Vera's POV

I stepped forward, letting the noise settle before I spoke. The room was still buzzing from the high of a successful mission, drinks already pouring, conversations picking up. But when I cleared my throat, silence rippled through the space.

I let the moment stretch, taking in the faces before me-some relaxed, some expectant, some too careful, too composed.

Then, with a slow smirk, I said, "Tonight, we hit two of Leo's warehouses." A murmur of satisfaction spread through the crew, and I let them feel that victory for a second before continuing, "And not just any two-two of his most important ones. That'll set him back weeks."

A few cheers rang out, but I raised a hand, and the room stilled again.

"Thing is..." I exhaled, my voice dropping just enough to make them lean in. "We changed the plan at the last minute. The warehouses we originally announced? We didn't touch those. We picked different targets."

Silence.

I took my time letting the words settle, scanning their faces for the slightest twitch of recognition. A shift of weight. A too-tight grip on a glass. Anything.

Some of them exchanged glances, confused but unfazed. Others just nodded along, absorbing the information without a reaction.

But there were a few-just a few-whose backs stiffened, who looked just a little too tense.

My smirk deepened.

I took a slow step back, nodding once. "Leo's bleeding after this hit, and that means he's gonna get reckless. So enjoy the night, drink, celebrate. You did good." A pause. "But don't get too comfortable. We're just getting started."

With that, I stepped away, moving toward Claire, who had been leaning against the far wall, watching everything unfold.

She didn't say anything at first, but I could feel the way her gaze flicked toward me, then back toward the crew.

I leaned against the wall beside her, voice low. "Did you see it?"

Claire exhaled, watching the men as they started drinking again, some more animated than before, others more reserved. "Yeah," she murmured. "Some of them barely reacted."

"Exactly."

Her head tilted toward me. "You think Leo will realize he got played?"

"Oh, he already knows." I smirked, crossing my arms. "Question is, what's he gonna do about it?"

Claire hummed, gaze narrowing as she studied the room again. Then, without looking at me, she asked, "And what are you gonna do about it?"

I let my smirk drop just slightly, my eyes scanning my crew.

"Wait," I murmured. "And watch."

I kept my gaze steady, my smirk barely there as I sipped from my glass, eyes locked on the celebration before me. But it wasn't the loud laughter or the clinking of bottles that held my attention-it was the two men near the far corner, talking in hushed, frantic tones.

Claire noticed too. I felt it in the way her body shifted slightly beside me, her arms crossed, her gaze sharp.

"They look nervous," she muttered under her breath, tilting her head just enough for me to catch her meaning.

I exhaled slowly, nodding once. The two of them were tense, their shoulders drawn tight, their glances darting around the room like they expected someone to call them out at any second. Then, right as I was about to move closer, one of them pulled out his phone.

Claire and I watched as his face drained of color. He stiffened, his fingers tightening around the device like it might slip from his grasp. He turned the screen toward the other guy, and I caught the flicker of horror that crossed his face too.

Got you.

I shifted just slightly, signaling to Antonio with a quick tilt of my chin. He caught it immediately, making his way toward us.

"What?" he asked, his voice low, already following my gaze.

"Them," I murmured. "Watch them."

Antonio's expression barely flickered, but I saw the way his jaw clenched, how he squared his shoulders. "You sure?"

I nodded. "They're spooked. They got a message just now-probably from Leo or Dominic."

Antonio didn't need any more instructions. He straightened, hands in his pockets as he casually moved through the room, circling toward them without drawing attention to himself.

I turned to Claire, catching the way she was still watching the men with an unreadable expression.

"This is it," I muttered. "They're gonna run."

She exhaled. "And when they do?"

I smirked. "We'll be ready."

Claire's POV

I barely had the door closed behind me before I heard footsteps follow. I didn't turn around. I already knew who it was.

Vera.

I exhaled, pressing my lips together, my body still wired from everything that had happened tonight. The weight of it-the success, the danger, the knowledge that there was still so much more coming-it sat heavy on my chest.

I turned just as Vera shut the door behind her, her eyes burning into me.

"You're not worried about your crew seeing you walk in here?" I asked, arms crossed, my voice cooler than I meant for it to be.

Vera smirked, stepping closer, erasing the space between us. "Let them."

I scoffed, but before I could throw something sarcastic back, her hands were on me-firm, confident, pulling me close.

"Today was thrilling," she murmured, her voice thick with something I couldn't quite place.

I swallowed hard. "That's one way to put it."

I barely had time to react before Vera had me against the wall, her lips crashing onto mine with an intensity that stole my breath. Her grip was firm, fingers digging into my waist, pulling me closer, pressing her body against mine like she needed this-like she needed me.

My head spun, my body responding before my mind could catch up. But something was wrong.

This wasn't just about us.

Vera wasn't kissing me because she wanted me-she was deflecting. I could feel it in the way she moved, in the way she wasn't giving me a second to think, to breathe.

I tried to pull back, to catch my breath, to say something, but Vera didn't let me. Her hands tightened, her mouth claiming mine again, like she was trying to erase whatever doubt was in my head before I could put it into words.

I turned my head, breaking the kiss, my breathing uneven. "Vera-"

She kissed my jaw instead, then my neck, her lips searing against my skin. "Shh, pastelito."

I swallowed hard, trying to ignore the way my body betrayed me, the way it wanted to melt into her even when my mind screamed that this wasn't what I wanted-not like this.

"Vera, stop." I pushed against her shoulders, but she barely budged.

Her lips dragged back up to my ear, her breath hot against my skin. "I thought this is what you wanted," she murmured, voice low, dangerous.

I finally shoved her back, stepping out of her grip, my chest heaving. "Not like this."

She stared at me, her eyes dark, her jaw tight. "What the hell does that mean?"

I exhaled sharply, running a hand through my hair, trying to piece together my thoughts. "I don't want to feel used, Vera." My voice was steadier this time, but my hands still trembled at my sides. "I don't want to just be a distraction for you when things get too real."

Vera scoffed, crossing her arms. "So now I'm using you?"

I looked at her, frustration boiling over. "Aren't you?"

She let out a sharp laugh, shaking her head. "I thought this is what you wanted," she repeated, her tone mocking now.

"No," I snapped. "I don't want to be used, Vera. I want you to care about me the way I care about you."

Silence.

Vera's expression went flat, unreadable. Then, after a second, she let out a breathy chuckle, but there was no humor in it. "That's not going to happen, Claire."

My stomach twisted. I had expected her to push back, to argue, to deflect-but the cold finality in her voice made something inside me ache.

She took a step closer, and I held my ground, even as her eyes burned into mine. "You belong to me," she said, voice low, steady. "That's all this is."

I clenched my fists. "I left my world for you."

Her eyes flashed. "I didn't ask you to."

That hit deeper than I wanted it to. I felt my throat tighten, my pulse hammering in my ears, but I refused to look away. "No, you didn't. But I still did."

Vera exhaled sharply, her hands clenching at her sides like she was holding something back. "That was your choice."

I laughed bitterly. "You really don't give a damn, do you?"

She stared at me, her expression unreadable, but something flickered in her eyes-something she shoved down before I could make sense of it. "You belong to me," she repeated, her voice colder this time. "That's all you need to understand."

I shook my head, letting out a shaky breath. "I don't want to belong to you if it doesn't mean anything."

For the first time, I saw something crack in her mask. It was brief-just a second of hesitation, of something unreadable flashing through her eyes. But then she turned, stepping away from me, heading for the door.

She didn't look back.

And when the door slammed shut behind her, I felt something inside me break too.

Vera's POV

The tension in my shoulders hadn't eased since I left Claire's room, and I was barely listening when Antonio caught up to me outside. My mind was still replaying our fight-her words, the way she looked at me like I had gutted her. The way I almost-almost-hesitated before walking away.

I was still fuming when Antonio finally got my attention.

"They left," he said, his tone low but firm. "The two guys we were watching."

I turned to face him fully, pulling myself back into the present. "You sure?"

Antonio nodded. "I put a tracker in their car. They left about ten minutes ago. We can follow them now."

Perfect.

I didn't say a word, just turned on my heel and walked toward the car. Antonio followed without question, getting into the driver's seat as I slid in beside him.

We didn't talk much as we drove, following the small blinking dot on the GPS screen. The anger I carried from Claire was now mixing with the adrenaline of the hunt, something sharp and volatile humming beneath my skin.

I needed this. I needed an outlet.

The drive was long, taking us further from the city, the road growing darker, the streetlights becoming fewer until we were surrounded by nothing but open land and shadows.

"Remote location," Antonio murmured. "They're being careful."

I just nodded, eyes fixed ahead, gripping the edge of my seat as we approached a long-abandoned gas station, the faint glow of headlights already gathered around it. Antonio cut the engine a safe distance away, both of us sitting in silence, watching.

Leo was there.

My hands clenched at the sight of him, standing tall, his men surrounding the two traitors from my crew. The two were already arguing-one of them gesturing wildly while the other stood stiff, silent, like he knew what was coming.

"Shit," Antonio muttered under his breath.

We stayed low, watching from the cover of darkness as the argument escalated. One of my men, the loud one, was shaking his head, hands raised like he was pleading his case. The other-he just stood there, barely speaking.

Then, without warning, Leo raised his gun.

The crack of the gunshot rang through the empty lot.

I didn't flinch. I had seen this play out too many times before. But I felt Antonio stiffen beside me as the louder one dropped, his body hitting the pavement in a lifeless heap, a dark pool spreading beneath him.

Leo turned to the remaining traitor, stepping closer, saying something too low for us to hear. The man nodded-frantic, desperate-before Leo gave him a final glance and turned away.

A moment later, Leo and his men were back in their cars, engines roaring as they disappeared into the night, leaving the lone survivor standing there, chest heaving, face pale as a ghost.

Antonio let out a slow breath beside me. "Jesus."

I exhaled sharply, eyes locked on the lone man still standing. "He made an example of him."

Antonio looked at me. "And the other one? What did he say to him?"

I didn't take my eyes off him. "He gave him a job to do."

Antonio tensed. "What job?"

I finally turned to him, my expression dark. "That's what we need to find out."

Antonio nodded, his jaw tightening. "You want me to handle it?"

I shook my head, watching as the man finally moved, stumbling toward his car. "No. We keep a close eye on him. We let him think he's safe."

Antonio hesitated before nodding, his grip tightening on the wheel. "And then what?"

I met his gaze. "And then we find out just how deep his betrayal runs."

Antonio exhaled, putting the car in gear, driving away before the traitor could spot us.

As the night stretched around us, my mind flickered back to Claire, her words still fresh in my ears.

I clenched my jaw, forcing the thought away.

There were more pressing matters at hand.

And I would deal with them the only way I knew how.