Page 6

The airinside the basement was freezing, carrying the gritty bite of concrete and mildew. It clung to Leo’s skin beneath his gear, damp and unrelenting. His gloved hand brushed the rough wall as he inched forward, each step deliberate. The window he’d slipped through had been a godsend—barely wide enough for his gear-laden torso, and certainly not in the building’s schematics. A lucky break. He wasn’t about to waste it.

“Ground floor entrance secure.” Rook’s voice was measured on the comms.

“Copy.” Leo nodded, sweeping his gaze across the room. Dim light trickled in from a single bulb, flickering faintly like a failing heartbeat. The space was a graveyard of abandoned office equipment. Rusted shelving units, broken chairs, obsolete printers and computers wereshoved against the walls in haphazard piles. Shadows spilled into every corner, thick and impenetrable. “Approaching rear access stairs.”

All far too quiet. Nothing from Kat.

His throat tightened. Someone had cut her comms, leaving her blind—and his team at a disadvantage.

A short burst of static filled his ears, followed by Rook’s clipped voice. “Movement on the west perimeter. Police van changing position. What the fuck?”

Leo froze.

Rook swore again. “I gave explicit orders: nothing moves, nothing changes.” The words came out as barely more than a breath, but the fury behind them was unmistakable.

They’d locked down every detail. And now? Leo’s mind flashed to Kat, somewhere in the building, blind.

“Lund, what’s happening? Who gave that order?” The silence stretched. One heartbeat. Two. Leo’s pulse kicked up.

“Eyes on the west side through the drone feed.” Rook’s voice crackled from floors above. “Shut that shit down right now. I repeat, shut it down.”

Leo took the stairs two at a time.What the fuck?

“Copy that,” Lund’s response finally crawled back.

Fucking moron.

“Drone’s giving us a bird’s-eye view.” Rook’s voice spat sparks across the comms. “Tangos have a hostage up against the window. They fucking saw that van.”

A gunshot ruptured the air—sharp, unmistakable—reverberating from somewhere high in the building.

“Fuck.” Rook’s voice came again,vibrating with urgency. “Leo, hostage down. Tangos advancing.”

Hostage down.

Leo’s blood ran ice-cold. His mind locked onto one name.Kat.

He forced his voice steady, though his lungs were seized. “Copy that. Confirm the hostage. Man or woman?”

His heartbeat thudded like a war drum.

“Leo, shift position. Link up to my six,” Rook barked. “Tangos closing fast—engage?—”

Static cut off the comms.

Leo bit back a curse, flicking the safety off his weapon as he barreled upward. Their plan was unraveling by the second, but one thing burned clear in his mind.

He had to get to the hostages. And Kat—now.

6

Kat bitdown on her tongue so she wouldn’t scream.

Burke had shot a male hostage with no hesitation, holding him against the window as a signal—or a warning—for all to see. The man slid to the floor, leaving blood smeared on the glass. Behind her, panic surged through the remaining hostages, a mixture of muffled screams and shocked inhalations.

She squeezed her eyes tight, wanting to wipe the image from her eyes. Burke had no moral compass. Negotiations with a man like him would be worthless?—

A muted thump.