Her breath shallow.
Her spirit flickering.
She disappears into the SUV.
The door slams shut with a dull thud.
Both cars peel away in perfect formation, engines silent, vanishing like ghosts.
And I wasn’t there.
I didn’t protect her.
I didn’t stop it.
I didn’t see it coming.
I failed her.
I failed the only thing in this world that has ever mattered.
And there is no pain cruel enough to punish me for it?—
not until I make them choke on the consequences.
The phone cracks in my grip, glass slicing my palm, blood dripping onto my thigh. I barely feel it.
I throw the ruined device onto the floor of the car.
“Floor it,” I snarl.
“Sir, the pier is full?—”
“GO THROUGH THEM IF YOU HAVE TO!”
The engine screams, the car lurches forward, and we tear down the narrow road, scattering tourists like startled birds.
I grab another phone and start making calls—shouting into encrypted channels, activating dormant accounts, pulling every favor I’ve ever been owed across three continents.
I’m calling warlords.
Black-market brokers.
Interpol contacts.
Smugglers.
Airfield owners.
Then I circle back to my father-in-law and the head of Sigma International Security himself.
“I’m moving now.”
“Wait, we’re sending a team to you?—”
“I’m not asking your permission. Look for a file with everything I have in your inboxes. It should be hitting them now.”
“You know who did this?” Luc demands.
