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My body is a mass of pain and fury. Nothing else matters now.
“On my mark.” Blood drips steadily from my knife hand. “Breach and clear. No prisoners.”
The words hang in the air. Heavy with promise.
Dark with purpose.
Time stretches. Contracts.
“Mark.”
The world explodes into violence.
The Rufis breach first. Explosive charges demolish the penthouse doors. Smoke and debris fill the air.
We flow through the breach like death. Each of us a weapon. Each movement bringing destruction.
The first wave of guards dies before they can raise their weapons. Rufi units tear through flesh and bone. Our bullets find vital organs.
More guards emerge from side rooms. The fighting turns vicious. Personal.
A shotgun blast shreds a Rufi unit. Its dying targeting system paints three hostiles. They don’t survive the next breath.
Every room becomes a killing ground. We clear them methodically. Professionally. Until only Wolfe’s office remains.
My heart pounds against broken ribs. Blood runs freely now. The knife in my hand drips red.
One door left.
Ember waits beyond it.
The rage burns white-hot.
Time to end this.
THIRTY-SEVEN
Ember
An explosion shuddersthrough the building’s foundation. Wolfe’s phone buzzes—once, twice, three times in rapid succession. His perfectly manicured control fractures as he snatches it up.
“Report.” The edge in his voice cuts like a blade.
The blood drains from his face. “What do you mean they’ve breached the perimeter?”
Another tremor rocks the penthouse. Coffee sloshes over the rim of his cup, the dark liquid seeps into papers across his mahogany desk. His fingers tighten on the phone until his knuckles go white.
“Kill them,” he barks. “I don’t care how. Just stop them.”
His eyes dart to the security feeds. Screen after screen shows chaos erupting. Blood paints the walls of the stairwell. Bodies tumble like broken dolls.
My heart thunders against my ribs.
They’re coming.
I take one step toward the door, and then another. Freedom whispers my name, urging me onward and promising safety.
Wolfe moves like a striking snake. His hand clamps around my waist, yanking me off my feet before I can react. The air rushes from my lungs as he crushes me against him, the sudden force knocking the breath out of me.