“…say it again,” she snarls. “I dare you.”
My heart slams into my throat.
I move.
Fast.
The office door is half blown off its hinges. Smoke curls from the frame. Inside, chaos. A desk overturned. One lamp shattered. Papers burning in a wastebasket. Blood on the wall near the window.
Mikhail is backed into a corner, bleeding from a shoulder wound, eyes wild and calculating. Two of his men are down. One isn’t moving. The other is trying and failing to hold his own intestines in with both hands.
And Delilah—
She’s standing six feet from him, gun trained on his chest, arm rock steady despite the blood streaking her sleeve. Her breathingis harsh. Her eyes are wet and furious and lit with the kind of rage that can level cities if you give it a reason.
“Delilah,” I say sharply.
She doesn’t turn.
“He killed them,” she says, voice low and shaking. “He ordered it. Every time. Every mission. Every person.”
Mikhail laughs weakly, blood at the corner of his mouth. “You are emotional, little soldier. That makes you sloppy.”
She steps forward.
I step in instantly, grabbing her arm.
“Hey,” I snap. “Look at me.”
She finally does.
Her eyes are burning. Wet. Furious. There’s so much in them I have to fight the urge to drag her out of the room by force just to get her away from him, away from the part of herself he keeps reaching for.
“He deserves—”
“I know,” I cut in. “Believe me, I know. But not like this.”
She shakes, breath ragged. “He took everything.”
“And he’s going to give it back,” I say firmly. “In information. In names. In networks. In every secret he’s been hoarding.”
Mikhail smirks. “You think I’ll talk?”
King appears in the doorway, blood on his knuckles, grin feral. “Buddy, you haven’t met our interrogation team.”
Mikhail pales. It’s subtle. Small. But it’s there. Good. Fear looks better on him than confidence ever did.
I loosen my grip on Delilah’s arm but don’t let go. “You did good,” I murmur. “You cornered him. You won.”
Her breathing slows.
Barely.
“He was going to run,” she whispers.
“I know,” I say. “And you stopped him.”
She lowers her weapon an inch.
