Chaos slowly turns into controlled damage.
The sniper is gone by the time Wolf and Trigger reach the roof.
Professional.
Clean exit.
No shell casings.
No trace.
Cowards.
I’m helping carry an old man to an ambulance when my phone vibrates in my pocket.
Unknown number.
My stomach tightens.
I already know who it is.
I answer.
“Yeah.”
Her voice slides through the speaker like silk dipped in poison.
“You see what happens when you keep what isn’t yours?”
I don’t bother pretending I don’t know what she’s talking about.
“You missed.”
She laughs softly.
The sound makes my skin crawl.
“Oh no, Mr. Jennings,” she says. “That was just me knocking.”
My hands curl into fists.
Rage burns through my veins so hard my vision sharpens.
“If you ever come near my child…”
“Your child?” she interrupts, amused.
Then her voice goes cold.
Precise.
“No. My granddaughter.”
Every muscle in my body goes still.
“She belongs to my family.”
“No,” I say.
