Page 30 of Closer Than You Think
“Patterns,” I echo, my mind latching onto the lead. “Show me.”
Cain nods once, sleek efficiency in motion. He reaches into his jacket, producing a slim device that casts a hologram between us. Lines, dots, and coded messages float in the dim light.
“Here,” he points to a cluster of data points, “and here. Movements suggest they're closing in. Time is running out. They speak in code, but I’m confident they’ve made plans for Hallie’s abduction.”
I stand, movements full of purpose, already plotting our next move. The Syndicate may think they hold the cards, but they haven't seen our hand yet. And I'll be damned if they take anything—or anyone—from me.
My breath catches, a silent snarl building in my gut. The room seems to close in, the air thick with a danger that has now been named. I lean back, an attempt to distance myself fromthe news that claws at my insides. But there's no escaping the visceral fear that grips me, the sudden vulnerability that comes with knowing she is a target.
“Plans?” My voice is a low growl, the word barely squeezing through my clenched teeth. I want details, specifics; I want to obliterate this threat before it can manifest into reality.
“Blueprints, timelines,” Cain continues, unperturbed by the storm brewing within me. He's the eye of the tempest, cool and collected as ever.
“Damn it.” The words explode from me, and my fist slams onto the table, the impact sending a jolt up my arm. It's a futile display of anger, yet it barely contains the fierce protectiveness surging through me. Hallie. Her laughter, her defiance, the softness she tries to hide—I'll tear apart anyone who dares to touch her.
“Keep your head, Si,” Cain says, his tone even but firm. “We have the advantage now. We know.”
He's right. We do know. And that knowledge is power—a weapon I intend to wield without mercy.
The room feels colder, sharper, as Cain's words carve through the tension. “They're planning to take her in less than two days.” His voice is a blade—cool, precise.
“Forty-eight hours.” The number echoes in my skull like gunfire. Too close. Too damn soon. Every second now is a ticking bomb, and Hallie is at the center, unknowing, unprepared.
I lean back, trying to quell the storm inside. My hands flex on the table's edge, skin stretched over knuckles white with strain. I have to think, plan—each breath a silent chant to keep the panic at bay.
“Any specifics on how they aim to execute this?” My question is a growl, low and dangerous.
“Standard snatch and grab,” he says, flipping open the folder with a flick of his wrist. “Two teams, one for diversion, another for extraction. They've been casing her place, know her routines.”
“Then we change the game.” My mind shifts gears, pieces falling into place with lethal clarity.
“Agreed.” Cain closes the folder, eyes like ice chips. “We'll need to be discreet. Any visible increase in security might spook them into action sooner.”
“I don’t mean increased security.”
“What?”
“It has to be a surprise. If I ask her to leave, she’ll say no. She has work. She barely knows me and won’t trust me enough.”
“You can’t really be thinking . . . ” His words trail off, and he knows.
“I’m going to take her first.”
Fifteen
Silas
The room feels like a cage, but it's one I've chosen for myself. I pace within its confines, each step a silent drumbeat marking time in a war only I can fight. My mind is a strategic map, every corner shadowed with the threat of the Syndicate—a nebulous enemy that now seeks to rip Hallie from the safety I've encompassed her in.
I recall the layout of her home, the routes she takes to work, the predictable patterns of her life that must now be shattered and reformed. I envision layers of protection, contingency plans stacking upon each other like armor. Each thought sharpens into a weapon, each breath a promise of defense.
And then, without invitation, the past claws its way into my consciousness—visions of bloodied hands, the smell of gunpowder, the cacophony of battle cries. Each memory is a ghost that never left, haunting me with reminders of the man I was, the violence I wielded with cold precision. They remind me that darkness is an intimate friend, one that has shaped me into the guardian I am now.
With each recollection, the fire inside me burns hotter, a blaze that refuses to be tamed until she's safe. Because when I look at Hallie, I don't only see the innocence she carries; I seethe strength she doesn't know she possesses, the resolve that matches my own. She's not just a light in the dark; she's the dawn breaking over a bloodstained horizon.
I'll use the darkness I know so well to conceal her from any harm. The Syndicate thinks they can take what's mine, but they don't understand the lengths to which I'll go to keep her safe. They don't know the monster that lies in wait.
My eyes snap open with the ferocity of a man who's just glimpsed the edge of an abyss. It's not fear that grips me—no, it's the primal call to fight, to hunt, to protect what is mine by any means necessary. The veneer of civilization I've cloaked myself in shatters like glass under the weight of my resolve. Hallie's life hangs in the balance, and with it, my soul teeters on the precipice.
