Rain hammered against the windshield, as if trying to break through.Damien Cross didn’t flinch. He never did. Behind the wheel of a matte-black SUV, he could feel the engine hum beneath him as he zeroed in on the blinking red light across the street. Two stories up, second window from the lefttarget confirmed.Sophia Reed.She was thirty-two, owned a bookstore, and had a clean slate criminal record, no known enemies. But Adrian Vale didn’t hire Damien just to shield innocent women from threats that didn’t exist.No, he called Damien when things were about to get messy.The comm in Damien’s ear crackled to life.“Target’s still inside,” said Reed from Logistics. “She’s reading a paperback and hasn’t moved in twenty minutes. You think this job’s worth it?”Damien didn’t respond. He didn’t owe rookies an explanation. This contract came straight from Vale’s encrypted line, high priority, eyes only. Protect the girl. No questions asked.That told him one thing: Vale was scared.And when a

Damien stared at the note in his hand, feeling like it could vanish any second.“I’m watching too. You’re not alone. A.”Four years ago, Ash Maddox had died right in front of him. At least, that’s what he believed. Their last mission in Moldova ended with an explosion, and when the dust settled, only Damien was still standing.Now, she was back, or at least someone wanted him to think she was.He burned the note in the sink, watching the flames flicker around the edges until it turned ash. Ironic, right? Then he locked down the safehouse and checked the perimeter one last time. No breaches. No bugs. Just his paranoia hanging in the air.In the other room, Sophia stirred.“You ever sleep?” she asked softly from the doorway.Damien didn’t even turn around. “Not really.”She stepped in slowly, barefoot and wrapped in a long cardigan. In the dim light, she looked smaller, but her voice was steady.“I heard something earlier. Like a tap.”“It was nothing.”“Nothing?” she raised an eyebrow

The crack of the rifle blasted through the trees, sounding like a clap of thunder.Damien lunged at Sophia, tackling her to the ground behind a fallen support beam. The bullet struck exactly where she’d just been standing, just an inch higher, and it could’ve been deadly.Ash was quick on the draw, dropping to one knee and firing three precise shots into the treeline.“Northwest ridge!” she shouted. “One shooter. Suppressed bolt-action. Pretty skilled.”Damien pressed Sophia down, whispering, “Stay put. No matter what happens.”Then he slipped into the shadows, becoming one with the night.The forest was alive with the wind rustling, gunfire echoing, and leaves shifting. Damien moved quickly and low, using the landscape as cover as he circled toward the sniper’s hideout.It was a pro setup. Low-key. Easy escape route.But Damien had dealt with too many pros to be fooled.He spotted the position hollowed-out ridge with a thermal blanket and an oil-stabilized bipod mount.The shooter wa

They ran blind through the smoke.Ash led the charge, rifle in hand and night vision gear clipped over one eye. Damien positioned himself between Sophia and any potential threat, his heart racing as he gripped his pistol in one hand while guilt weighed heavily in the other.The freight tunnel wasn’t just breached; it was being demolished. Explosives had been strategically placed on support beams and detonated with precision.Someone knew exactly where they were.“Shadow Unit,” Ash shouted as they ducked behind an overturned crate. “At least five. Heat signatures moving along the west wall.”Damien swore softly. “They’re herding us.”“Toward the secondary exit.”He turned to Sophia. “You good?”She nodded, her breath unsteady. “Just keep moving.”Ash tapped her ear. “Looping signal jammer. I’ll buy us twenty seconds.”They took off again quickly, low, and methodically. Gunfire erupted behind them in short bursts, bullets tearing through concrete and narrowly missing them. Damien fired

Sophia woke up to a heavy silence.Not the peaceful kindmore like that eerie feeling when you know someone’s watching you, pressing down on your chest.She sat up slowly, her head throbbing. Her skin felt clammy, and Damien’s coat hung over her shoulders.Across the room, he was slumped against the wall, arms crossed, staring at the floor as if it had betrayed him.“You okay?” she asked, breaking the stillness.His eyes lifted to meet hers. “You stopped the signal.”“Did it work?”“Too well,” he said. “Eclipse went dark right after. It dropped off every system. Not just drones. It vanished.”Sophia blinked. “That’s good… right?”Damien didn’t respond.Just then, Ash burst in, gripping her tablet. She looked like a zombielike she hadn’t slept in days.“We’ve got a problem,” she said, urgency in her voice.“Another one?” Damien muttered, sounding exhausted.“I did a full network scan. Eclipse isn’t offline. It’s off-grid.”Damien stood up straight. “What’s the difference?”Ash turned th