Page 129 of Dirty Game

Her phone is out, thumb flicking images into the cloud: crates, codes, faces.

She doesn’t look up when a body slumps in front of her just steps over it, eyes locked on the next target. I want to tell her to stay back, but there’s no time.

Upstairs, the party is in full swing—vodka bottles, drugs, and high-priced girls.

We move through the chaos, ignored by the guests until a silenced shot takes out the first armed guard.

Then it’s screaming, panic, the herd rushing toward the exits.

Cyrus peels off, drops two more with calculated shots, and signals: clear. I find the hallway that leads to the master suite.

At the end, two men guard the door. I double-tap the left through the eye, knife the right in the femoral. He tries to scream, but his throat is already full of blood.

I take a breath at the door. Beyond is the reason for everything.

I don’t hesitate. Kick it in, gun level, ready for hell.

The suite is gold and white, blinding in the overheads.

Sienna sits on a couch, her eyes are glass, cold and unblinking, but I see the sweat at her hairline.

She laughs, brittle. “I should have expected this of you.”

Behind me, footsteps. Korrin and Leon enter, guns raised and surprisingly, Sienna flinches.

“This is it, Sienna,” I say, my voice dead calm. “All of this is over.”

She shakes her head. “You took our son from me, Varrick, and I’ll get him back. He’s worth more than both of us put together. The heir to the Cross and Bane bloodlines.”

She stands, and edges toward the far door.

I step sideways, cutting off the exit.

She bares her teeth. “He’s not safe with you.”

“He’s safer with me than anyone else,” I say.

Then the world slows. Mikhail steps from the shadows, gun already out.

Mikhail smiles, all gums and rot. “I should’ve ended your bloodline when I had the chance, King. Sienna might be my wife, but she’s just a chess piece in this game.”

Sienna’s face cracks, just for an instant, then she schools it back to stone.

I hear Rosalynn behind me, a half-choked sound.

She’s recording everything, but now her hands are shaking too hard to keep the phone steady.

Korrin’s finger is on the trigger, but he knows better than to risk it.

My eyes are locked on Mikhail. “You don’t want to die here.”

Mikhail laughs. “This is all I ever wanted.”

He starts heading toward the door, grabbing Sienna by the elbow and twists.

Sienna kicks him in the knee, and I see something happening before me that I don’t quite understand.

Is she mad because he would dispose of her in a second if it meant he kept his power? Probably.