ログインAXEL POVWe arrived at the clubhouse at eleven PM.Team One was already there.With the rescued hostages.Carmen stood in the main room.Bruised. Exhausted. But alive."Carmen," I said.She turned. Saw me. Ran over.Hugged me tight."You saved us," Carmen said. "Victoria had us for hours. Said she was going to kill us one by one. But you saved us.""We got lucky," I admitted."I'll take lucky," Carmen replied.She pulled back. Looked around."Where's Tank?" she asked.My stomach dropped."Carmen," I started."Where is he?" Carmen pressed. Her smile fading."He didn't make it," I said quietly. "Victoria killed him. During the rescue."Carmen's face crumbled."No," she breathed. "Not Tank.""I'm sorry," I said.Carmen sat down hard.Started crying.Tank had been with the club for fifteen years.One of the originals.One of the best.And now
EMILIA POVWe had ten hours.Ten hours until midnight.Ten hours to find Carmen and the others.Ten hours to end Victoria."We need a plan," Bull said."We have a plan," Axel replied. "Draw Victoria out. Kill her.""That's not a plan," Bull countered. "That's a wish.""Then help me make it better," Axel shot back.They argued while I sat there.Thinking.Processing everything.Tank was dead.Marco might die in surgery.Carmen was Victoria's hostage.Seven people would die unless we stopped this.And it was all because of me.Because I'd fallen in love with Axel.Because I'd chosen this life.Because every decision I'd made led here.My phone rang.Hospital.I answered."Is this Emilia Romano?" a voice asked."Yes," I confirmed."Your brother Marco came through surgery. He's alive. Critical but stable. You can see him in an hour.""Thank you," I said.
AXEL POVWe reached the County General in fifteen minutes.Bull pulled up to the emergency entrance.Honked repeatedly.Medical staff rushed out.Saw Marco."Gunshot wounds!" I shouted. "Multiple. Four days old. He's septic!"They loaded Marco onto a gurney.Rushed him inside.Em tried to follow.A nurse stopped her."Family only beyond this point," the nurse said."I'm his sister," Em replied."Then come with me," the nurse said. "But your friends stay here."Em disappeared through doors.Bull and I stayed in the waiting room.Both covered in blood.Both exhausted."Tank's dead," Bull said quietly."I know," I replied."Victoria killed him," Bull continued. "Right in front of us. And we couldn't stop it.""I know," I repeated."What do we do now?" Bull asked."We'll finish this," I said. "We find Victoria. We kill her. We end this permanently.""How?" Bull challen
EMILIA POVI heard the explosions.Felt the building shake.Heard gunfire."They're here," I said.Victoria's face appeared in the doorway.Smiling."Yes they are," she said. "Right on schedule."She'd been expecting them.Had planned for this.Tank had led them into a trap.The door exploded inward.Smoke filled the room.Through it, I saw Axel.Alive.Here.Fighting toward me."Axel!" I screamed.He saw me.Started running.Then Victoria's guards poured in.From everywhere.Hidden passages. Side doors.At least thirty.Surrounding Axel's team."Drop your weapons!" Victoria ordered.Axel's team was outnumbered three to one.No cover.No advantage.Bull looked at Axel.Axel nodded.They lowered their weapons.Guards rushed in.Confiscated everything.Forced Axel's team to their knees.Victoria walked into the r
AXEL POVDay four of searching.Nothing.Every lead was dead.Every location was empty.Every hope was fading."We're missing something," Bull said. "Victoria's moving supplies somewhere. Food. Medical equipment. She has to be.""So we track the supplies," I replied."Already tried," Bull said. "She's using multiple suppliers. Multiple delivery companies. All legitimate. No way to trace which deliveries are hers."Tank looked up from his laptop."I have an idea," he said."Wha
EMILIA POVDay three in captivity.I'd lost track of time.No windows. No clock. No way to measure.Just darkness and pain and Marco's screams.Victoria had moved from physical torture to something worse.Psychological.She'd set up a screen in front of my chair.Played recordings of Marco's torture on loop.His screams. His begging. His breaking.Over and over.For hours."Watch," Victoria ordered. "Watch what you caused.""I didn't cause this," I said. My voice was hoarse from crying."You chose this life," Victoria replied. "You chose Ghost. You chose the club. You chose the violence. So yes, you caused this."She pressed play again.Marco's face filled the screen.The moment Victoria burned him with the blowtorch.His scream was raw. Inhuman.The sound of something breaking inside him."Please," I begged. "Stop. I'll do anything. Just stop.""Anything?" Victoria asked."
EMILIA POVThe coordinates Volkov sent led to an industrial district on the outskirts of town.Warehouses. Empty lots. The kind of place where screams wouldn't be heard.Perfect for the Russian mob.I parked my bike where the GPS indicated and killed the engine.Three black SUVs sat in a semicircle
EMILIA POVThe next morning, flowers arrived.Not a small bouquet.A massive arrangement of white roses and lilies that took up half the kitchen table.The card read: First of many. -AMama Rosa smiled when she saw them. "That boy is doing it right.""It's excessive,
EMILIA POVMarco looked at Carmen. "Talk sense into her."Carmen met his gaze. "She's right.""What?" Marco sputtered."She's right," Carmen repeated. "Volkov could have let Axel die. Could have extracted Kane instead, sold him back to us for a price. Could have done a dozen t
AXEL POVThe second Em left, I tried to sit up.Pain exploded through my ribs.I collapsed back against the pillows, gasping."Easy," the Bratva medic said in Russian. She was older. Competent. Had been checking my vitals every hour. "Your ribs need time.""I don't have time," I replied in the same







