Page 141 of Fallen Empire

My mind went back to every story Jaxson had told me about their rescue missions. The way he described slipping in and out like it was second nature, getting to people when no one else could. At the time, I’d thought it was just because he was good at what he did. But now… if Alex was right, and he’d once been one of them… it made sense.

He would have known where to look. Known the routes in and out. Known exactly how to get past whatever stood in his way.

The thought lodged in my throat like a stone. I didn’t want to believe Alex, but it fit too easily. And I hated that— hated that there was a part of me that could even consider it.

He must have seen it in my face, the way my thoughts had drifted somewhere dangerous, because a slow smirk curled at his mouth.

“That’s it,” he said softly, almost like he was proud. “You’re starting to see it now, aren’t you? She knew I was coming for her. So she sent him to protect you. But without his little handler…” He let the words hang, letting me fill in who he meant. My mother. “…there’s nothing he can do.”

He slid a hand into his pocket and pulled something out, twirling it around his finger with casual ease. A knife. The blade caught the light, flashing in the dim room.

“So, we’ll see how long it takes him to find you without her giving him directions.”

But she wouldn’t have to lead the way. I already had.

Alex’s eyes slid over me like he was measuring what it would take to break me. The knife twirled once more between his fingers before the tip stilled, pointing straight at me.

“Let’s find out how much you can take before he gets here,” he said.

My pulse hammered in my ears, drowning out everything else.

As if it were in slow motion, I watched the knife circle around his finger. Once. Twice. A third time before it stopped.

I hadn’t realized how close he’d gotten until the blade came down.

White-hot pain exploded through my thigh, sharp and deep, like molten metal pouring straight into the muscle. The force of it jolted up my spine, every nerve screaming at once.

The air was ripped from my lungs, and my scream exploded into the open space, ricocheting off the concrete walls until it felt like the sound was coming from everywhere at once.

Then he twisted.

The blade tore through me, grinding against bone, sending a fresh surge of fire ripping up my leg and into my chest. A metallic tang flooded my tongue as the coppery scent of my own blood rose thick in the air. My ears rang so loud it drowned out the sound of my own breathing, replaced by a dull, thudding pulse that seemed to echo inside my skull.

My vision speckled black, the room narrowing to nothing but his hand on the hilt.

“Oh, sweet Savannah,” Alex murmured, his voice almost gentle. “A bullet to the chest is nothing compared to what I have in store for you. And unlike Bruce, I make sure to finish my assignment.”

His expression didn’t flare with anger or glee. It was calm. Measured. As if he were marking something off a to-do list. That made it worse because he wasn’t lashing out. He was simply… finishing the job.

This was what I had chosen. I’d made the decision to give him me in exchange for Millie. To trade my last shred of freedom for her life.

My thoughts drifted to Millie, unbidden and unstoppable. Had he done this to her? Was the reason I hadn’t heard her screams because she no longer had the strength to make asound? The image hollowed me out from the inside. And if that was true… then all of this—giving myself up, selling my soul for hers—would be for nothing.

So when he yanked the knife out before slamming it back down again, I swallowed the scream. I let the blackness rise up, swallow me whole, and carry my mind to another place.

Anywhere but here.

And I prayed someone found us before it was too late.

Chapter 29

Jaxson

We’d scoured every camera feed we could access, rewinding, enhancing, pulling angles from traffic lights, storefronts, and even private security networks Nic had no business hacking into. We followed Koslov as far as the grainy footage would let us… and then he was gone.

Just—gone.

Like a ghost walking the streets of Manhattan with a hostage. A hostage that was like a sister to me.Somewhere out there, Millie was breathing the same air as him, close enough to hear his voice, close enough for him to touch her. And I was standing here, useless, with nothing but shadows on a fucking screen.