Collateral Blood

17

The rest of the drive to the warehouse passed in a blur. Sloan couldn't shake the weight of what had just happened. The adrenaline was fading, leaving behind a hollow ache in her chest. She kept glancing at Harry, trying to read his expression, but his face remained as unreadable as ever. If he was affected by what she had done, he didn't show it.

As they pulled up to the warehouse, Harry killed the engine and sat in silence for a moment. Sloan stared at the looming structure, its corrugated metal walls dull under the grey sky. This place, where the plan to kidnap her had been conceived, would now become the centre of a new phase of their operations. A place she'd have to confront her own role in all of this.

"We're here," Harry said simply, his voice cutting through the silence.

Sloan nodded but didn't move. She was still processing everything that had happened. The kidnapping, her father's betrayal, the violent world she'd been thrust into, and now—this strange, twisted partnership with Harry.

"Let's go," Harry said, opening his door and stepping out into the gravel driveway.

Sloan followed suit, though her legs felt weak beneath her. She didn't know what awaited her inside, but she steeled herself. She had to. There was no other choice now. She was in this world, and she had to survive.

The interior of the warehouse was dark and cavernous, with high ceilings and concrete floors that echoed their footsteps. Several of Harry's men were already there, talking in low voices, their expressions tense. Sloan recognised some of them from the night she was taken, but they seemed less intimidating now, almost normal, as if this was just another day on the job for them.

Zayn approached them first, his face breaking into a grin as he clapped Harry on the shoulder. "Good to see you both made it. How was the drive?"

Harry gave a curt nod. "Eventful. We were tailed, but Sloan took care of it."

Zayn raised an eyebrow, his gaze shifting to Sloan with a look of surprise and mild approval. "Not bad for a rookie. You might have some potential after all."

Sloan wasn't sure how to respond to that, so she just nodded, feeling out of place in this world of hardened criminals. But she couldn't afford to seem weak, not now.

Zayn motioned for them to follow him deeper into the warehouse. "We've set up a space for you, Sloan. Somewhere you can rest and get your head straight before we start your training."

They walked through a maze of crates and steel beams until they reached a small sectioned-off area at the back of the warehouse. It was modest—a cot, a small table, and a single light hanging from the ceiling. It wasn't much, but it was more than she had expected.

"This will be your space for now," Zayn said. "Get settled in. We'll talk more about your training schedule later."

Sloan nodded and stepped inside the makeshift room, feeling the weight of everything that had happened pressing down on her shoulders. She glanced back at Harry, who lingered in the doorway for a moment, watching her with those piercing green eyes.

"Get some rest," he said. "You've had a rough day. Tomorrow, we'll start preparing for what's next."

Harry left her to settle in, and she could hear him and Zayn talking in low voices just outside. She strained to listen, but their words were too muffled to make out clearly. She sighed, rubbing her temples. Everything felt surreal—like she was living in someone else's life, like this couldn't possibly be real.

But it was real. And she had made her choice. Now, she had to see it through.

After a few minutes, Harry and Zayn's conversation became clearer as they moved closer to the door. Sloan caught fragments of their discussion—the need to secure the warehouse, to train her, to retrieve the lost product. Her father's name was mentioned more than once, each time with an edge of danger in their voices.

She clenched her fists, anger surging through her again. Her father. The man who had lied to her for her entire life. The man who had built a criminal empire while pretending to be a simple businessman. And now, because of him, she was here, in this dark, dangerous world.

The door creaked open, and Harry stepped back inside. He looked at her for a long moment, as if weighing his words carefully.

"We'll start training tomorrow," he said finally. "But first, I need to know you're committed to this. There's no turning back now, Sloan. If you're going to be part of this, you need to be all in."

Sloan met his gaze, her heart pounding in her chest. She thought about everything that had led her here, the betrayal, the fear, and now this strange, twisted partnership. She had made her choice, and there was no going back.

"I'm in," she said, her voice steady. "Whatever it takes."

Harry nodded, a flicker of something—approval, maybe—crossing his face. "Good. Because there's a lot at stake here. We can't afford any weaknesses."

He turned to leave but paused in the doorway. "Get some rest. Tomorrow, everything changes."

As he left, Sloan lay back on the cot, staring up at the ceiling. Her thoughts raced, her emotions a tangled mess. But one thing was clear: she wasn't the same person she had been before all of this started. She was changing, and whether she liked it or not, she was becoming part of this world.

And she would have to be ready for whatever came next.