Page 101 of Cursed

Sadie stares at me, her expression shifting from desperation to fear as she witnesses my detachment.

“You’re not... angry?”

“Anger clouds judgment.” I check the time. “We have exactly one hour and thirty-three minutes. That’s enough.”

I see the realization dawn in her eyes—the understanding that the man she’s been living with operates on a different frequency when danger is involved—one fundamentally alien to her own—one with zero room for emotion. Emotions get people killed and fuck if I’m gonna watch her bury her best friend.

I pull out my phone, making three separate calls in rapid succession. No explanations, just four words to each brother: “Orlov. Conference room. Now.”

While we wait, I pull up building schematics on my phone, mentally mapping entry and exit points to the east garden. It takes sixteen seconds to formulate a preliminary strategy.

“Landon, what are we going to do?” Sadie’s voice trembles. “We can’t just?—”

“Quiet.” I raise my hand. “I’m working.”

My brothers materialize in the hallway, one after another. Vane arrives first, already reaching inside his jacket where I know he keeps a knife. Knox appears seconds later, his usual grin replaced by lethal focus. Xavier slips in last, assessing the situation with a single glance.

“Orlov has Sadie’s friend.” I hand Xavier her phone with the photos. “Wants me in the east garden by midnight. Alone.”

“Trap,” Knox states.

“Obviously.” I nod. “Which means we spring our own.”

I outline my plan clearly. No wasted words, no room for misinterpretation. Each brother receives their role with nothing more than a nod.

“The garden has three access points. Knox takes the service entrance, Vane the south wall. Xavier, you’ll monitor from the security feed. I’ll enter as expected, but—” I pull up a schematic of the garden’s irrigation system. “—the pipes here and here provide cover for two shooters.”

“Wait,” Sadie interrupts. “You created this plan in less than a minute?”

I glance at her, annoyed at the interruption. “Yes.”

“But how did you know the garden layout so quickly? The irrigation system? The?—”

“I memorized the building plans before we arrived. Standard procedure. You’ll accompany me,” I tell her. “But we modify the terms. You’re bringing me, but only after receiving proof of life. That buys us four minutes for positioning.”

“You want me to negotiate with him?”

“No. I want you to distract him while my brothers get into position.” I hold her gaze. “We’re going to play his game, little butterfly. But we’re changing the rules.”

“She’s not trained for this,” Xavier protests. “She’ll telegraph our intentions the moment Orlov looks at her.”

“I can handle it.” Sadie’s spine straightens.

Vane scoffs. “This isn’t a computer simulation you can restart when you fail. People die for real.”

“I’m aware of that.” Her voice hardens. “It’s my friend’s life at stake.”

I study her face—the set of her jaw, the fury in her eyes.

“She’ll manage,” I state, cutting off further debate. “Knox, you’ll need to disable the exterior cameras on your approach. The landscaping provides sufficient cover until the final eight meters.”

“Already mapping it,” Knox confirms.

Sadie steps closer, lowering her voice. “Landon, what if he’s already killed her?”

“Then this becomes a different operation.” I meet her gaze. “But Orlov wants me, not your friend. She’s leverage, nothing more.”

“How can you be so cold about this?” Her voice wavers.