call.
She picked up her bag and walked out of the office. Down the corridor. Into the elevator. Through the lobby. Straight to the parking garage.
She got in her car.
She sat there for a moment. Her mind was still heavy and clouded. After a while, she picked up her phone and called Raymond.
He answered on the second ring. "Miss Carter. Ready when you are."
"Raymond." She paused. "Take the evening off. I won't need you tonight."
A short silence. Just enough to tell her he had noted it.
"Of course Miss Carter. I'll keep my phone on."
"Thank you. Good night."
She hung up.
Her phone rang almost immediately.
She looked at the screen. Unknown number.
She answered.
"Hello."
"It's Drake." A pause. "Long time."
Something moved through her chest. Cold and immediate.
She hissed quietly and cut the call before he could say another word.
Then she switched her phone off completely.
She dropped it into her bag.
She started the car and drove.
She drove until the streets became unfamiliar. Quieter roads. Softer lights. She was not going anywhere in particular. Just driving.
As she passed the corner of a side street she caught a glimpse of a fancy signboard mounted on the building. The name written boldly —
The Amber Room.
Something made her hesitate.
Her foot found the brake.
She sat there for a moment in the middle of the quiet road.
Then she reversed back and turned carefully into the side street beside it. She parked just a short distance inside. Close enough to see the corner from where she sat.
She looked at the door for a moment.
She had never been here before. That was exactly why she chose it.
She went inside.
She was not a drinker. A glass of wine at dinner sometimes. Something small at events. That was normally it for her.
Tonight was not a normal night.
She sat at the bar and ordered a drink. Then another. The bartender refilled her glass after the second one without waiting to be asked. He just looked at her face and reached for the bottle. She was grateful for that. She didn't want to have to speak.
Directly opposite her a television screen was showing a drama. She was not looking for anything to watch. She just found herself looking up at it between sips. The story on the screen had nothing to do with her life or her day. That was exactly what made it easy to watch. Slowly without realizing it the noise in her head got quieter. The tightness in her body came down. Her shoulders dropped from where they had been held up near her ears since that morning.
She didn't notice how much time had passed until she stood up.
The room moved gently under her feet.
She picked up her bag and headed for the door. She had stayed long enough. It was time to go home.
She stepped outside.
The night air hit her all at once. Cool and sharp. She turned onto the side street toward her car.
The air around her changed before she heard anything.
Four men were close to her.
They looked relaxed. Too relaxed. The one at the front was tall and broad and smiling at her as he had already made up his mind about how this evening was going to go.
He walked up too close to her.
"Why are you out here all by yourself beautiful lady?" His voice was low and easy. "You look like you could use some company. I'm right here."
The men behind him laughed.
Elena looked at him. She raised her hand and shook her head. She tried to say the word but her mouth wasn't working the way she needed it to. Her hand said it clearly enough.
No.
He looked at her for a moment. Then he tilted his head at the others.
Two of them grabbed her arms at the same time. One on each side. She felt their hands before she had time to react. They started pulling her toward the dark end of the street. Away from the main road. Away from the light. Away from any sound that could reach anyone.
She pulled back. Her body wasn't listening to her.
She tried to call out. Nothing came out loud enough.
And then one thought came through clearly above everything else.
Nobody knows I am here.
Her phone was off.
She had switched it off herself.
There is a man the world calls the War God.
Not a nickname. A name earned over years doing things in places most people will never see. A name so known and so feared that just hearing it has been enough to end situations before they even started.
Alexander Kane.
Twenty-five years old. Six feet seven. Built like someone who had spent years doing things that required both strength and precision. Short black hair. Dark serious eyes that gave nothing away to anyone.
The last person anyone in that alley would have wanted to see walking toward them.
He had not spoken to more than three people in the past month. That was exactly how he wanted it. He had come to San Francisco because his master had told him to. To be still. To wait. To let things show themselves when the time was right.
He was still waiting.
Tonight, he was walking back from dinner when something made him stop.
Not a loud sound. Just a sudden quiet that felt wrong, a sound only someone like him could catch from afar, because he could hear things others could not.
He stopped walking.
He looked left.
A narrow side street beside a bar called The Amber Room. Dark. Poorly lit. A group of men standing near the entrance in the way that people stand when they are doing something they know is wrong.
He stood still for one second.
Then he walked toward them.
He reached the entrance of the side street and saw clearly.
A woman near the wall. Well dressed. Dark hair loose around her face. Two men had her by the arms. She was conscious but barely fighting back.
The man at the front had his hands on her jacket.
Alexander stopped.
"Stop."
One word. From behind them. Not loud. Not shouted. Just placed into the street like something solid.
All four of them froze.
The leader straightened up slowly and turned around. He looked at Alexander standing at the entrance with both hands in his pockets. He looked at him once. Then his face settled back into something easy. He had decided in a few seconds that the man standing there alone was not a real problem.
"Who are you?" His voice was relaxed again. "What made you think you could walk in here?" He tilted his head slightly. "You want to die tonight. Walk away right now. Last chance."
Alexander looked at him without changing his expression.
"I'll give you sixty seconds," he said. His voice was calm and flat like a man making an offer he already knew would be refused. "Let her go. Leave with your men. All of you."
The leader stared at him for a moment.
Then he laughed.
He had no idea what was about to happen to him.