It wasn’t long after the call with Richard ended that Jasper began to hear it—cars. A lot of cars. A lot of engines. The deep roar of vehicles closing in.He rushed to the window and looked outside.SUVs. Buses.“Shit… shit… shit! What the hell are we going to do?” he muttered.All the other men in the building—about twenty of them—gathered together. “What’s going on? What’s going on?” they asked, voices panicked.Down below, Dane’s eyes were half-closed. He could barely think straight. It was like he was talking to himself.“Is this where I die?” he muttered. “Is this where I die?”He was bleeding. The bleeding had stopped, but the pain hadn’t. And worse—he was starving. He hadn’t eaten in so long, his body was shutting down.Upstairs, Jasper and his men grabbed their guns, hurried down the staircase, and took positions, ready for the attack. They waited.Outside the building, the buses stopped. Fifteen of Butcher’s men jumped out, armed and alert. The gate was locked.They rushed to

“Okay, sir,” one of the men said, and Butcher gave a small nod.Then Butcher turned and walked toward the gate, heading to his G-Wagon, which was already parked inside the compound. The others followed him.The driver opened the door.Butcher waited as Dane was helped in. He knew Dane was weak—very, very weak.As soon as Dane sat down, Butcher entered the car and closed the door behind him.“Take this,” Butcher said.There was a loaf of bread already resting on the seat. He picked it up and tossed it to Dane.Dane caught it slowly, his hands trembling. “Thank you,” he said, voice hoarse.He unwrapped it gently—then took the first bite, slow and careful.But once that first bite hit his tongue, everything changed. Dane started devouring the bread like a starving dog. He didn’t even pause to chew properly, just kept eating, desperate and wild. His hunger had taken over.Butcher sat back, watching him.If it were anyone else, he thought, they would’ve broken. They would’ve given up. But

Butcher stood in front of both Dane and Jane. Dane lowered his head.“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I won’t bring it up again.”“When the time is right,” Butcher replied, “I’ll tell you everything—things I don’t usually tell anyone. It’s true that I knew what you and Jane were walking into when you infiltrated Richard’s mansion during the mask party. I knew how it might play out. Not the exact outcome, but close enough. I calculated there was an 80% chance you’d shoot Richard in the chest. And a 99.9% chance he’d be wearing a bulletproof vest under his suit. I knew the odds of you landing a shot to his head were extremely low. So yes, I predicted most of it. That’s why I told you—if the mission failed, just escape. I knew failure was likely.“But now… prepare yourself. We don’t have time. What’s coming is already on its way.”Dane and Jane listened closely to every word.“So now,” Butcher continued, “the main issue is Leo. I’m going to send my men to capture him before he does anythin

Gary kept looking at them, his eyes burning with rage. Then finally, he snapped.“What the hell is that asshole doing here? What the hell is he doing here?” he shouted. “What are you doing here?!”Butcher’s foot was still pressing down on his head, but the sight of Dane standing there only made him angrier. And angrier. And angrier.Seeing Dane lit a fire in him he couldn’t control.“You! You bastard! What are you doing here? Tell me!” Gary screamed.He despised him. Every inch of him burned with hatred. Just seeing Dane made his blood boil.He didn’t like the fact Dane was close to Butcher—even if Gary had been with Butcher longer—Butcher told Gary to shut up.As Butcher silenced Gary, Dane stepped forward and bent down in front of him. “Yes, I was the one. I heard your conversation—how you helped Leo escape. I knew it was all a lie. And I told the boss.”Dane smirked.Gary’s expression twisted into fury as the realization hit him. He started banging the ground with his fist. “You ba

After three days passed, Dane left his room and went to the medic’s room. He told them to remove his stitches—he was already healed. They refused at first, but he insisted, and eventually they agreed. He was right; he really had healed. Without saying another word, he walked out of the room. Butcher was right. He told me three days. His judgment is as sharp as Richard said, Dane thought.He went back to his room to take a proper shower—something he hadn’t done in a while. After washing up, his body felt much better. The jacket he had left untouched for so long was starting to smell, so he finally washed it and hung it inside his bedroom to dry. Normally, he would wear a jacket when going on a mission, but today he decided to wear a suit. He hadn’t worn one in a while. The suit fit him perfectly, and his favorite part was the leather shoes.He looked at himself in the mirror, imagining himself as Butcher. Butcher always looked sharp in a suit—it always fit him just right. Dane stood st