The stillness in Anton’s London penthouse was dense, a physical entity pressing against the floor-to-ceiling windows that usually offered a glittering, dominion-over-all view of the city. Tonight, the glass was an inky black mirror, reflecting a scene of quiet, focused desperation.In the center of the living area, a low table had been cleared of its usual art books and architectural models. Now, it held a spread of cold, purposeful objects. Sabatine stood before it, a study that contained violence. The soft, charcoal-gray sweater he’d worn earlier was gone, replaced by a form-fitting, black tactical undershirt. Over it, he methodically secured a lightweight, polymer-mesh vest, not the bulky Kevlar of his military past, but something sleeker, designed for urban shadows rather than open battlefields. Each click of a buckle, each tug to adjust a strap, was precise, ritualistic.Anton watched from the doorway of his study, a crystal tumbler of untouched whiskey in his hand. He saw the wa
Last Updated : 2025-12-07 Read more