Zadie’s POV
The sound of gunfire was everywhere. Screams. Orders. The chaos of betrayal crashing in waves around me. My back was pressed against a concrete wall, heart pounding so hard I thought it might explode. I couldn’t move, and I couldn’t breathe. My world was collapsing.
I watched as both sides clashed, Lazaro’s men and HQ’s elite forces, firing at each other like hell had opened its gates. But this wasn’t justice, this wasn’t law versus crime. It was criminals versus criminals. And I? I was caught in the middle. No. I wasn’t just caught, I was used.
My hands trembled as I stared down at them. These were the hands that arrested, that pulled triggers, that obeyed Chief Chris’ every order. And now… all those missions, those targets I tracked and handed over? They weren’t enemies of the state, they were enemies of Chris.
“How stupid,” I whispered, my voice barely audible over the gunfire. “How fucking stupid I was to become his pawn.” I trusted him. I looked up to him. I gave my loyalty, my life, to a man who was part of the very thing I’d sworn to fight. And worse? I helped him.
I shut my eyes, the weight of it crushing my chest. Every arrest I made, every name I crossed off the list, every mission he sent me on. Were they even criminals? Or just obstacles in his rise to power?
A burst of gunfire made me flinch, snapping me out of my spiral. That’s when I saw him, Chief Chris. He wasn’t barking orders or helping his men. He was escaping.
He slipped through a side hallway, ducking behind the wall as two agents provided cover fire. His coat flared behind him, and for the first time, I saw him not as my superior… but as a coward. My legs moved before my mind could catch up.
I ran after him, weaving through the smoke, dodging fallen bodies, heart set on one thing: justice. No more blind loyalty. No more questions. Just the truth.
“Chief!” I shouted, but he didn’t stop.
He burst through the emergency exit, disappearing into the open lot behind HQ. And then I saw it, headlights cutting through the smoke, an engine revving hard. A black car sped into view, tires screeching to a halt just inches from me. The back door flung open.
Lazaro. He was slumped in the back seat, arm still in a sling, blood staining the edge of his shirt. His eyes locked onto mine with that same unreadable intensity I hated and craved.
“Get in,” he said. I froze. My heart did too. This was the man I betrayed. The one I left bleeding in a hospital bed while I ran away, chasing answers. The man I accused of being a monster. And now… he was offering me an escape.
“Zadie!” he shouted again, his voice sharper this time.
I hesitated, just long enough to feel the shame rise in my throat. I couldn’t even look at him. I wanted to. God, I wanted to. But how could I meet the eyes of someone I abandoned? Still, I moved. Because whatever guilt I felt paled in comparison to the disgust boiling in my chest for the man I once called “sir.”
I climbed into the backseat, slamming the door behind me. “Follow that bastard,” Lazaro growled at the driver. The car lunged forward, tires spinning as we chased Chris’ SUV down the darkened street. Silence filled the space between us, thick and unspoken. I could feel Lazaro watching me, but I kept my gaze out the window.
“I didn’t know,” I whispered after a long pause. “About him. About any of it.”
“I figured,” Lazaro said coldly, then looked away.
I swallowed hard. “I was used.”
“So was I,” he muttered, voice sharp. “The difference is, I bled for it.”
His words stabbed deep, but I didn’t defend myself. I didn’t deserve to. I’d walked away when he needed me most. But I am here now. And I’d make it right, starting with bringing down the real traitor.
“Let’s catch him,” I said, voice steady.
This time, I looked Lazaro in the eye. “Together.” And for the first time since everything fell apart… he nodded.