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Chapter 30: Checkmate

Author: Isa_Laura
last update Last Updated: 2025-03-13 04:20:55

“Did you really think you could run from me?”

Damien’s voice echoed through the alleyway, smooth and mocking, his presence commanding even in the dim light.

Juniper’s grip tightened around the edge of her seat inside the bullet-riddled SUV. The tension in the air was thick, almost suffocating. She could feel the weight of it pressing down on her chest.

Adrian, standing just outside the car, didn’t flinch. His face remained unreadable, a mask of calm indifference that only pissed Damien off more.

Ethan, however, wasn’t interested in theatrics. He cocked his gun, finger steady on the trigger. “Want me to shoot him?”

Damien’s lips curled into a smirk. “Always so dramatic.” He spread his arms in an exaggerated gesture of invitation. “Go ahead. But I promise you, you’ll never leave this alley alive.”

Juniper’s stomach twisted. This was bad.

Adrian took a single step forward, hands loose at his sides but posture taut with control. “You made a mistake following me.”

Damien chuckled. “No, Blackwood. You did.”

Then—he snapped his fingers.

Like clockwork, the shadows shifted.

Figures emerged from the darkness, weapons gleaming under the alley lights. More men. More guns. They outnumbered Adrian’s group three to one.

Ethan let out a low, dark curse. “This doesn’t look good.”

Juniper’s hands trembled, but she tightened her grip into fists. No room for fear. Not now.

Adrian, to his credit, didn’t move. Didn’t flinch. His jaw remained locked, gaze sharp as a blade.

“If you wanted me dead, you would’ve already pulled the trigger,” he said flatly.

Damien smiled, tilting his head. “True. But I don’t need you dead, Blackwood. I need what you stole from me.”

Juniper’s breath caught. What is he talking about?

Adrian’s face didn’t shift an inch. “And if I say no?”

Damien exhaled dramatically. “Then she dies first.”

And just like that, his eyes slid to Juniper.

A slow, deliberate stare.

Juniper’s heart slammed against her ribs, but she forced herself not to look away. Not to show fear.

Adrian’s entire body went rigid, a lethal stillness taking over him. His voice, when he spoke, was low and full of ice.

“You touch her,” he said, “and I’ll bury you myself.”

The smirk on Damien’s face widened.

“Then hand it over.”

Silence.

Juniper’s pulse roared in her ears.

Adrian turned slightly, his gaze flicking to her.

Something unspoken passed between them. A plan. A silent agreement.

She inhaled sharply.

Time to take a risk.

Her fingers flexed. The gun strapped inside the SUV—still there.

She moved.

Fast.

Juniper lunged for the weapon, fingers closing around the grip. A heartbeat later, she raised it—

Bang.

A single shot rang out.

A body dropped.

For a second, the world froze.

Then—

Chaos.

Gunfire exploded from all sides. The alley erupted into a war zone.

Juniper dove behind the SUV just as bullets ricocheted off the metal. Sparks flew. Her breath came in sharp gasps, heart hammering like a drum.

Ethan was already moving, gun blazing. “Fuck, fuck—take cover!”

Adrian pulled his own weapon, firing off rapid shots with deadly precision. Two of Damien’s men crumpled.

Damien himself had darted back behind cover, his expression no longer amused. He shouted something to his men, but Juniper couldn’t hear over the gunfire.

She turned, scanning for an opening.

There.

One of Damien’s men was reloading. Vulnerable.

Juniper didn’t hesitate.

She moved low, ducking behind a stack of crates, then sprang up and fired.

Bang.

The man staggered, a look of shock crossing his face before he collapsed.

Juniper didn’t have time to process it. More gunfire. More shouting.

Then—

A hand grabbed her wrist.

She gasped, whipping around—

A fist slammed into her stomach.

Air rushed from her lungs. Pain flared through her ribs.

She staggered back, vision blurring. A shadow loomed over her.

One of Damien’s men.

He grabbed her arm, yanking her forward. “Stupid bitch,” he spat.

Juniper struggled, twisting against his grip, but he was stronger—too strong—

Then—

A gunshot.

The man jerked violently, his grip loosening.

Juniper yanked free just as he dropped.

Adrian stood a few feet away, gun still raised. His expression was pure fury.

“You okay?” His voice was tight.

Juniper nodded, forcing air back into her lungs. “Yeah.”

No time to rest.

The fight wasn’t over.

Damien’s men were starting to fall back, the tide shifting.

But Damien himself—

Gone.

Ethan swore, kicking over a fallen crate. “Son of a bitch. He slipped away.”

Adrian’s jaw tightened. “For now.”

The alley was a mess—bullet holes, bodies, the lingering smell of gunpowder.

Juniper wiped blood from her cheek, adrenaline still surging. “We need to find Mia.”

Adrian nodded, face dark.

Ethan’s phone buzzed.

He glanced at the screen.

Then his expression hardened.

“They found her.”

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