LOGINIvan's Pov
A shot was aimed at Sophia Lang.
I did not see who fired it. I saw the trajectory. I saw the impact. Sophia went down. The second-in-command was already moving toward Elena's room.
I moved. Nikolai moved. Ace moved. The three of us moving together. The same rhythm we had developed across the past year.
The coalition was already reacting. Personnel moving. Weapons raised. The engagement
Ivan's PovA shot was aimed at Sophia Lang.I did not see who fired it. I saw the trajectory. I saw the impact. Sophia went down. The second-in-command was already moving toward Elena's room.I moved. Nikolai moved. Ace moved. The three of us moving together. The same rhythm we had developed across the past year.The coalition was already reacting. Personnel moving. Weapons raised. The engagement was starting. We needed to reach Elena before the second-in-command reached her."Elena!" Ace's voice was sharp. "Lock the door!""Locked!" Her voice came back. "Ghost is armed!""Hold it!"I took the personnel approaching from the left. Nikolai took the personnel approaching from the right. Ace moved through the center, clearing the path toward Elena's room.The second-in-command reached th
Ace's PovA few hours later, we went to the stronghold. It was a converted industrial complex on the city's southern edge. Three buildings connected by enclosed walkways, reinforced doors and personnel visible at every approach. The second-in-command had chosen his ground carefully.We approached from the east. The coalition was already inside. Rem's thermal imaging showed forty-three heat signatures across the complex. Forty-three people waiting for us. Forty-three people who wanted the bloodline.Elena was in a side room on the second floor of the central building. Ghost was with her. Theodore was in her arms. Our remaining personnel held the corridor outside the room. They would not hold long against forty-three.I looked at Nikolai. He looked at me. We did not need words."East entrance," I said. "We go through the walkway. We reach the central building before t
Ace's PovWe reached the building at midnight. The north edge of the city was dark. The building was isolated. Defensible. Exactly what Rem's analysis had predicted.I looked at the structure from the vehicle. Three floors. Reinforced doors. Personnel visible at the perimeter. The second-in-command was inside. Theodore was inside."Elena and Ghost are holding the extraction point." Nikolai's voice was quiet. "They will move in when we have Theodore.""Good." I was already moving toward the building. "Ivan takes the east entrance. Nikolai takes the west. I take the main.""Alone." Nikolai's voice was sharp."Not alone. I am the distraction. I draw their attention to the main entrance. You both enter through the sides.""That puts you in the most exposed position.""I have been in exposed positions before.
Nikolai's PovThe power came back on at 3:18 a.m. The emergency lights had been running for sixty seconds. The crib was empty.I stood in the doorway of the master bedroom and looked at the empty crib. The note was on the pillow. I read it twice. The words did not change."The second-in-command of The Veil sends his regards. The bloodline now belongs to us."I folded the note carefully. I put it in my pocket. I turned and walked out of the room.Ace was in the hallway. His face was pale. He had seen the empty crib. He had seen my face. He knew."Nikolai." His voice was controlled. The controlled version meant he was holding something together that wanted to break."He took the baby," I said. "The second-in-command. He was already in the building when we returned from the facility.""How.""He was inside someone. One of our personnel. Already turned before we brought them into the penthouse.""Marcus.""Marcus was the delivery system. The second-in-command used him to enter. Killed him
Ivan's PovI took charge of security the moment Ace showed me the message.The penthouse went into full lockdown within the hour. Every entrance was guarded. Every camera was checked. New facial-recognition systems were installed at every access point. Rem coordinated the technical side while I managed the personnel.Ace and Nikolai helped me plan the defenses. We worked as a perfect unit. No arguments. No doubt. Only shared purpose."The main entrance needs a secondary barrier." Ace was at the table with the building schematics spread out. "If they breach the first door, we need something to slow them down.""Secondary barrier in the vestibule. Rem can install a reinforced steel gate. Remote activation.""Remote activation is vulnerable to signal jamming. Manual override. Someone has to physically engage it.""That requires personnel inside the vestibule. Personnel who would be exposed during a breach.""We rotate them in short shifts. No one stays exposed long enough to become a tar
Ace's PovThe war was over.The city was quiet for the first time in months. We returned to the penthouse in the early evening. Elena was weak but walking. Theodore was in her arms. Ghost was beside her, his hand never far from her elbow. Luca's absence was a weight we all carried, nobody spoke about it directly. Everyone felt it.The penthouse felt different, larger somehow. Emptier in some rooms and fuller in others.Elena settled onto the couch with Theodore against her chest. Ghost sat on the floor beside them. Ivan moved to the windows, checking the perimeter out of habit. Nikolai stood in the doorway of the living room, watching all of us with an expression I could not fully read.I crossed to Elena. I looked down at Theodore. His eyes were closed. His breathing was soft and even. He had no idea what had happened to bring him into this world, he had no idea what had been sacrificed."Can I hold him?" My voice came out quieter than I intended.Elena looked at me. Her face was pa
Ace's povI was shaking so badly my teeth rattled. In my mad dash to submit my assignment, I had forgotten my phone back at the bar.The assignment…I was still holding it, clutched in my hands so tight my fingers had actually broken through the first page.It didn't matter anymore. Since I was s
Ace’s POVI thought I was just dropping off papers for my professor.One wrong door.One second too long.And suddenly I’m staring at America’s most dangerous Bratva twins — the Volkov brothers — mid-kill.Nikolai, the older one, lets his voice hit my ear like a cold blade:“You’re not going anywher
Ace’s/Ivan’sPovI couldn't think.What the fuck just happened?I couldn't fucking think, overwhelmed, by everything going on. Why were they doing this to me, strumming me like a guitar. It was humiliating and I hated it.But a whine escaped me as Nickolai’s hand left my hair and Ivan pulled back fr
Nikolai's povIvan was enjoying himself far too much. He had that sick little grin on his face as he pressed the blunt side of his knife on Ace’s wrists. I knew it didn't cut, didn't draw blood, but it pulled another startled cry from Ace, which was what he wanted.“Brother,” Ivan said lightly, “h







