Page 214 of Fractured Allegiance

Elias drops onto the platform beside us, weapon steady, movements efficient and mean. He glances once at me, once at her, and doesn’t waste words. “He’s coming.”

Dom’s laughter follows, close. “Run faster, Ward. It makes you sloppy.”

I move forward, shielding Lydia again. Not because she asked me to. Because I can’t stop.

Dom doesn’t crawl. He prowls. The bastard swings back onto the building like gravity isn’t real, pistol raised, grin splitting his face. Blood seeps from the shoulder Lydia clipped earlier, but it doesn’t seem to slow him. If anything, it fuels him. He looks feral.

The platform creaks under our combined weight. Elias takes the rear, firing upward, pinning Dom between cover and open air. Sparks snap from the rails where bullets strike. My aim tracks Dom’s head, waiting for the inch that exposes him.

“You really think you’re getting her out?” Dom taunts. His voice carries too easily across the narrow gap. “She’s not yours to keep, Ward. Never was. Drazen owns her leash, same as he owns yours.”

Elias growls low, pulls his trigger, but Dom ducks back behind a vent, laughter echoing like static.

I push Lydia further against the wall. Her hand catches my sleeve, grip fierce. “Mr. Bureau,” she spits, voice cutting.

My focus stutters. Dom’s boots scrape closer, but her words land harder. I glance at her, the fury in her face, the betrayal sparking hotter than the gunfire around us.

“You let me—” Her voice cracks, but she swallows it, jaw locking. “You let me fall into this cage while you—what? Played undercover? Pretended to be on my side?”

Dom laughs again, louder, using her rage like a weapon. “See? You don’t even need me, Ward. She’s cutting your throat for free.”

I step forward, aim steady, fury locked on him. “Shut your mouth.”

“Or what? You’ll put a bullet in me? Or maybe you’ll let her do it, since she’s learning fast. Cute couple, both liars, both killers. Drazen’s gonna eat this up.”

Elias fires again, forcing Dom to duck lower. Then he glances at me, smirk dangerous even in the chaos. “You really didn’t tell her? Christ, no wonder she looks like she wants to gut you.”

I don’t look back at him. I can’t. My eyes stay on Lydia, even when she won’t look at me.

“I didn’t tell you,” I say, voice tight, “because I didn’t want you to see me like them. Like a file. Like another leash.”

Her stare snaps to mine, fury alive in her gaze. “And now I do.”

The platform rattles as Dom lunges down another rung, his pistol flashing in the dark. Elias swears, ducking behind the rail. A bullet hisses past my ear.

I fire back, quick and clean, forcing Dom to retreat again.

Dom doesn’t retreat. He adapts.

One second, he’s pinned behind cover. The next, he’s dropping onto the same platform as us, boots crashing against the metal with a weight that makes the bolts groan. The space is too tight now. No distance, no clean aim. Just bodies.

I shove Lydia behind me. Elias fires point-blank, but Dom slams into him, knocking the shot wide. The two of them grapple, steel railing shuddering with the impact.

Then Dom’s eyes cut to her. Always her.

He lunges, arm snapping out, fingers clamping around Lydia’s wrist. Her cry slices through me. He yanks hard, dragging her toward the edge, half her body already over open air.

“No!” I roar. My gun’s useless at this range. I drop it, slam into Dom, my fist cracking against his jaw. He staggers, but he doesn’t let go of her.

Elias grabs her other arm, bracing against the rail, teeth gritted as Dom tries to tear her free. It’s a tug of war with her body as the rope.

Her eyes lock on mine, wide, terrified, furious all at once. “You did this!” she spits, voice hoarse. “You lied—”

The words tear through me, cutting than any blade. I don’t argue. I don’t beg. I just drive my knee up into Dom’s ribs, hear the snap, and slam his head against the rail until his grip loosens.

Lydia stumbles back into Elias’s arms. Dom snarls, blood running from his mouth, and comes at me again.

I don’t hesitate this time. No procedure. No Bureau restraint. I catch him by the collar, yank him close, pull out my pocketknife and drive it straight through his throat. The blade slides hot and clean. His eyes go wide. His body jerks once,twice. Then he collapses, spilling across the platform like a broken hinge.