Around me, the others moved with the same lethal efficiency. Kevlar and Blaze neutralized their targets at the far edge of the compound. Cross and Ink breached the fence line, clearing the way for the rest of us to slip through. Fallon’s eyes gleamed with eager anticipation as he prowled forward, while Tomcat and Echo moved with practiced grace, their expressions locked in deadly focus. There was no chance to react or sound an alarm. Just guards dropping one by one, bodies hitting dirt with only a soft thump, taken out clean and quietly.
With the fence breached and cleared, the rest of us flowed through like we’d done this a hundred times before. Which wasn’t far off. Our boots crunched on the gravel as we converged swiftly on the main entrance, but it wasn’t loud enough to alert anyone inside.
The reinforced doors didn’t stand a chance under Kevlar’s expert handling. As we moved inside, distant voices and the hum of machinery filled the stark corridors, heightening my awareness.
The facility’s interior revealed a grim truth, exactly what we'd anticipated. My jaw tightened as we split into teams, clearing the building room by room, each one systematically cleared, every corner checked, and all shadows exposed. The guards inside weren’t as disciplined as the perimeter team, and it showed. Some went down before they knew what was happening. Others tried to fight back but were swiftly silenced.
Somewhere to my left, Fallon let out a low, satisfied laugh that told me he’d found what he’d been anticipating, while several voices came low over comms, calling out cleared corridors.
We discovered the prisoners. Some were sequestered in a cell, others strapped to chairs or chained to walls. Most were barely conscious, but a few were wide-eyed and desperate. The harsh conditions and bloodied occupants stoked the rage that already simmered deep within me. Each person was quickly freed, secured, and moved out by our team. Once we identified them, some were destined for safety and anonymity, getting new lives the same way we’d done for so many others before. Then there were the ones we’d hand off through official channels that King trusted implicitly. A few had earned a different ending entirely.
We rounded up the interrogators next, dragging them roughly from their posts, disarming them, their faces pale with shock and fear. They were restrained swiftly, kneeling on the cold concrete floor with their eyes lowered and bodies tense, aware of the retribution awaiting them. We had questions that would be answered before the night was through. The cold promise of violence filled the air, unmistakable and inevitable.
By the time we reached the server room, Ace and Ash were already on it, moving with the same focused intensity I’d seen a hundred times before. The hum of electronic equipment was steady as they worked methodically through the complexsystems. Ace’s fingers flew across the keyboards, his gaze intense as he gathered financial records and client lists, pulling data that would dismantle the entire operation piece by piece. Ash quickly downloaded files and coordinated with Wizard, who was patched in remotely, on the legal shit needed.
“Got it all,” Ace muttered, not even looking up. “Financials, client lists, and transfer logs. This whole operation is about to get burned to the ground.”
Ash typed a few last keys, then nodded once. “This is enough to have the authorities dismantling every connection they’ve got.”
“Make it count.” I scanned the room one more time, ensuring nothing was overlooked.
We walked into the hall and spotted Shadow, his expression unreadable as his gaze moved over the space and then to the bodies piled up. “We’ll take it from here.”
Shadow was a cleaner, one of the best in the business, but his reputation was only known in the quietest circles. When he was done with this place, there wouldn’t be a spec of evidence that this building had been anything but an abandoned warehouse.
I stepped back out into the night, drawing in a slow breath as the cool air hit my lungs, but the tension in my body didn’t ease. The adrenaline still surged through my veins, leaving me restless and on edge, my muscles still tight with controlled aggression. The immediate threat had been handled, but this wasn’t done yet.
We moved swiftly, loading the three remaining interrogators into the back of a dark, nondescript van we’d parked a block away. We took them to a warehouse we used for more intense questioning. It was hidden deep within an industrial part of town—isolated, quiet, and equipped for exactly what we needed.
After we led the prisoners in, the heavy steel door slammed shut with a loud, echoing clang, locking us away from the outsideworld and sealing the interrogators’ fate. The interior was stark, illuminated by dim industrial lights that barely chased away the shadows.
Concrete walls and bare floor with drains strategically placed for easy clean-up, and metal tables holding various tools that promised pain if we didn’t get what we wanted and maybe a little even if we did. Everything about the place was cold, harsh, and efficient.
A twisted eagerness gleamed in Fallon’s eyes as he approached the prisoners. Cross stood to his left, a quiet menace radiating from him, his stance deceptively relaxed yet ready to spring into action if necessary. Blaze was to my right, his posture rigid and his jaw clenched, impatient tension rolling off him that matched my own.
I stepped forward, studying the three men in front of me—trembling from fear and exhaustion. But I felt nothing. No sympathy or remorse. They’d chosen their path and aligned themselves with monsters. Now they were going to pay for it.
My voice cut through the thick silence. “Let’s make this real simple. Tell us everything you fucking know—names, contacts, and anyone else who might be looking to take a swing at us. Then we want a list of your superiors and what you’ve told them. You cooperate, maybe this’ll be quick. But fuck around, and I promise you’ll beg us to end you.”
The first man lifted his head defiantly, spitting onto the concrete floor near my boots. Fallon moved before I could even blink, landing a swift, vicious blow to the fucker’s jaw that snapped his head back. “I fucking dare you to do that again.”
Cross shifted, his tone low and deceptively calm. “We’re not fucking around. Talk now, or we’ll get creative.”
They tried to remain stalwart, but it didn’t take long for the bravado to fade. Under the punishing interrogation, they spilled everything they knew, desperate to avoid further pain. Theirknowledge was limited, which meant their life span was getting shorter with every word we pulled out of them. Once we were satisfied they hadn’t sent anything sensitive up the chain, we were done.
I pulled my pistol from behind my back and took them out with a rapid trio of bullets, landing one in the forehead of each man.
Blaze grunted and yanked the cell door open, radiating impatience despite the neutralization of the threat. I completely understood since I was more than ready to have Clara back in my arms. Fallon rolled his eyes and smirked. “Cross and I will take care of this shit. Go on back to your women. Can’t stand your lovesick attitudes.”
“Fuck off,” I snarled with a scowl as I landed a hard punch to his shoulder. He just laughed and shook his arm out.
Cross wisely stayed out of reach and murmured, “Got this covered.”
I nodded in appreciation, then turned and stalked from the room, Blaze close on my heels. The second I stepped away from the interrogation area, the heavy weight of responsibility finally started to ease from my shoulders. I moved through the warehouse to the side room where we kept extra clothes and a small shower—necessary amenities, given the kind of messes we created in this place.
Hot water streamed over my tense muscles, rinsing away the remnants of sweat, grime, and blood. And with it, more of the lingering tension. I scrubbed quickly, eager to get back to Clara, my thoughts already filled with her soft curves, sweet smile, and the warm promise of her body.
Clean and dressed in fresh jeans and a black T-shirt, I strode out of the warehouse, climbed onto my bike, and headed straight back to the compound. As the night air rushed past me, relief settled deep into my bones. This shit was finally over. Now all Icould think about was officially claiming Clara and never letting her go.
