Novels by arofahchimirak

Glass rained across the floor like hail.A black rope whipped through the shattered window, and men in tactical gear swung in on it, boots first, weapons raised, shouting. "Police! Drop your weapons! Drop them now!" Red dots swept across the concrete. A flashbang bounced off a steel beam and burst in a wall of white noise.Ronan threw himself sideways, dragging the briefcase with him. He hit the ground, rolled, and came up on one knee. The floor was a blur of shouting, smoke, and drifting glass."Sienna!"She was already moving. During the confusion, she'd twisted against the cord, and now something silver flashed between her fingers, a sliver of glass from the broken window. She sawed at the rope with a grunt of pain and stumbled free just as Preston, panicking, swung his pistol around."Don't move!" he shrieked. "Don't move! I'll shoot her! I'll...""Preston."The voice came from a few feet away. Ronan stood up slowly, empty hands spread, dust in his hair."Put it down," he said."S

Glass rained across the floor like hail.A black rope whipped through the shattered window, and men in tactical gear swung in on it, boots first, weapons raised, shouting. "Police! Drop your weapons! Drop them now!" Red dots swept across the concrete. A flashbang bounced off a steel beam and burst in a wall of white noise.Ronan threw himself sideways, dragging the briefcase with him. He hit the ground, rolled, and came up on one knee. The floor was a blur of shouting, smoke, and drifting glass."Sienna!"She was already moving. During the confusion, she'd twisted against the cord, and now something silver flashed between her fingers, a sliver of glass from the broken window. She sawed at the rope with a grunt of pain and stumbled free just as Preston, panicking, swung his pistol around."Don't move!" he shrieked. "Don't move! I'll shoot her! I'll...""Preston."The voice came from a few feet away. Ronan stood up slowly, empty hands spread, dust in his hair."Put it down," he said."S

"Read it," Aldric said. "Aloud, if you please. I want Preston to hear it."Ronan knelt on the cold concrete, the briefcase open before him, the muzzle of Preston's pistol trembling three feet from Sienna's temple. Behind Aldric, Crane stood with his arms folded. The city lay silent beyond the glass."It's a transfer of ownership," Ronan said. His voice was quiet. "Sixty-one percent of Kastellan Global Holdings, conveyed in full to Aldric Neville, effective at the moment of signing.""Sixty-one percent," Aldric murmured. "Your grandfather's fortune, given freely. Yes. Do sign."He drew a gold pen from his coat and held it out.Aldric slid the pen back into his coat as if the matter were settled, and began to pace in a slow, satisfied circle."Do you know what the first thing I will do is?" he said. "I will dismantle the Halloway tower. Brick by brick. Your grandfather was so proud of that building. He used to say it would stand for a thousand years." He smiled. "I'll sell the land to a

The capital tower rose six hundred feet into the night, a spear of black glass with a crown of white light.Ronan stepped out of the car at five minutes to midnight. The driver, an ordinary man in an ordinary suit, said nothing. Wind whipped the hem of Ronan's coat. Above him, sixty stories of darkened windows stared down like cold, blind eyes.He walked toward the doors.The lobby was empty. No security desk. No cleaners. Just a vast marble floor gleaming like black ice and a single elevator standing open at the far end, its light spilling out like a mouth."Welcome, Mr. Kastellan."The voice came from behind a pillar. A tall man in a gray suit stepped into the light, his face expressionless, his hands empty."Crane," said Ronan."You're on time.""I generally am.""Arms up."Ronan lifted his arms. Crane patted him down with the brisk efficiency of a man who had done it ten thousand times: coat, pockets, waist, ankles. He found the flask and unscrewed it, sniffing."Brandy.""Alfred'

The great hall of the Kastellan estate had never held so many silent people.Alfred stood by the fireplace, gray-faced, one hand pressed to his stitched ribs. Quill sat at the long oak table with his briefcase open before him and his tea going cold. Vivienne, bandaged and pale, huddled in an armchair with a blanket around her shoulders. The silver dog lay across the doorway like a furry barricade.And in the center of the room, Warrick stood with his hands folded, still in his loud mustard tie, sweating."Sir," he said. "I came as soon as I heard. Whatever you need, the tower's resources are yours. I've already ordered a search of every property Neville owns in the capital, and...""Warrick," Ronan said. "Sit down."The branch manager's smile flickered. "I'd rather stand, sir.""Sit."Warrick sat.Ronan walked slowly around the table, hands behind his back. He had not slept. His eyes felt scoured. But his voice, when he spoke, was almost gentle."For twelve years you've run the Hallow

"Cornflower!"Vivienne's scream ripped through the earpiece, and Ronan was out of the SUV before the word had finished echoing."Go!" Sienna barked into her radio. "All units, breach the east wing! Repeat, east wing! Go, go, go!"Guards poured from the convoy. Ronan sprinted toward the mansion's gates, heart hammering. Behind him, Sienna's boots pounded the gravel. The mansion's lights blazed above them like a wall of fire.In the salon, Crane's fingers closed around Vivienne's throat."Crane," said Aldric mildly. "Gently.""She's wired.""Yes, I gathered." The old man rose, smoothing his lapels. "Take the pin. Break it. And bring her downstairs."Crane wrenched the rhinestone hairpin from her twist and crushed it under his heel. A faint crackle of static, then silence."Too late," Vivienne gasped, clawing at his wrist. "He heard everything. Every word.""Of course he did. That's what I wanted."She stared at him. Even now, half-choked in a stranger's grasp, she couldn't make the piec