Chapter 5 - The Trap in the Mill
Caleb’s smile vanished, replaced by a sudden, jagged sneer that made his facial scar twitch violently.
"You think you control this?" Caleb spat, stepping behind Nora's chair and resting the barrel of his revolver against the crown of her head. "Look around you, Vale! I survived two bullets in my chest! I survived six months in a Mexican cellar while your father’s men looked for my body! You didn't kill me! You just made me patient!"
Damian took one slow step forward into the threshold of the mill.
"You weren't patient, Caleb," Damian said, his voice completely devoid of emotion. "You were terrified. You stayed in the dark for five years because you knew if you stepped back into my city, I'd put you back in the dirt."
"I am your city now!" Caleb yelled, his knuckles turning white around the revolver. "I took your bride! I took your night! I brought you to your knees in front of sixty people at Alder House!"
Nora shifted slightly in her chair, her fingers working quietly against the duct tape behind her back. She had spent three hours watching Caleb prep the mill. She knew the red wire running along the timber joist behind her was connected to a battery pack near the door—and she knew Caleb had to press the switch with his thumb to detonate the charges.
She caught Damian's eye for a fraction of a second, her gaze dropping subtly toward Caleb's left pocket.
Damian caught the signal instantly.
"You want a trade, Caleb?" Damian asked, taking another deliberate step forward, pulling his hands out of his coat pockets and holding them open, empty. "Take me. Let her walk out to the driveway."
Caleb snorted. "You think I'm stupid? The moment she clears that door, your snipers take my head off."
"I came alone into this room," Damian said, his tone smooth, hypnotic, holding Caleb's focus entirely on him. "Look at me, Caleb. I’m not wearing a vest. I don't have a weapon in my hand. You wanted to prove you were better than me? Here I am. Shoot me."
Caleb hesitated, his dark eyes flickering with suspicion. He looked at Damian’s empty hands, then down at the revolver in his palm. The temptation was enormous—to end Damian Vale right here, in front of the woman who had dared to walk away from him.
"You think you're a hero, don't you?" Caleb whispered, his voice rising in pitch. "You think she loves you? She's using you! She used your money, your power, your protection because she was scared of me!"
"She wasn't scared of you, Caleb," Damian said, taking another step. He was now six feet away. "She hated you. There's a difference."
Caleb’s face contorted in rage. "Shut up!"
He raised the revolver away from Nora’s head, pointing it directly at Damian’s chest.
In that exact millisecond, Nora threw her entire body weight to the left.
The heavy wooden chair tipped sideways, crashing onto the dirt floor, taking Caleb off balance as the rope yanked his left arm downward.
BANG!
Caleb’s gun went off, the bullet splintering the wooden beam three inches above Damian’s shoulder.
Before the sound had even faded, Damian lunged forward like a striking predator.
He grabbed Caleb’s right wrist, twisting it inward with violent force. The revolver clattered onto the dirt. Damian slammed his elbow straight into Caleb’s scarred jaw, the bone cracking with a sickening crunch.
Caleb stumbled back into the lantern, knocking it off the crate.
The glass shattered, oil pooling across the dry floorboards, bursting into a bright, roaring wall of yellow flames that cut off the rear exit.
"Nora!" Damian shouted, diving over the fire toward her.
He pulled a small titanium pocket knife from his belt, slicing through the duct tape around her wrists and ankles in two quick strokes.
He pulled her to her feet, dragging her behind his broad chest as smoke began filling the high ceilings of the mill.
Nora grabbed his coat, her hands clutching his lapels with desperate strength. "Damian! The door—"
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From behind the wall of fire, Caleb rose from the dirt, his face covered in soot and blood, a heavy steel crowbar lifted high above his head.
"YOU DON'T GET TO HAVE HER!" Caleb shrieked through the flames.
