“Copy,” I murmured.
Julia was at my shoulder, steady, weapon drawn, jaw set. Logan was on her other side. She moved like she’d been born for this — quiet, lethal, resolute. But beneath that control, I could still feel the afterglow of last night in the way her breath caught when our eyes met, the way her fingers flexed on the trigger like they remembered mine.
We cleared the first hallway in silence. Boone cut left toward the stairwell. Miles covered our six. The tension wasn’t just tactical anymore — it was a live wire stretched between all of us, humming with the knowledge that one wrong move could end everything.
At the top of the stairs, Aaron held up a fist. We froze.
Through the narrow window of the conference room, I saw him — Adrian Reese.
Perfectly pressed suit. Silver hair combed back like it had never seen wind. Calm as a man who believed the world still answered to him.
And standing behind him — two men in combat gear, American patches stitched to their sleeves. Private contractors. Expensive ones.
Aaron’s voice was a whisper. “We breach on my mark.”
I glanced at Julia. Her eyes were locked on Reese, something fierce and cold burning there.
“Ready?” I asked.
She nodded once. “Let’s end this.”
Aaron mouthed,Go.
The door burst open under Boone’s boot. We stormed in — controlled chaos, weapons trained, every angle covered.
“Hands where I can see them!” I barked.
Reese didn’t flinch. He simply adjusted his cufflinks and said, “Gentlemen. Detective.” His eyes flicked toward Julia, and something smug curved his mouth. “And the prodigal soldier. I was wondering when you’d come crawling back.”
“Drop it,” Aaron said.
But Reese only smiled wider. “Do you have any idea who you’re pointing that gun at?”
“Yeah,” I said. “The man who sold out his country for a paycheck.”
He laughed softly. “You’re still as dramatic as your file suggested, Jensen. I didn’t sell anything. Ibuiltsomething — a future that doesn’t depend on hypocrites and red tape. Halcyon is evolution.”
“Halcyon is blood money,” Julia snapped. “You used local law enforcement, murdered deputies, laundered cartel funds, and called it progress.”
Reese’s gaze lingered on her — too long, too cold. “Isn’t this out of your jurisdiction, detective?”
Julia froze. For half a second, the world went dead quiet.
Then I moved.
I had Reese pinned against the glass wall before I even registered the sound of it cracking. My forearm pressed into his throat. “You never speak to her again?” I growled. “Try it. I’ll kill you.”
He coughed, smirking even as he gasped for air. “Touchy.”
“Enough!” Aaron snapped. “Hawk, stand down.”
I hesitated, breath tight, pulse pounding. Then Julia’s hand was on my arm — not stopping me, grounding me. Her voice was low, steady. “He’s not worth it.”
I released him and stepped back, forcing control into my lungs. Reese straightened his tie, like nothing had happened.
“Arrest him,” Aaron ordered.
Boone moved in with cuffs — but before he reached Reese, the room exploded in light and sound. A hidden door blew open, smoke flooding the corridor. Gunfire ripped through the haze.
