One Year To Make Him Remember

LETT

dging between overturned tables toward the back hallways. The emergency lights flickered on, casting the club in an eerie red glow. Three men in tactical gear blocked the exit. I didn't hesitate-two shots, center mass. They dropped. Xavier whistled. "Remind me not to get on your bad side." "Too late." I kicked open the door to the kitchen, where chefs crouched behind stainless steel counters. "Out. Now." We burst through the back exit into an alley reeking of garbage and gasoline. The moment the door slammed behind us, Xavier pinned me against the brick wall. "Who did you tell about Berlin?" I kneed him in the thigh, not hard enough to disable, just enough to make him grunt. "No one. That op was buried." "Then how the hell did they..." A bullet ricocheted off the dumpster beside us. Move. We sprinted down the alley, gunfire echoing behind us. Xavier grabbed my arm, pulling me into a narrow side passage. "In here." He punched a code into a nondescript door. It swung open to reveal a dimly lit stairwell. I didn't move. "Where does this lead?" "Somewhere they won't find us." I rais

ER'S

t. "Say that again." Her voice was ice. I didn't pull away. "Jonathan Vaughn was assassinated on Syndicate orders. And the man who gave the order?" I reached into my pocket, slowly pulling out a folded photo. "Recognize him?" Her breath hitched. The man in the photo was her uncle. Her father's brother. The current head of the Vaughn empire. The knife trembled against my skin. "I'll kill him." I caught her wrist before she could step back. "Not alone, you won't." She yanked free

(Two Ho

g under the moonlight. I adjusted the comm in my ear. "Y

he mansion was dark except for the study light. Right where he'd said it would be. I slipped inside, avoiding the motion sensors with practiced ease. The st

lly, Scarlett?" Before I could react, the lights blazed on. Xavier stood in the doorway, h

t know?" Xavier met my gaze. Now.

VI

arely dodging a bullet to the shoulder. The panic room door was closing. Scarlett jammed her knife into the mechanism, prying it open just enough to slip through. I barely made it before it sealed behind us. Silence. Then, gun cocked