Chapter 643
Chapter 643:
Skye didn’t stand her ground. She let her shoulders slump, embodying defeat. She collapsed onto the beige sofa, burying her face in her hands, not shaking from drugs, but from the terrifying performance she had to sell.
“You came,” she said, her voice hollow.
She looked up at him, eyes red-rimmed. “I knew you would p>
Lucian scanned the room. The barrel of his gun swept from the bathroom door to the wardrobe, moving with robotic precision.
“Alone?” he asked, echoing the message on the mirror. His voice was tight, a wire pulled to the breaking point.
“He locked me up,” Skye lied, injecting a bitter venom into her tone. “Liam… he put me in a cage. He thinks I’m a liability. He took my access, my phone, everything p>
Lucian walked toward her. The sound of his dress shoes on the hardwood floor was a rhythmic tap, tap, tap. He stopped in front of her. He didn’t holster his weapon. He used the cold barrel to lift her chin, forcing her to look at him.
“And you think I care about your domestic squabbles, my pet?” he sneered. “You stabbed my men. You ran p>
“I ran because I want to survive,” Skye said, meeting his gaze.
“Liam is going to lose. You have the upper hand. I have the Oracle encryption keys. The real ones. Not the decoys I gave the board p>
Lucian paused. The mention of the Oracle keys, the access to billions in untraceable assets, made his pupils dilate. It was the one thing he needed to rebuild.
“You’re lying,” Lucian murmured, though his gun lowered slightly. He glanced around the room, his eyes lingering on the curtained alcove for a fraction of a second. “Where are his dogs? I expected a welcoming committee p>
“I disabled the security feed on this floor,” Skye lied smoothly. “I sent them to the roof. I told them you were coming by chopper. I needed to see you… to make a deal p>
In the alcove, Liam watched through a sliver of space between the velvet drapes. His hand was on his gun, his finger resting on the trigger guard. He could see the back of Lucian’s head. One shot. He could end it with one shot.
𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘱𝗲𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝗵e 𝗼𝗋і𝗴𝗶𝗻a𝗅 𝖼𝘰n𝘁e𝗇𝘁 f𝗋𝗼𝘮 𝗯e𝘭ո𝘰𝘷е𝗅𝘀.𝘤𝗼𝘮
“Nero, stand down,” Alistair’s voice crackled in his earpiece, barely audible. “Thermal scans show three heat signatures in the hallway with dead-man switches linked to their heart rates. If Graves or his men drop, the hotel becomes a crater p>
Liam’s jaw clenched so hard he thought a molar might crack. He forced his hand to relax, to let go of the grip. The helplessness tasted like bile.
Lucian reached down and grabbed a handful of Skye’s hair, yanking her head back.
“If this is a trap,” Lucian whispered, leaning close to her ear, “I will peel the skin from your bones p>
“It’s an exit strategy,” Skye gasped. “For both of us p>
He hauled her up. Skye didn’t fight. She made her body heavy, stumbling against him. She smelled the faint chemical scent of gun oil and the sour tang of his sweat.
“Walk,” he commanded, shoving her toward the door. “And if you trip, I shoot you p>
They moved into the hallway. Two of Lucian’s men were there, stepping over the unconscious bodies of the hotel security guards. They were wired with vests, blinking red lights visible under their jackets.
As they reached the threshold, Lucian stopped. He paused, his head tilting to the side. He turned slowly, looking back into the room. His gaze fixed on the velvet curtains of the alcove.