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“I’m seconds away from breaking your nose.”

He barks out a laugh and opens the door further, moving to the side so I can enter. He flicks on a dim light, revealing a narrow, stone corridor.

He’s wearing his officer uniform, and I wonder just how much influence this guy has with the police as he chaperones me down the hallway.

Placing his thumb on a scanner near the door, it slides open with a hiss against the stone. We continue through the corridors until we reach a door that opens up to an open-plan basement. Computers, armoury—the works. There’s not much to it, which tells me this must only be a base.

Is this what mine and Jac’s life could look like?

There are multiple guards and employees hustling about.

Nova turns her head towards us and grins at the sight of me. She’s dressed in an all-black jumpsuit with various holsters strapped to her, and her long hair is up in a ponytail. Grabbing a submachine gun off a rack, she strolls towards me, her curves swaying with the movement.

“You might be cold in that,” she comments and looks me up and down as she holds out the gun towards me.

Something is thrown at me from the side, and I catch it before it can fall to the ground.

Clothes.

“Who’s this little guy?” she coos, rubbing Obsidian’s chin. I subtly move him away from her, feeling a little protective over him.

“His name is Sid.”

She hums.

“Where did you disappear to over the last week?” she asks.

“What? Your dogs couldn’t sniff me out?” She looks expectantly at me. “Away.”

She nods, taking the hint that I have no interest in telling her about my life. I let Sid out onto the floor, and he immediately catches the attention of a woman at a computer in the corner.

I take the t-shirt but throw the trousers back towards the side at Axel.

Sliding the t-shirt over my head, it immediately sticks to my wet body. He throws me a couple of holsters that I strap to my waist. Taking the gun from Nova, I slide it into the holster. I walk over to the armoury in the corner of the room and find a sheath that I slide into the other holster.

I’m not here to fuck about. I want in and out. I want that fucker bleeding, begging for mercy he’ll never get.

Without speaking, I nod at Nova, who understands my request. She leads me to the computers on the other end. One of her guys loads up a 3D map with a red dot blinking continuously.

“He’s been there all night, hasn’t moved an inch, which means he’s either left his phone there, or he’s there with it. If we—”

I cut her off with a firm, “No.”

“No?”

I keep my eyes on that little red dot. “I’m going on my own.”

She recoils. “We have a trail, but we don’t know how many men he has. It could be dozens on one.”

I huff out a laugh. She doesn’t know my life is of little value right now.

“Let him, baby,” Axel cuts in. Nova narrows her eyes at him, and he smirks back.

I don’t really care for whatever they have going on there; I just need to find Luke and kill him.

“Xander, it’s—” she starts.

“Jacques will take over if anything happens to me, if that’s what you’re worried about.”