The safe house smelled like stale coffee and gun oil. Alyssa paced the length of the cramped room, her boots scuffing against the worn hardwood. Eleanor sat cross-legged on the couch, fingers flying across her laptop, pulling up every surveillance feed she could hack into.
"We need to disappear," Alyssa muttered.
Eleanor didn't look up. "Disappearing won't stop Volkov's men from putting a bullet in your skull."
Alyssa exhaled sharply. She knew Eleanor was right. But she also knew she couldn't do this alone anymore.
Her phone buzzed another encrypted message.
" Meet me at Pier 17. Midnight. No weapons." Dominic.
Alyssa's grip tightened on the phone. After their last confrontation, she had no reason to trust him. But she had even fewer options.
The pier was deserted, the only sounds the lapping of dark water against rotting wood and the distant hum of the city. Alyssa kept to the shadows, her hand hovering near the knife strapped to her thigh just in case.
Dominic stood near the edge, his back to her, his silhouette sharp against the moonlight. He didn't turn as she approached.
"You came."
"I'm not here for you," Alyssa said coldly. "I'm here because I need answers."
Finally, he faced her. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes burned with something fierce. "You were right about one thing my company is tied to Volkov. But not by my doing."
She scoffed. "You expect me to believe you didn't know?"
"I expect you to listen." His voice was steel. "Andrew Cole has been funneling money through Hayes Industries for months. He's the one working with Volkov. And now that you've exposed the connection, he's trying to bury the evidence starting with you."
Alyssa studied him, searching for any hint of deception. But Dominic had always been a hard man to read.
"Why should I trust you?" She asked
"You shouldn't." He stepped closer, his voice dropping.
"But right now, I'm the only one who can keep you alive long enough to prove it."
Alyssa hesitated. She hated the part of relying on him, hated the way her pulse jumped when he was this close. But she was out of time.
"What's your plan?"
Dominic's mouth curved into a grim smile. "We set a trap."
"Okay, how do we start the trap"