Chapter 969
“Wait, are you saying he might not be a lifesaver at all? That he could even be the enemy?” Damien gaped at Calliope, struggling to take it in.
If that was true, how could they stroll in here like this—just the two of them,
completely exposed? He tensed, worry showing on his face. They should’ve brought Uriah’s entire crew, maybe even rolled in with an armed squad.
Anything less and they were doomed.
This was Black Spider’s home turf, and his people had numbers on their side.
“I wouldn’t go so far as to call him an enemy,” Calliope said, her tone pensive. “It’s hard to say, really. Sometimes he’s a friend, other times he’s absolutely not. It all depends on your luck, honestly p>
“And bringing more people wouldn’t help. He thrives on chaos—gets more unhinged the crazier things get. The more you challenge him, the wilder he gets,” she added. “All I can hope is that he’s doing better these days p>
“Let’s hope to God he is,” Damien said under his breath, fighting to keep his nerves in check. He had a sinking feeling this would be anything but easy. He couldn’t help but worry about how Nigel and the others were faring right now.
“So, uh, Calliope… should we prepare something else before we go in?” he ventured, the anxiety clear in his voice as the car sped along. “If you’re not sure about this, maybe you shouldn’t get involved. I can handle it myself. You don’t owe Nigel anything—it was his decision to come here, and now he’s just dragging you into his mess p>
“But I do owe him,” Damien said quietly. “I should be helping him, not the other way around p>
“Even if it wasn’t for Nigel, I would have come to see Black Spider anyway,” Calliope replied, her voice distant, almost absent. “It’s been too long since I checked up on him.” He was something of a special case for her.
“What exactly is your connection with Black Spider?” Damien asked, skepticism in his voice.
“Doctor and patient, I suppose,” Calliope said after a moment’s reflection.
Damien fell silent. A patient she couldn’t stabilize? That hardly sounded reassuring. He steeled himself, bracing for the worst.
It wasn’t long before their car rolled into Black Spider’s territory.
The streets grew wider, but trouble found them all the same. They barely made it a block before Black Spider’s men emerged, guns blazing-bullets ricocheting off the car’s reinforced windows.
Thank God for armored vehicles, Damien thought with relief, though he couldn’t stop his heart from thudding in his chest. He glanced instinctively at Calliope expecting to see fear, at the very least e concern. But from start to finish, she didn’t twitch. With an ice cold focus, she kept her hands steady on the wheel and aimed the car straight toward Black Spider’s front gates.
Damien stared at her, awe creeping into his expression. The woman’s nerves were made of steel.
“Calliope, aren’t you the least bit afraid?” he blurted, even though the question seemed ridiculous under the circumstances.
“The bullets can’t get through. Did
you really think Uriah would risk giving us anything less than the best? His cars are practically indestructible. You could launch a grenade at us, and we’d still be driving,” Calliope replied, not so much as a quiver in her voice. “Honestly, you don’t know Uriah’s circle very well at all p>
“That’s not what I meant Damien trailed off.
Normal people didn’t keep their heads when faced with gunfire—or rocket launchers, for that matter.
Sure, the car was safe, but most people would have lost it by now. But not Calliope. Her grip on the wheel didn’t waver for a second.
Even as bullets hammered the windshield, she didn’t blink. The car glided forward without the slightest swerve.
“You’re really not scared of getting shot at?” Damien asked, bewildered.
“What’s the point in being scared?” she shrugged, genuinely puzzled. “It’s not as if any of them are hitting me p>
Damien was speechless. Calliope really was something else. He’d known she was tough-her medical skills, her fighting ability, the way she handled a car but he’d never imagined she could look danger in the eye and stay this calm