Chapter 390

After parting ways with Sheppard, Daren wasted no time barking orders to his men, directing them to shift the goods to the new hiding place.

Elsewhere, Sherwood was burning through every favor and contact he had, scrambling to pull together thirty million in cash before time strangled him.

Forty minutes later, the abandoned steel mill near Horizon Bridge lay crouched under a mass of storm-heavy clouds.

The air reeked of rust and rain, a damp wind slapping against the corroded beams.

Headlights cut through the gloom as a truck rumbled in, its tires hissing over wet asphalt.

Sherwood rode in the front,stone-faced,while behind him thirty million in cash lay bundled in black waterproof cloth, the stacks piled high like a dark mountain sealed in crates.

The truck ground to a halt at the steel mill's entrance.

Almost on cue, another growl of engines reverberated through the night-Daren's convoy storming into the parking area.

His men fanned out with practiced ease,unfastening the trucks' bolts. The doors crashed open with a metallic groan, revealing the neatly layered bundles glinting beneath the weak light.

Once his truck was parked, Sherwood stepped out, his leather soles crunching over the gravel, the slam of the truck door echoing like a gunshot.

As he straightened, he caught sight of Daren across the parking area, forcing his bulky frame out of a vehicle.

Sherwood stopped cold. Impossible.

Daren should have been meeting with Luis by now in their agreed-upon destination-snared in the police trap he had prepared.

What was Daren doing here?

Daren's crocodile-leather shoes rasped over the stones, and then came the snap of a lighter. A small flame bloomed, and the end of his cigar glowed red beneath the stormy sky. He exhaled a ribbon of smoke and smirked. "Didn't expect you'd be stuck handling the final payment as well, Sherwood."

His laugh was coarse, carried on the wind along with the stench of tobacco. He narrowed his eyes, studying the man across from him. "I figured Luis himself would've shown up for something this important after his subordinate talked to me earlier."

The words slammed into Sherwood. His pupils shrank;his chest tightened. "What did you say? Luis...contacted you?"

Daren cocked his head, watching him through a haze of smoke, doubt flickering in his eyes.

He flicked the cigar again-embers scattering against his polished shoes.

"You didn't know?" His tone carried a lazy edge of surprise. "An hour ago, Sheppard-Luis' right hand-came to me. Said the dock was crawling with police.We switched the drop to here, last minute."

He sounded almost casual, utterly unaware of the noose tightening around him.

He tipped his chin toward the sky, another cloud of smoke curling upward. "Strange," he drawled."Aren't you close with the Sampson family? Luis is guarding this deal like it's his crown jewel. Didn't he bother filling you in?"

Each syllable struck Sherwood's skull like a hammer.His ears rang with a merciless buzz, like a storm of needles tearing at his nerves. Luis had spoken to Daren!

That meant Luis knew everything-and had spun a countermeasure behind his back.

The snare Sherwood had laid so carefully had become his own cage.

His mind jolted back to two hours earlier, to the stranger dragging him to the emergency exit and claiming they had kidnapped his daughter. His hands shook violently at the memory.

He scanned the area, his eyes wild. Not a single figure lurked in the shadows-only Daren's smoke-wreathed silhouette standing before him.

No sign of his kidnapped daughter. No sign of the so -called kidnaappers.

A cold ripple climbed his spine. His throat worked convulsively, Adam's apple jerking as he edged backward,gravel crunching beneath his shoes.

Above, a sudden commotion split the silence. A flock of crows burst from the rafters of the steel mill, wings beating furiously, shredding the stagnant air with a storm of sound.

The storm that had drenched the world minutes ago had already passed, yet the sky remained heavy, choked in darkness-now further blotted out by the circling wings above.

The birds wheeled overhead, their flight a grim choreography,as though calling death to witness.

Their coarse caws cut the silence, shrill and unearthly,like screams torn from hell's throat.

Their guttural cries scraped across the parking area,eerie and shrill, like the howls of spirits clawing out of hell. Black bodies swooped low, talons and beaks slashing the air so close Sherwood swore he felt them graze his shoulders.

Stray feathers drifted down like ashes, brushing against the cold sweat at the nape of his neck. Each touch jolted another chill through his body.

Meanwhile,Daren exhaled a slow stream of smoke,the curling tendrils twisting into grotesque shapes under the shadow of circling wings-mocking, sinister,alive.

Sherwood stood rooted in place, his throat working three desperate times before he finally rasped out a breath between clenched teeth.

And in that moment,understanding hit.

Luis-damnable Luis-had laid this snare to drag both Daren and him straight into hell. For ten seconds, silence held the place. The wind rose suddenly, lashing sand against Sherwood's slack face.

Then Daren's puzzled voice broke the spell.Sherwood's eyes bulged,breath tearing from his lungs.Veins corded his neck as he shouted, "Leave! It's a trap!"

He spun on his heel,lunging for his truck.

His fingers had just brushed the handle when a shrill whistle cut through the night. From the darkness,the police surged like predators.

Their riot shields locked into formation with brutal precision, an armored wall snapping into place.In an instant, Sherwood and Daren were swallowed whole.

Red and blue lights strobed wildly across their faces,throwing monstrous shadows across the rusted trucks.Spotlights blazed down, so harsh that Daren instinctively flung up a hand to shield his eyes.

His bodyguards barely twitched for their weapons before being tackled and crushed to the gravel. Their knees struck hard, thuds muffled beneath the chaos.

Metal clicked and snapped as cuffs bit into their wrists.

Above, at high secret vantage points, snipers waited,scopes glinting on their targets. Police dogs scrambled up the trucks around them,their feral barking shattering the night.

Daren's pupils tightened to pinpoints. Everywhere he looked, rifles stared back. The cigar slipped from his fingers, scattering sparks across the dirt until they died like fallen stars.

His shadow flickered and writhed against the rusted hull of a truck, grotesque in the flashing lights.

"Sherwood Kirk!" he roared, voice hoarse with rage.His hand clamped onto Sherwood's collar, dragging him close. "You bastard-you led them here, didn't you?"

He still couldn't see the truth of it. In his fury, he thought Sherwood had exposed himself and been tailed by the police, never suspecting Luis' hand in the snare.

But before his fury could burn further, two officers lunged from the side. Riot shields rammed into his ribs,sending him sprawling.

His knees slammed the concrete with a crack. Through the haze of pain, he glimpsed Sherwood thrashing against another group of officers,already subdued.

"Stay down!"The amplified voice of a commander thundered through the chaos. Floodlights glared, a dozen gun barrels gleamed, and the loudspeaker boomed again as a commanding officer strode forward with a blinding flashlight. "Daren Robles! Sherwood Kirk! You are surrounded! Any resistance is useless. Hands on your heads-now! Continuing to defy us will only worsen your fate!"