Page 154 of Fallen Empire

Jax’s jaw locked. Silence.

“You think he’s your brother-in-arms?” His smirk twisted. “Ask him why Costa still breathes. Ask him how many women he left behind in those rooms. He played his role so well I almost made him my second.”

A faint vibration trembled through the floorboards above us—boots, heavy, fast, multiplying. The rhythm quickened, heading for the stairs.

Reaper shifted his stance, gun angled up, catching my eye just long enough to signal:incoming.

Koslov saw it too. His smile sharpened. “Looks like story time’s over.”

Bodies filed in one by one—calm, careful, trained soldiers moving like a single organism.His soldiers.

They closed in too fast for us to even adjust our aim.

Cold metal pressed against my temple as they fanned out, flanking us, forcing our hands down.

One by one, our weapons were stripped away, tossed into the growing pile in the center of the floor. Magazines, knives, comms—until all that was left on us were the bulletproof vests they didn’t bother to take. Maybe they figured we wouldn’t get the chance to use them.

“Move them to the corner,” Koslov ordered, his voice steady, his pistol still pressed to Millie’s temple like it belonged there.

We were on our feet and across the room a few beats later.

“The way I see it…” Koslov’s tone was almost casual, but every syllable carried venom. “Now, you get to watch as I take everything from you. Just like I promised.”

His eyes never left Jaxson. The words weren’t for me, and they weren’t for Millie, they were for him. The promise he’d left weeks ago in that note.

The gun dropped from Millie’s temple, and it was then that I noticed blood pouring from her face. The same damage that Koslov seemed to have. She’d done that to him, and he’d retaliated.

I let out a slow breath watching the gun fall to his side, my chest loosening for the first time since they’d stormed in. The relief lasted all of two seconds.

Koslov’s other hand slid up from behind Savannah’s back. Steel caught the light as a blade appeared, and my gut twisted. He severed whatever had been binding her wrists. Her arms fell uselessly to her sides.

She didn’t move. Didn’t speak. Her eyes were locked on Jaxson, even as Koslov stepped in front of her, taking her hand in both of his like they were about to dance.

“You see,” he went on, voice almost mocking, “you’ve cost me billions over the years. And when you left—vanished without a single trace—Costa stopped trusting anyone. Not after his little puppy turned out to be undercover.”

His grip shifted to one of her fingers. He held it for a beat too long. Then—

Snap.

Savannah didn’t scream. Didn’t flinch. Didn’t even breathe.

Koslov’s grin turned sharp. “What’s the matter,Knox? Cat got your tongue? Or maybe you’re remembering the day you ran—how you left everything behind and still couldn’t kill me.”

Jaxson moved forward, the muscle in his jaw twitching. That was all it took.

The butt of a rifle came out of nowhere, smashing into the side of his face. The crack of bone against steel echoed off the walls.

It stalled him. Barely.

Before the attacker could pull back, Jaxson’s hand shot up, seizing the weapon’s barrel. He wrenched it free, the sound of tendons tearing as the man’s grip gave way.

Then one swing—fast, precise—brought the stock down on the man’s skull. The impact was sickening, bone shattering under the blow. Fragments sprayed the air before the body collapsed in a heap.

Jaxson didn’t even look down. His eyes were on Koslov.

The man was planted in Savannah’s lap now, her head forced back against his chest. A gun barrel jammed between her teeth, steel pressing hard against the hinge of her jaw.

Koslov’s smile was cold, almost amused.