The farther he wandered through the rear section of the warehouse, the more certain Noctis became that no one was here anymore. The endless rows of dusty shelves, the abandoned aisles, and the oppressive silence all told the same story.
And yet, there were signs that the decommissioned warehouse had been visited not too long ago. Fresh shoeprints stood out in the dust, discarded wrappers littered the floor here and there, and several doors stood open even though they should have been locked. People had been here. A few days ago, perhaps. But certainly not today.
Ashe's information had been a trap.
With every step Noctis took through the warehouse alongside Lucy, that suspicion solidified into an unpleasant certainty. The reports from the other teams matched exactly what he was seeing with his own eyes.
In a strange way, the realization was almost reassuring. At the very least, it meant that Lucy and Moz had not betrayed them. He was less relieved for his own sake than for his brother's.
It was incredibly difficult in their line of work to find trustworthy people you could work with as well as those two. No matter how little he could stand Moz. The families of both Moz and Lucy had belonged to the clan for generations.
If they had betrayed them, their entire families would have been killed. Every last one of them, until their DNA had been erased from the clan's history books.
Of course, things would be different in Ashe's case, since she was not a member of the clan. She was a hacker whose services they had paid well for. Vincent might once have intended to bring her into the clan as a full member, but those days were definitely over.
Angrily, Noctis kicked an empty glass bottle. The crash echoed through the warehouse as it skidded across the concrete floor and slammed into a wall.
He tapped his earbud.
"Vince, what's it look like on your end?" he asked irritably.
Frustration gnawed at him. He had hoped they were walking straight into a trap. He had hoped for a fight—hoped to turn this warehouse into a slaughterhouse. But there was nothing and no one here on whom he could vent his anger.
No Levi. Not a single one of his henchmen. Nobody.
"Get back to the main hall. The building is secure," Vincent's voice came through the earbud.
Noctis nodded to Lucy and the men accompanying them and headed back. Several of their killers had already gathered in the large central hall. Most looked just as dissatisfied as he felt. Some were leaning against the walls, while others silently checked their weapons.
"Did you find anything that could help us?" Vincent asked.
He still had his phone pressed to his ear, but his attention was clearly focused on Noctis.
"No. Nothing at all," he growled. "They were definitely here, but that must have been several days ago."
By now, the anger burning through his veins had turned ice-cold.
Here they were because they had followed Ashe's lead. Noctis rolled his shoulders until they cracked and twisted his mouth into a bitter grin.
"Who would've thought our little doll would screw us over like this?"
Lucy crossed her arms over her chest.
"Did the information really come from Ashe?"
Vincent cursed under his breath, ended the current call, and immediately dialed another number. As the ringtone sounded, he gave her a curt nod.
"She personally showed us the video footage, but forging data is no challenge for Ash," he hissed. Vincent was furious, and it showed. His usually calm demeanor had evaporated the moment they found the warehouse empty. "The question is what she hoped to gain from it. We're heading back."
His gaze shifted to Maddison.
"You and your people tear this place apart. I want every inch examined. Fingerprints, DNA traces, surveillance equipment, hidden entrances—everything. If anything was overlooked here, find it. And keep me updated on every detail."
Maddison nodded without hesitation.
"Yes, sir."
Vincent gave a brief hand signal that everyone immediately understood. The scattered killers began moving, making their way out of the warehouse.
"Who are you trying to reach?" Noctis asked.
He pulled out his own phone so he could send Isaac a message. Ideally, he had gone to bed and was getting some rest. Noctis hated the fact that he hadn't been able to keep his promise and would now have to return to his lover empty-handed.
"Benedict," Vincent replied curtly. "Moz, Lucy—I want you to try reaching the others. I want to know if anything happened while we were gone."
Noctis sent the message.
"You think Levi was stupid enough to attack our new hideout?"
Vincent cursed again and redialed the cop's number.
"He's not answering his phone, and I highly doubt he and Isaac suddenly decided to have an intimate heart-to-heart, so yes—something has happened," he hissed.
The biting sarcasm fell flat.
The moment he heard those words, a terrible feeling settled in Noctis's stomach. He trusted his own abilities, as well as those of his brother, Moz, and Lucy. He knew that every killer in their organization was skilled at what they did and that none of them could be taken down easily.
But the rat was hiding within their own ranks, and he had no way of knowing what Ash had planned—or already set in motion.
Besides, the cop was hardly someone he would trust with Isaac's life.
Restlessness crept over him. The rage that had consumed every fiber of his being only moments ago transformed into worry. Without hesitation, Noctis dialed Isaac's number, but all he got was a ringing tone. Nervously, he tapped his index finger against his forearm.
Isaac was not the kind of person who constantly checked his phone. More often than not, he would leave it somewhere and forget about it for hours. In truth, he used the device almost exclusively to text Noctis.
That didn't necessarily mean anything had happened.
At least, that was what Noctis kept telling himself.
When they finally reached the vehicles, everyone climbed in without a word. Vincent took the driver's seat and connected his phone to the car's Bluetooth system. The moment Lucy and Moz got in, he started the engine.
The car lurched forward with a screech of tires.
"No," came the simultaneous response from both of them.
Vincent cursed again. With every passing minute, the atmosphere inside the vehicle grew heavier.
"I can't get through to anyone. Nobody has responded to my messages so far," Lucy said, lifting her gaze. "How long have you suspected Ashe?"
For a moment, silence filled the car.
Vincent kept his eyes on the road ahead. The speedometer had already climbed well beyond the legal limit. Streetlights streaked past the windows in blurred bands of light.
"Not very long," Vincent replied. His grip tightened around the steering wheel. "For her sake, I hope she didn't pull something stupid while we were busy walking straight into her trap."
No one answered.
Because everyone in the car knew exactly what would happen if Ashe really was behind all of this.
If Vincent got his hands on her, death would be the most merciful thing she could hope to receive that day.
"I never would have thought Ashe would betray us." Lucy cursed quietly. "I was with her all the time whenever I wasn't out on a mission, and she never did anything suspicious."
"You were constantly on missions. The little time you actually spent with her can hardly—" Vincent began.
But he never got to finish.
The ringing of his phone echoed through the car's speakers. He answered immediately.
"Ben?"
The tension in his voice was unmistakable. His fingers tightened around the steering wheel. For a moment, no one answered. Then all they heard was heavy breathing.
Noctis felt his stomach twist. That sound alone was enough to turn his concern into outright panic.
"Drive faster," he hissed.
Vincent reacted instantly. The engine roared as the car surged forward. The cop said nothing else. All they could hear were his labored breaths.
"Ben, what happened?" Vincent demanded, pressing the accelerator harder and breaking more than one traffic law. "Ben! Answer me!"
But the cop remained silent.
"Where's Isaac?!" Noctis shouted. His voice thundered through the vehicle.
Again, no answer. Only that cursed breathing.
Something inside him snapped.
"I swear to God, if anything happened to him, I'll tear you apart!"
His voice nearly cracked. By now, panic was spreading through him unchecked.
"Noctis," his brother growled. "Calm down. We're almost there."
Noctis whirled around.
"Calm down? You want me to calm down?! Our hideout was obviously attacked. They got far enough to take down that useless cop! I can't reach Isaac, and apparently the exact scenario we dismissed as unlikely has happened because every one of our men failed at their goddamn job!"
His chest rose and fell in rapid, uneven breaths.
Damn it, if it had been up to him, he would have thrown the door open and run the rest of the way on foot. The only reason he stayed in his seat was the last remaining voice of reason in his head. Vincent was already pushing the car to its limits. Any more speed would only get them all killed in a ditch.
"Lucy. Call Ashe."
"Already trying." Lucy stared at her phone. "She's not answering."
"Of course she isn't," Noctis growled.
"I can't reach anyone either." Moz cursed quietly and ran a hand through his hair.
For a moment, silence settled over the car.
Then Noctis slammed his fist into the door panel.
"How the hell did that girl manage to take out our people?! Levi shouldn't have enough men at his disposal to pull something like this off!"
He dialed Isaac's number again. Another failure. He called again.
Come on, Isaac. Pick up your damn phone!
But the silence was answer enough.
They could still hear the cop breathing. Yet there were no other sounds. Nothing breaking. No screams. No sounds of fighting.
"Moz," Vincent finally said. "Contact our informants. Find out if anyone knows anything about Levi or has seen him. Activate every source we have."
"Right away," Moz replied grimly.
"Lucy," Vincent continued. "Search the building for survivors and stabilize them as best you can. I want a report on every single one."
The car pulled up in front of the building they had been using as a hideout.
"Noc—"
But by the time Vincent spoke his name, Noctis had already leapt from the vehicle before his brother had even parked properly, let alone finished his sentence.
He charged straight into the hideout.
His hand gripped his blade tightly, ready to kill the first man who crossed his path.
But when he pushed open the door, an even worse sight awaited him than he had imagined.
No. No. No. No. No. No.
The first thing he saw were bodies.
Dead members of his clan and dead members of the Viper Syndicate, easily identifiable by their clothing. Levi had been here while they were following Ash's lead. That damned girl had played them for fools.
"Isaac!" he roared and immediately sprinted toward their bedroom.
He stepped over lifeless bodies and occasionally slipped on the blood smeared across the floor. Thankfully, Isaac was nowhere among the dead. Either he had managed to fight his way through the attackers, or at the very least he had found a place to hide.
Noctis refused to even consider the possibility that Levi had achieved his goal and that Isaac was no longer here.
Please, still be here, Isaac.
Breathless, he threw open the door to their bedroom.
"Isaac! Are you here?!" he shouted.
The bedroom door slammed against the wall.
No answer.
The room lay completely undisturbed before him.
It looked as though Isaac had been working on something. Leather bracelets were scattered across the table, along with several talismans he had been crafting. Beside them sat his phone and a half-empty glass of water.
Where are you?!
He rushed into the bathroom.
Nothing. No sign of him.
A frustrated scream tore from Noctis's throat as he flipped the dresser over in a fit of rage. The heavy piece of furniture crashed to the floor, but it did nothing to calm him or help him think. If anything, it only made things worse.
Noctis dragged both hands across his face. He forced himself to think. Forced himself to get the panic under control. If Isaac wasn't here, he could be anywhere.
But where would he go? The kitchen? Vincent's office? Or Vincent's bedroom?
Noctis took a deep breath, then tightened his grip on his blade and stormed back into the hallway. He would search every room. And if he had to tear the entire building apart to find him, then so be it.
The kitchen was his first destination.
Even before he reached it, he could see that fighting had taken place here as well. The first bodies were already lying in the corridor. All of them belonged to the Viper Syndicate. None of them were theirs. Whoever had been in the kitchen had fought back with everything they had. Signs of the struggle were everywhere.
The walls were riddled with bullet holes. Several doors hung crookedly from broken hinges, and trails of blood stretched across the corridor.
Stepping over the corpses, he entered the kitchen.
His brother was kneeling on the floor. In front of him lay the cop in a truly pathetic condition. His clothes were nearly soaked through with blood. A gunshot wound was clearly visible in his right shoulder, and another bullet had torn through his thigh. His face was swollen and badly bruised.
Someone had punched him repeatedly—and hard. A brief flicker of satisfaction passed through Noctis. At least somebody had hit the bastard. Too bad it hadn't been him.
He tore his gaze away from the injured cop.
The kitchen looked even worse than the hallway.
Broken dishes littered the floor. Chairs had been overturned. Cabinets had been torn open. Amid shards of glass, blood, and spent shell casings lay dozens of crushed cookies scattered across the room.
It was an absurd sight.
"Is he conscious?" Noctis asked coldly, his gaze sweeping over every corner of the room.
"No." Vincent didn't even look up. His hands moved steadily over the man's wounds. "And now shut up. I'm trying to concentrate."
Noctis pressed his lips into a thin line. He wanted to argue. Wanted to demand answers from Vincent—even though his brother clearly didn't have them either. Remaining silent took considerable effort.
Then his attention caught on something lying on the floor beside the cop.
For a moment, he couldn't make sense of what he was seeing. Then he recognized the red letters. Apparently, the cop had managed to leave them a message. Written in blood.
He got him. Cookies poisoned.
For a moment, the world seemed to stop.
Noctis stared at the words.
Read them again.
And then once more.
As though repetition might somehow change their meaning. But they meant exactly what he had feared.
"He got him..." he murmured, his voice breaking.
Isaac was nowhere to be found because Levi had succeeded in abducting him. Somehow. Noctis fought down the urge to grab the cop and beat him until he regained consciousness.
He needed a distraction before he actually did it.
But Vincent was already healing him. It wouldn't take much longer. So Noctis forced himself to stay calm. Or at least something resembling calm.
His gaze continued to roam across the kitchen.
He saw blood on the edge of the table, but something about the sight bothered him. He stepped closer and noticed the white strands of hair stuck to the table alongside the blood.
Noctis froze.
His hands curled into fists. His chest felt hollowed out. Isaac was gone. The cop couldn't tell them what had happened, and there was no sign whatsoever of where his lover had been taken.
Vincent let out a heavy breath. "He'll make it," he muttered wearily. He stared at the bloody words on the floor. "We failed," he growled.
This time, there was bitterness in his brother's voice. A bitterness Noctis knew all too well. Vincent kept staring at the bloody words on the floor—the proof of their failure.
But Noctis barely heard him anymore.
His eyes remained fixed on the white hairs. He couldn't look away. They were the only thing Isaac had left behind in this place. Suddenly, the kitchen felt emptier than any battlefield Noctis had ever set foot on.
"He's hurt, Vince..." Noctis murmured, his voice choked. "He hurt him and dragged him away!"
The thought alone made his chest ache.
Noctis had no doubt that Levi had been willing to drag Isaac out of the hideout half-dead if necessary. That bastard didn't care about Isaac. All he wanted were Isaac's abilities. Nothing more.
With all his strength, Noctis slammed his fist onto the tabletop. The wood groaned under the impact.
"Shit!"
Rage surged through his body.
All of this had happened because he had wanted to kick Levi's ass. He had walked straight into Ashe's trap despite knowing she might be planning something. What had caught him off guard, however, was that she hadn't attacked him and his brother directly—instead, she had torn their hideout apart.
She had deliberately allowed herself to be injured so she would appear harmless. She had successfully led them astray.
Noctis forced himself to look away from the white hairs. Instead, he let his gaze sweep across the kitchen once more. Maybe he had overlooked something.
But all he could see was the evidence of Isaac's desperate struggle not to be captured. He had fought tooth and nail, and in the process had killed at least eleven men before they finally managed to take him.
Isaac wasn't incapable, and he had done his best in a situation where the odds had been stacked against him. He wasn't helpless, nor was he weak. He had given everything he had until the very end.
And still, it hadn't been enough.
"I should have stayed with him!" he shouted desperately.
"Noctis, we knew it was a trap," Vincent replied.
"And we left him alone anyway!" His voice cracked. "I left him alone."
For a moment, Vincent said nothing. Perhaps because there was no suitable answer to that.
Noctis sank to his knees and looked at the cookies... Hadn't the cop written that the cookies were poisoned? He picked one up with his gloved hand and smelled it. Immediately, he caught the telltale scent of bitter almonds.
His stomach turned at once. He knew exactly what poison it was—it was cyanide.
An absolutely lethal poison, and from the looks of it, the cop had gained that knowledge by eating one of the cookies himself.
If the cop had eaten the cookies, then had Isaac also—
"Do you think Isaac ate one too?" Vincent voiced the thought as he stood up.
Noctis shook his head desperately.
"I don't know. He rarely eats sweets, especially pastries. He has to really be in the mood for them."
"So there's a chance? Shit..." Vincent cursed. He gave Noctis a serious look. "Listen, Noctis. We're going to find that bastard and get Isaac out of there."
Vincent walked over and briefly placed a hand on his shoulder.
For a moment, silence filled the room.
Then Vincent squeezed his shoulder lightly.
"Listen to me, Noctis." Noctis looked up. "Our people are already searching for Levi. He hasn't been much of a priority until now, but we'll have him soon."
His gaze drifted to the cop.
"I need to take care of our people. He isn't the only one who was poisoned. Can you stay with him? Maybe he'll wake up soon and tell us exactly what happened."
Noctis shot to his feet in anger.
"I can tell you exactly what happened!" he snapped at Vincent. "That little rat poisoned our people, let Levi and his idiots in here, and hardly anyone was even able to fight back. Isaac fought back, but he cracked his head on that damn kitchen table and was dragged off afterward!"
For a moment, Vincent said nothing.
"That's probably what happened," he replied. "I have to go, Noc. Otherwise, more of our men will die. Don't do anything stupid. We'll move as soon as we have information."
With those words, Vincent left, leaving Noctis alone with the cop and the corpses. For a moment, Noctis simply stood there.
Then the pent-up rage exploded.
With all his strength, he kicked the kitchen table. The piece of furniture toppled over and crashed across the room. Dishes shattered. Wood splintered.
But it wasn't enough. Not even close.
He grabbed a chair and hurled it against the wall. The wood shattered on impact. He kicked the next one in half, sending splinters flying across the floor.
Still not enough.
The anger was eating him alive from the inside. He needed a target. Something. Someone.
His gaze landed on one of the dead Syndicate men. Without thinking, he drove a brutal kick into the man's face. Bones cracked.
The body slid across the blood-smeared tiles.
Noctis breathed heavily.
But even that didn't help. Nothing helped. Because none of these men were Levi, none of them were Ashe, and none of them could bring Isaac back to him.
His hands trembled.
He ran a hand through his hair, trying to gather his thoughts.
Pointlessly.
He couldn't think clearly. His mind kept circling back to Isaac and the fear he was probably enduring. Levi had him because they had failed. He had not only broken into what was supposed to be their secure hideout, but had also killed several of their people—and now he had kidnapped Isaac.
Noctis ground his teeth together, his gaze falling on the cop.
"You'd better have a damn good excuse when you wake up," he hissed angrily.
His fist clenched.
For a brief moment, he seriously considered knocking the man unconscious again the instant he opened his eyes. Then he forced himself to take a step back.
Anger wouldn't help him now.
And with every passing minute, Noctis's desire to get his hands on Levi personally grew stronger. Because if Isaac had truly fallen into Levi's hands because of their failure, Noctis would make sure the man wished he could take back every single breath he had ever drawn.