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My smile vanished as my hyperfocus on him faded, and the rest of the scene sharpened with painful clarity.

Vuk was staring at me, his face stark with guilt and horror. His hands were tied behind his back, and the man next to him had a gun pressed to his head. I’d never seen the second man before. Green eyes, dark hair, deceptively good-looking in a cruel, brutal way.

He took in my current position on the ground with no discernible emotion.

Before I could say anything else, another pair of footsteps sounded behind me.

Vuk’s nostrils flared. He stared past me, his eyes burning so cold I felt their chill from a dozen feet away.

Wentworth came into view. Beside him was…

My stomach free fell. Again.

My breath exploded out of me in shock as the elegant blonde surveyed the scene with amusement.

“I see everyone’s here,” Emmanuelle said. “Let’s get started, shall we?”

CHAPTER52

Vuk

Iwas going to rip them apart with my bare hands.Allof them.

Wentworth, the slimy coward who’d climbed back out from under his rock now that he had someone to hide behind.

Emmanuelle, the evil bitch who’d masterminded all of this.

And Roman, thatfuckingasshole.

I tried to breathe through a cloud of impotent rage. The knife blade of retribution pressed under my skin, drawing blood. It bubbled and sparked, incandescent in its anger and waiting—just waiting—for the moment it could burst forth and turn its enemies to dust.

That moment would come. Until then…

My attention returned to Ayana. She lay on the ground, her arms and legs bound to a chair. Inexplicably, she held one of her shoes behind her back. Huge, wide eyes stared up at me, glossy with fear and pain.

She didn’t appear seriously hurt, but she was scared, and that was enough for me to want to kill every single person responsible.

Outside, the sounds of gunfire had ceased. I had no idea whether anyone from my team was still alive. I had to trust that they were. If they weren’t…

I shoved the thought aside.One thing at a time.First, I had to figure out how to untie myself and deal with the trio in front of me.

“What? No snarky response?” Emmanuelle shook her head in mock disappointment when Ayana remained silent. If she was surprised by her old agency head’s appearance, she didn’t show it. “Ah, well, that’s too bad.”

“You said we could start. Can we start now?” Wentworth was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. The fucker was high out of his mind. “Vuk’s here.”

Emmanuelle’s mouth twisted for a brief moment before her expression smoothed again. She was dressed in a tailored blouse, pants, and heels. If it weren’t for the gun in her hand, she could’ve passed for an executive on her way back from the office. Which, I supposed, she usually was.

“Patience, Wentworth,” she said, her voice sharp.

He fell silent, his expression sulky. He also held a gun, but the hand I’d smashed was still wrapped in a cast. It gave me a vicious sense of satisfaction.

Emmanuelle walked over the mangled body parts rotting between me and Ayana. The warehouse’s size had diffused its stench earlier, but the smell from up close was putrid.

She nudged the head with her foot so it rolled over.

I didn’t allow a single twitch to mar my face—I wouldn’t give her the pleasure of a reaction—but my stomach revolted at the familiar face.

Enzo, the newest member of my team. I’d hired him to tail Emmanuelle. He’d sent me updates all day, but the condition of his body suggested he’d been dead for at least twenty-four hours. She must’ve hacked into his phone and fed me the false information.