LOGINCove’s boots pounded the pavement as he sprinted back toward the armored vehicle. The night air cut through his tactical jacket, but he barely felt it. His mind was a storm of orders and calculations. Eli was inside the penthouse, alone in the server room. Lena was vulnerable. Matteo had already proved he did not play fair. One second too late and everything could collapse.
“Move!” Cove shouted into his radio, his voice sharp and commanding
The Threat from the BratvaThe words from Nikolai hit me like a slap in the face. Your brother’s blood is still useful. Hand over the hacker or Marco dies. I read them again on the laptop screen, my fingers still typing from the fight. The room felt smaller, the city lights outside looking colder than before. Lena sat up on the medical bed, her shoulder wrapped tight, face pale but eyes sharp.Cove stood beside the bed, one hand on my shoulder, the other clenched into a fist. “They have Marco. Nikolai’s got him. We can’t ignore this.”I stared at the message, my chest tight. Marco. My brother. The one I thought was gone, the one I killed years ago. If Nikolai had him, it meant everything was about to blow up again. “We have to do something. He’s holding Marco. We can’t just sit here while he threatens us.”Lena pushed herself higher on the pillows
Lena’s Hit and the Near-MissLena dropped hard to the floor, her shoulder bleeding fast through the jacket. “I’m okay… keep going…”Cove was already moving, dropping his gun for a second so he could slide his arm under her knees. “Stay with me. You’re hit but you’re not going anywhere.”I kept typing on the laptop, fingers flying. “Got the sniper position. Third floor, left window. Nikolai’s calling more men that way. The feed’s still live.”Cove lifted Lena quick, her body light but her breath coming in short gasps. “We’re pulling out. Team, fall back!”Ruiz’s voice came over the comms, tight. “We’re with you, boss. Lena’s down. We got her.”The team moved fast. Bullets still flew but fewer now. A couple of Bratva men tried to
Chaos in the Auction HallThe shout from Matteo still rang in my ears, mixed with the sound of bullets cracking through the hall. You think you can hide from me forever? The Bratva already has your brother’s codes! I shook my head, trying to push it out, and kept hacking on the laptop. The old contacts were still open, feeding me camera feeds. “They’re turning on the assassins now,” I yelled to Cove. “Just watch!”Cove stood right behind me, back pressed to mine, his gun up and ready. “Keep it coming. Don’t stop.”Lena moved to our left, covering the side table. “I’m good here. Keep talking, Eli. Tell me what you see.”I clicked faster. The screens on the wall lit up with the guards’ own cameras. The assassins on the other side suddenly turned their guns on each other. “Got them! They’re shooting the wrong peopl
Into the Auction HallThe elevator doors opened right into the underground garage. The air smelled like engine oil and wet concrete. Ruiz was already at the first car, engine running low, three guys from the team piled in. Lena climbed into the second vehicle with two more shooters. Cove slid behind the wheel of our car, one hand on the wheel, the other resting on my thigh like he was making sure I stayed put.“Promise again,” he said, voice low as he started the engine.“I promise,” I said back, buckling my seatbelt tight. The laptop bag stayed on my lap. My fingers tapped the side of it nervous-like.Ruiz’s voice crackled over the comms. “Boss, we’re ten minutes out. Eli, you got eyes on the hall yet?”I opened the laptop quick, pulling up the drone feed. The map showed the underground auction hall in red, level seve
The Argument and the SurpriseI shut the laptop lid after reading the message from the old contacts, and the words still sat heavy in my stomach. Nikolai Volkov. The Bratva leader. Matteo had joined up with him. That changed the game completely. The whole city felt like it was closing in at the same time.Cove stood right there in the server room, arms crossed tight, staring at the closed laptop like it had personally hurt him. “Bratva. They’re all in now. Nikolai’s with Matteo. We can’t go in blind.”Lena leaned against the wall, still holding her half-empty coffee cup, eyes sharp. “I know. But we got the warning. That’s something. Ruiz and the team are already moving the vehicles out front. Ten minutes. We can’t sit here debating while Matteo’s making his move.”I tried to stand up, my legs still a little wobbly from the night before, but I did it anyway. “We have to. He’s setting a trap at the auction hall. We need to know exactly where he is before we roll out. My laptop can find
The beep from the recorder faded into nothing, but the voice kept playing in my head. Matteo’s calm tone, like he was ordering coffee. “Matteo here. The auction hall tonight. Secondary squad hits the servers. I go in with Nikolai. Kill the hacker Eli. Finish the war. Voss dies. City burns with us. Tell them hello from the grave.”Cove stood there, arm still around my shoulders, and stared at the dead assassin like he was trying to read the last breath off his face. I stayed right next to him, my legs still wobbly from the couch, but I didn’t sit down again. “He’s right. It’s a trap. Underground auction hall tonight. He’s using the Bratva to finish it all.”Cove’s jaw tightened. “We play it out loud. Whole team needs to hear.”He hit the button on the small black box Lena had pulled out. The recorder started again. Same voice. “Matteo here. The auction hall tonight. Secondary squad hits the servers. I go in with Nikolai. Kill the hacker Eli. Finish the war. Voss dies. City burns with u
Cove stepped out of the armored SUV into the pouring rain. The docks were slick and foggy, the kind of night where everything looked like a ghost. Rain hammered down on the concrete, mixing with the river water that lapped against the wooden pilings. The yacht sat at the end of the
Cove leaned in, kissing Eli deeply, full of everything they had survived and everything still waiting for them. When he pulled back, his storm-gray eyes were fierce with love and determination.“Then let’s go hunt a ghost.”
Cove looked at Eli’s fierce expression, the determination burning in his eyes despite everything they had been through that night. The penthouse was still dimly lit by emergency backup lights. Blood stained the floor near the elevator from the earlier fight. Marco lay unconsci
Marco screamed in agony.The sound tore through the underground garage like a wounded animal. His eyes widened in shock and pain as the knife sank deep into his shoulder. Blood poured out instantly, soaking through his expensive navy suit jacket. The shotgun sli







