The safe house was still, the tension hanging heavy in the air like a challenge not spoken. The only noises were the occasional groan of the old wood floors and the soft humming of Valerie's laptop as she typed away in the corner.
Raven sat on the couch, playing with a knife between her fingers, her eyes on Lucas. He was reclined in his favorite chair, drinking whiskey, looking every bit as infuriatingly smug as ever. In the corner of the room, Dante stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the window frame, his face expressionless as he stared out the window.
She glared at Lucas. "So tell me—why the devil's helping me?"
Lucas sipped his drink slowly, his eyes sparkling with amusement. "Raven, sweetheart, do you always have to think the worst of me?"
"Yes." She raised a brow. "Especially when you drop a bombshell like 'I'm going to overthrow the Calloways' in the middle of a conversation."
Lucas laughed, but beneath his normal charm was something sharper. "Fine. You want the truth?" He leaned forward, playing with the whiskey in his glass. "The Calloways have had their moment. They've governed this city as gods, creating and destroying lives on a whim. But all empires come crashing down sometime."
Raven leaned forward. "And you think you're the one going to replace them?"
Lucas grinned. "Why not? Someone has to."
Dante, quiet until then, spoke now. His tone was deep, laced with subtle threat. "You're playing a risky game, Lucas."
Lucas faced his elder brother, his grin never wavering. "Risky? Perhaps. But isn't that the game we were born to play?"
Dante's jaw clenched. His eyes were hard, weighted with something unsaid. "You're going up against people who don't lose. You think the Calloways are just going to let you waltz in and take over?"
Lucas looked his brother straight in the eye without blinking. "No. But I'm not going to *ask* permission, either."
Silence between them. The unspoken past, the burden of common blood and old wounds, lay heavy in the air. Raven observed the exchange intently. She'd watched Dante and Lucas fight before, but this was different. This was about more than just winning an argument.
At last, Dante let out a breath, shaking his head. "You're going to get yourself killed."
Lucas smiled. "Not if I win."
Raven sat back, folding her arms. "Well, congratulations, Lucas. You've just given me the biggest breaking news of my career."
Lucas laughed. "Oh, don't worry, love. When I succeed, I'll make sure you get even *more* information. Consider it a gift… from one friend to another."
Raven snorted. "You're such an ass."
"Ah, but you tolerate me."
"Unfortunately."
Dante let out a sigh, rubbing a hand over his face. "If you two are finished flirting, we have more important issues to address."
Valerie, who had been typing away with a furious intensity, finally broke her silence. "He's right. I just decrypted the Calloways' most recent communications. They're shipping something big in the next forty-eight hours."
Raven leaned forward, immediately on high alert. "Define *big*."
Valerie drew up grainy security footage on her screen. "Weapons. Money. But most importantly…" She zoomed in, and she could see multiple metal cages stacked in the bed of a truck. "*People*."
Raven felt her stomach churn. "*Trafficking.*"
Lucas's smirk was gone. Dante was clenching his fists.
"Where?" Dante growled, his voice cold as ice.
Valerie indicated on the map. "West docks. Midnight."
Raven shared a glance with Dante. They didn't require words.
They were leaving.
###
The docks reeked of salt, gasoline, and the familiar smell of corruption. Raven huddled behind a pallet of crates, taking in the surroundings with her binoculars. Armed guards circled the perimeter, their rifles shining under the dim floodlights.
"More guards than normal," Dante whispered at her side.
"Because they know they're exposed," Raven said. "Which means we *have* to strike them tonight."
Lucas's voice crackled in their earpieces. "Diplomatic solution, perhaps?"
Raven snorted. "Sure. I'll go in and nicely ask them to surrender their illegal cargo. That should work out."
Lucas laughed. "Figured as much. Dante, you got a shot on the sentries?"
Dante readied his rifle, taking aim steady. "Three down before they even realize what's happening."
"Make it happen."
The first shot was quiet. One man collapsed on the ground.
The second arrived.
The third had barely the time to spin around before he, too, hit the floor.
Panic set in. Shouts arose as the guards who were still standing scrambled about, their own confusion playing out perfectly into Raven's hands.
She moved forward, disappearing into the darkness. Dante was covering her, and she had faith that he would nail his targets. She reached a truck and picked the lock, the mechanism clicking open under her fingers.
Within, the contents were worse than she had hoped. Piles of money, crates of guns… but at the back of the truck, caged like beasts, were humans.
Her breast constricted. *Bastards.*
She hurried, unbarring the cages one by one. "It's all right," she breathed. "We're getting you out."
One of the hostages—a young man, not much more than twenty—gasped suddenly. "Behind you!"
Raven whirled. A guard attacked, knife flashing in the low light. She avoided him, moving aside at the last moment. The blade nicked her shoulder, but before the man could follow up, a shot echoed.
Dante.
The guard fell, a neat bullet wound in his temple.
Raven spun around, breathing erratically. Dante aimed his gun down, his face indistinguishable.
"Go," he commanded.
She didn't wait.
As one, they herded the captives to the extraction point, where Lucas and Valerie were waiting with a van that wasn't marked.
As the last individual got in, Raven spoke to Lucas. "You still think you can step in for them?"
Lucas looked back at her, his typical smirk nowhere to be found. For the first time ever, there was something *real* in his eyes. "That's exactly why I *have* to."
She looked at him for a moment before letting out a breath. "You're playing with fire, Lucas."
He smiled. "And yet, here you are, standing right beside me."
She rolled her eyes. "Unfortunately."
Dante moved between them, his jaw clenched. "Enough. We have to go."
As they drove away, Raven looked at Dante. He was gazing out the window, his hold firm on his rifle.
Something had shifted tonight.
And she wasn't certain any of them would ever be the same again.