He gestures toward Knight. “You came alone.”
I smile under my mask. “Do you think I’m alone because I’m stupid?”
His eyes narrow. “Or because you’re arrogant?”
“Or because I don’t wait politely while my boyfriend bleeds in basements.”
Knight makes a rough sound that might be a laugh. Or might be pain. I don’t look at him yet.
Because Viktor is still standing. And I’m not done. I start toward him.
Viktor finally shifts into something harder. “Grab her,” he snaps.
From a side door, two more guards surge into the room.
I brace— and then a voice cuts through the space like a knife.
“Hands where we can see them.”
The men freeze.
So do I.
Because that voice is the sound of consequences arriving with a badge. The door behind me fills with bodies. Not cops. Not yet. These are bigger shadows. Heavier footsteps. Controlled violence.
Maddox Security.
BRAVO energy in human form.
I recognize the way they move before I recognize faces. The posture of men who’ve survived war and decided to weaponize their survival for the people they love.
One of them steps in first. Sharp eyes. Command presence. That quiet predator calm.
Sawyer.
Another is broader, colder.
Riggs.
And at the center— Dean Maddox himself appears like the storm Viktor tried to destroy.
Viktor’s smile falters for the first time. “Ah,” he says. “There you are.”
Dean doesn’t answer. He doesn’t need to. He simply nods once.
And BRAVO moves. Two men peel off to secure the side door. Another closes distance on Viktor’s remaining guards. In seconds the room becomes a controlled takedown—fast, precise, brutal without being sloppy.
I dart to Knight. “Hi,” I say tightly.
His eyes flare with relief and fury. “You disobeyed orders.”
I start sawing through his restraints with the concealed blade I pulled from my boot. “And you broke your promise.”
The last tie snaps. He surges to his feet, swaying slightly. I catch him.
He grabs my face with both hands like he has to confirm I’m real. “I’m so glad you came.”
I glare. “Of course I came.”
