Chapter 5

"Fuck you," he snapped and spat directly into Damon's face, his chin lifted in defiance as the room tightened instantly and every guard shifted at once, reading the change in danger.

Damon did not move as the spit slid down his cheek, his expression flat and unreadable, his eyes locked on his with a cold stillness that made the air feel sealed and heavy around them.

He wiped his face slowly without breaking eye contact, the motion controlled and deliberate, and when his hand dropped his mouth curved faintly as if the act meant nothing to him.

"I see," he said quietly, his tone even as he continued watching him, while Alejandro held his stare a fraction too long before forcing his jaw tighter.

The door opened and a scarred man entered carrying a silver case, his steps halting immediately under Damon's slight turn of attention before he crossed the room and placed it down under his gaze, then stepped back without hesitation.

Alejandro's eyes tracked the exchange, his awareness sharpening as he noticed how the room answered Damon without sound and command, his expression tightening.

The case clicked open, revealing its contents, and Damon studied it briefly before shifting it aside without ceremony, as if what was inside no longer required his attention at all.

Alejandro's gaze followed the movement and that was when he noticed it, the scarred man began pulling on his gloves, the latex snapping quietly as it fitted over his fingers.

His breath caught for the smallest fraction of a second before he forced it back under control, steadying himself, but Damon had already seen it and something faint, almost private, settled in his expression.

"Your new life," he said, eyes still fixed on him, "courtesy of me."

"I have a life," Alejandro snapped immediately, his hands tensing at his sides as he refused to give ground.

Damon's gaze dropped briefly to his hands before returning to his face without urgency, his calm never shifting.

"Not anymore," he said lowly. "You're mine now. You will infiltrate the FBI from the inside and feed me information."

Alejandro let out a short breath of disbelief, his head tilting slightly as anger sharpened his features.

"You think I'll work for you?" he said, voice controlled but edged.

Damon studied him without blinking, then leaned forward just enough to erase the distance between them, his voice lowering.

"One foolish move," he said slowly, then colder, "and I will visit your family myself. Not even your grandfather, Rafaele Salazar, in Alberobello, Puglia will be untouched."

The moment it left his mouth, Alejandro froze, the reaction immediate, his eyes snapping to him as disbelief tightened into something heavier, something closer to dread.

"What makes you think I won't kill you the moment I'm free?" Alejandro said, and Damon leaned in, his lips inches from his, cutting him off before he could finish.

"Because part of you already belongs to me."

Suddenly, the window shattered and gunfire erupted outside as Damon's expression shifted instantly, turning lethal while he rose and moved toward the door.

"Chiudete il perimetro," he ordered, voice cold and firm. "Nessuno entra o esce. Mettete in sicurezza ogni uscita e ogni sistema di sorveglianza. E chiunque stia giocando nel mio impero," he added quietly, "portatemelo vivo... o a malapena."

"Lock down the perimeter. No one enters or leaves. Secure every exit and surveillance feed. And whoever is playing games in my empire," he added quietly, "bring them to me alive... or barely."

Alejandro's pulse tightened as he struggled against the cuffs biting into his wrists, but Damon returned without hesitation, already armed, drawing two pistols from inside his jacket as he approached him.

"What the fu----"

Twin shots cracked through the room, cutting him off as bullets struck either side of the cuffs and shattered them apart, metal snapping clean as fragments scattered across the floor.

Alejandro jerked back, staring at his freed wrists for a fraction before snapping his gaze to him, his breath uneven with controlled fury.

"Are you fucking insane?" he hissed, anger sharp in his voice as his pulse hammered.

Damon tossed him one of the pistols he had fired as he turned toward the wall, his voice steady and unbothered as he spoke without looking back.

"We are under attack. If you want to live, follow me."