“You are reckless, Mara,” he muttered, though his touch was incredibly gentle as he wiped the blood away with his thumb.

“We had to buy time,” I said.

“They would have killed Alina.”

“Alina is safe,” Lucian said, his voice firm.

“My men located her in the back office three minutes ago.”

“She is already on her way to a secure vehicle.”

A wave of relief washed over me, so strong my legs felt like water.

“And the drive?” I asked.

Lucian’s face darkened.

“Victor has it,” he said.

“He took it from the table when the flash bang went off.”

I looked around the dusty warehouse floor.

The space was filled with thin white smoke from the grenade.

Two of Victor’s men lay motionless on the concrete.

Lucian’s tactical operators were descending from the metal ladders, their weapons raised.

But Victor was gone.

“He went toward the old boiler room,” I said, pointing toward the dark corridor near the back.

“He knows these tunnels better than anyone.”

“Victor was my father’s head of security for ten years,” Lucian said.

“He knows every inch of this district.”