Page 116 of Billionaire’s Heartbreak

I wanted blood.

I wanted revenge.

I wanted the power that ran through my veins.

Adrenaline drowned out every rational thought as I charged into the chaos, reckless and without a plan, searching for the next enemy to bring down.

Someone swung at me from the side. I ducked, felt the weapon cut through the air above my head, then drove my shoulder into his chest. He staggered backward, and I followed, refusing to give him time to recover.

“Kai!” Clare's voice came from behind me.

She was yelling for me to slow down and stay with the team, sounding less like my lieutenant and more like my guardian now that Dave was gone.

I ignored her and kept moving.

My back throbbed in response, the wound flaring as though it remembered every drop I'd lost. It wanted repayment.

Then I saw her.

A young woman lifted a metal rod—or maybe it was a sword. I couldn't tell. Everything was happening too quickly. Men moved between us, bodies collided, weapons flashed beneath the temple lights.

Laura.

For a heartbeat, I almost didn't recognise her. She'd dyed her hair blonde and pulled it into a tight bun. The disguise didn't fool me.

Then our eyes met.

Time slowed.

There.

An opening.

Her guard dropped for the briefest second, and my gaze locked onto the exposed line of her throat. Wide. Unprotected. Waiting.

I could have ended it there.

Instead, I drove my boot into her stomach.

The impact sent her crashing backward, her body skidding across the temple floor before slamming into a fallen table. Wood cracked beneath her weight. She gasped, trying to push herself upright, but I gave her no chance to recover.

Because I wanted her alive.

I wanted answers. I needed to know why she'd betrayed Dannie, and I wasn't leaving this temple until she told me.

I sprinted toward her. Before she could scramble to her feet, I kicked her weapon—a samurai sword—sending it skidding across the temple floor. Then I grabbed a fistful of her hair and hauled her upright. She struggled, clawing at my wrist and trying to break free.

I'd never treated a woman like this before. Every instinct in me told me it was wrong. Yet another part of me felt something else.

Power.

“Tell your people to surrender,” I ordered, keeping a firm grip on her hair as I hauled her fully to her feet.

She glared at me, breathing hard. “No.” She spat the word at me. “Never.”

Before I could think better of it, I struck her across the face with my free hand. She slowly turned her head back, wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand, and smiled. It wasn’t fear I saw in her eyes. It was defiance.

“Tie her up,” I barked at Clare. She’d been covering my back the entire time. Without a word, she stepped forward, seized Laura’s wrists, and secured them behind her.